The biggest change coming to Formula 3 in 2025 is the new Dallara F3 2025 car. After pre-season testing last week, Feeder Series surveyed a selection of returning drivers on the grid to find out the main differences between the old and new machinery. 

By Tori Turner

The new Dallara F3 2025 made its first on-track appearance during pre-season testing in February ahead of the first round in Melbourne. The 18 hours of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya were crucial in helping the grid get to grips with the new chassis.

All drivers there bar Jonas Ried had raced or tested the previous-generation Dallara F3 2019 and found themselves having to adapt fast throughout the three days. 

Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov, who won three times in his second season in 2024, topped the timing screens in both sessions of the second day of pre-season testing. The Red Bull junior set the fastest lap of the test with a 1:26.618 during the morning session and put in an impressive 94 laps on Thursday, the highest total of the field.

“ For me personally, there was pretty much nothing that was the same as the old car,” he told Feeder Series.

“The driving style, the feeling and everything was so different that you only had so much time to adapt, which I think on my side I managed to do quite well. Obviously, we did expect the new car to be slower, but thankfully it’s faster than the old one. It’s going to be a fun car to drive.” Tsolov’s best lap was nearly a second faster than the official F3 lap record at the circuit, a 1:27.537 set by then–Campos F3 driver Pepe Martí in qualifying in 2023. 

Tsolov’s teammate Mari Boya also impressed throughout the tests, managing three top-five runs throughout the six sessions. Boya is entering the season as the most experienced driver on the grid with 38 races under his belt.

“We didn’t expect a big difference, but what surprised me the most was the tyres,” Boya said. “It’s the only thing we have in contact with the track and it felt a bit different in that side.”

ART Grand Prix’s Laurens van Hoepen, an F3 sophomore, said both teams and drivers would have to alter their approaches heading into the new season.

“In the handling, I think it’s actually way better than I expected. I didn’t have very high expectations, I have to say, but I was really surprised with how good the car was handling and definitely in the high speed mostly,” he said.

“It definitely changes your preparation for a season because it’s just a bit different and you just have to get used to everything. You can’t really say, ’Last year we did this, and now we can do it exactly the same’ because the car is different, so you have to change your approach as well. This doesn’t help when you’re a second-year driver. But still, I’m very confident in the prep we’ve done and I feel very, very confident going into the season as well.”

Additional reporting by Daniele Spadi

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency