Off the back of its inaugural winter series, Eurocup-3’s main 2025 season gets underway this weekend at the Red Bull Ring. Feeder Series tells you all that you need to know about the championship’s third season. 

By Seb Tirado

After Maciej Gładysz’s Spanish Winter Championship triumph, MP Motorsport enter the 2025 Eurocup-3 season as the team to beat, with five of the top six drivers in the winter series standings coming from the Dutch outfit. 

Particular drivers to watch will be Gładysz, 2024 Spanish F4 champion Mattia Colnaghi and reigning Asian Le Mans Series champion Valerio Rinicella. 

Colnaghi finished runner-up to Gładysz, taking two wins and two further podiums across the eight-race season. The pair were closely matched throughout the winter series, and the Italian-Argentine driver led the championship up until the penultimate race of the season, in which he finished 24th after an incident with Ernesto Rivera.

Despite missing the opening round of the winter series, Rinicella immediately showed front-running performance. The 18-year-old took pole for and won the first race of the weekend before going on to take two further podiums that weekend, the second of which was from pole.

The only non-MP driver in the top six was Palou Motorsport’s James Egozi. The American driver finished third in the standings with two wins and a podium, including the team’s first victory and pole position. 

Controversy over events during last year’s season finale at Barcelona meant that the championship was only fully decided over three months after the fact. An appeal by Campos Racing over the results of the first race of the weekend meant that MP’s Javier Sagrera was only provisionally crowned champion until the appeal was resolved.

The appeal was accepted in early December by the Appeals and Discipline Committee of the RFEDA, the Spanish motorsport federation, with Campos driver Christian Ho inheriting the drivers’ title as a result. However, this wasn’t made official until earlier this year as MP Motorsport appealed the federation’s decision a week after it was made. This appeal was taken to the FIA International Court of Appeal, which eventually ruled in favour of the federation’s decision in late February.

The calendar 

Whilst the championship continues to have eight rounds of two races, there have been numerous changes to the line-up of circuits. Most notably, the championship will make its first trip to TT Circuit Assen, which welcomes back junior single-seater racing for the first time since 2019. That year, the Formula Regional–level W Series raced at the circuit as part of the support bill for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Monza also returns to the calendar, whilst Circuit Zandvoort and MotorLand Aragón have been removed. 

• Round 1: Red Bull Ring (16–18 May)
• Round 2: Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (6–8 June)
• Round 3: Circuit Paul Ricard (20–22 June)
• Round 4: Autodromo Nazionale Monza (5–6 July)
• Round 5: TT Circuit Assen (8–10 August)
• Round 6: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (4–5 September)
• Round 7: Circuito de Jerez (19–21 September)
• Round 8: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (14–16 November)

The format

One 40-minute practice session will open the weekend before the first 20-minute qualifying session, which sets the grid for race one. Race one will last 30 minutes plus one lap. If the first qualifying session is unable to go ahead, the grid will be formed using the classification of the practice session.

A second 20-minute qualifying session sets the grid for the second race of the weekend, which will also last 30 minutes plus one lap. If the second qualifying session is unable to go ahead, the fastest laps in race one will be used to form the grid.

Both races will award points using the standard FIA points format, with 25 points to the winner down to one point to the 10th-place finisher. For each race, one point will be awarded to the driver with the fastest lap and two points to the polesitter.

As seen in the winter series, drivers competing as a guest driver – now known as a wild card driver – will neither score points nor block the scoring of points by other drivers. This designation will also automatically apply to drivers competing only in the final two rounds of the season.

Where to watch

Every race will be streamed on the Eurocup-3 YouTube channel. Live timing for all sessions will be available on RaceResults and Al Kamel Systems.

Teams and drivers 

MP Motorsport

MP Motorsport won the teams’ title both last year and in the winter series. Their winter series drivers of Andrés Cárdenas (#33), Valerio Rinicella (#55), Mattia Colnaghi (#71) and Emerson Fittipaldi Jr (#77) return for the main season, whilst winter series champion Maciej Gładysz (#7) moves over from satellite team KCL.

Cárdenas finished fourth in the winter series, taking a win at Jerez and two further podiums. Last year, the Peruvian driver, 17 this week, finished 14th in his second year of Spanish F4 with best results of sixth at Jarama and Valencia, having been a title contender in the Formula Winter Series. Cárdenas also represented his nation in the FIA Motorsport Games’ F4 Cup, qualifying fourth for the qualifying race and finishing both that and the main race in second to take home the silver medal.

Rinicella joined the winter series from Portimão onwards. Last year, the Italian driver finished 20th in his main campaign of FR Europe with the team, with best results of sixth at Spielberg and Monza. He also competed in the Macau Grand Prix with MP, finishing 14th in the qualifying race and 11th in the main race. Rinicella also competed in FR Europe’s first round this year in Misano with CL Motorsport, who replaced MP Motorsport in the championship. He finished 20th in race one and retired from race two.

Winter series runner-up Colnaghi took the Spanish F4 title last year with six wins and six further podiums. The 16-year-old also competed in the Macau Grand Prix, retiring from both the qualifying race and the main race.

Fittipaldi Jr finished sixth in the winter series and scored two podiums, one at Jerez and the other at Aragón. Last year, the 18-year-old finished fifth in Eurocup-3 with four podiums.

Gładysz won the winter series with two wins and three further podiums. Last year, the 17-year-old Polish driver finished third in Spanish F4 with three wins and five further podiums. 

KCL by MP Motorsport

KCL by MP Motorsport came third in the winter series teams’ standings and fielded eventual champion Gładysz. For the main season, Alexander Abkhazava (#12) moves over from the main MP squad whilst Juan Cota (#87) joins the team for the first round of his partial Eurocup-3 season as part of a dual campaign with MP Motorsport in Spanish F4.

Abkhazava finished 15th in the winter series with a best result of fourth at Portimão. Last year, the 18-year-old Kazakh-licenced driver finished ninth in Eurocup-3 with Saintéloc Racing, taking a win at Portimão and a podium at Spa. He also competed in the Macau Grand Prix with Saintéloc, finishing 23rd in the qualifying race and ninth in the main race.  

Cota is currently set to compete in three Eurocup-3 rounds this year as part of his dual campaign. The 17-year-old competed in the first two rounds of the winter series with Drivex, scoring a podium at Jerez. He then moved to MP’s F4 squad for the first round of Spanish F4 at Aragón, which also hosted the final round of Eurocup-3’s winter series. Last year, the Spanish driver finished fourth in Spanish F4 with Drivex, taking four wins and four further podiums. He also represented Spain in the Motorsport Games’ F4 Cup and won both the qualifying race and the main race in MP-operated machinery.

Campos Racing

Campos Racing finished second in both the teams’ standings last year and in the winter series this year. In Eurocup-3 in 2024, they also fielded eventual champion Christian Ho, who was crowned three months after the season finale following a lengthy appeals process. For the main season, the Spanish outfit will field three Red Bull juniors in Enzo Tarnvanichkul (#8), Ernesto Rivera (#24) and Jules Caranta (#83).

Tarnvanichkul competed in the second and third rounds of the winter series, replacing Campos F3 driver and fellow Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov. The 16-year-old finished 13th in the standings, bookending his campaign with best results of sixth. Last year, the Thai driver finished 12th in Spanish F4 and scored a podium at Valencia. 

Rivera competed in the final round of the winter series as a guest driver, without being eligible for points, and finished both races in fifth. The 16-year-old Mexican driver finished fifth in Spanish F4 with Campos satellite team Griffin Core last year, with a win at Portimão and a podium at Jarama. 

Caranta competed in all three rounds of the winter series and finished seventh in the standings with a podium at Jerez. The 16-year-old French driver finished third in French F4 last year with four wins and seven further podiums.

Griffin Core by Campos

Griffin Core, Campos’ satellite team, finished fifth in the winter series standings and will continue with their winter series drivers Francisco Macedo (#2), Jesse Carrasquedo (#27) and Kacper Sztuka (#37). 

Macedo finished 23rd in the winter series standings with two best results of 13th at Jerez. In 2024, the Portuguese driver competed in Spanish F4 with Drivex’s satellite team DXR and finished 21st in the standings with a best result of seventh at Valencia. The 17-year-old also represented his nation at the Motorsport Games, though he was black-flagged in both qualifying and the qualifying race for violating track limits five and seven times respectively. He finished 10th in the main race from his starting position of 18th.

Carrasquedo took a single podium at Aragón to finish eighth in the winter series standings. Last year, the 18-year-old Mexican driver joined Campos in Eurocup-3 from the Le Castellet round onwards and finished eighth in the standings, having taken a podium in his second race and a win at Aragón. Before moving to Eurocup-3, he competed in the first four rounds of FR Europe with G4 Racing, achieving a best result of 19th at Hockenheim. 

Sztuka made his competitive debut in FR machinery in the winter series after having skipped the FR level to go directly from F4 to F3 last year. He finished 27th in the F3 standings with MP Motorsport, having taken a single points finish with fifth at Imola. The 19-year-old Polish driver competed in the first two winter series rounds and took a podium in his final race at Portimão. Sztuka also competed in FR Europe’s first round at Misano, where he achieved a best result of 13th in race two.

Palou Motorsport

Palou Motorsport, the eponymous team of reigning IndyCar champion Álex Palou and his father Ramon Palou, finished fourth in the teams’ standings both last year and in the winter series. For the main season, they will continue with their winter series drivers Luciano Morano (#5), Zack Scoular (#6), Isaac Barashi (#26) and James Egozi (#48).

Morano finished 17th in the winter series standings with a single points finish of eighth in race one at Aragón. Last year, the 19-year-old French-American driver finished 25th in the standings with the team, scoring best results of 12th at Portimão and Le Castellet. He also currently competes in the Le Mans Cup’s LMP3 category with Forestier Racing by VPS and sits eighth in the standings with a best result of fourth at Le Castellet.

FR Oceania runner-up Zack Scoular joined the team from the second round onwards after racing in the New Zealand Grand Prix. In the winter series, the 17-year-old Australian driver finished 26th in the standings with a best result of 16th at Portimão. Last year, Scoular finished 15th in his main campaign of British F4 with Xcel Motorsport and scored a podium at the Brands Hatch Indy round.

Barashi finished 24th in the winter standings with three best results of 14th. Last year in Eurocup-3, the 20-year-old British driver finished 20th in the standings with GRS Team, scoring a best finish of eighth at Spielberg.

Egozi’s impressive winter series result means that the American driver could be considered a dark horse for the championship. Last year, the 17-year-old finished sixth in the Spanish F4 standings with three podiums, two of which came at Le Castellet.

Sparco Palou MS

Like MP and Campos, Palou Motorsport entered a new satellite team ahead of the winter series to get around the five-car limit per team. Ádám Hideg scored Sparco Palou MS’ sole points of the winter series in the final race at Aragón, with the team finishing seventh in the standings as a result. For the main season, former Drivex driver Lenny Ried (#3) will replace Hideg, while Alceu Feldmann Neto (#23) will continue with the team into the main season.

Ried, the younger brother of European Le Mans Series competitor and recent F3 tester Jonas Ried, was the highest-placed driver of those who scored no points in the winter series thanks to a best finish of 12th at Jerez. Last year, the 17-year-old German driver finished 27th in Spanish F4 with Monlau Motorsport, with a best result of 12th at Le Castellet.

Feldmann Neto finished 30th and last of the full-time drivers in the standings, scoring two best finishes of 20th. Last year, the Brazilian driver competed in the Porsche Cup Brasil Endurance Challenge, in which he won both the sport and rookie classes. The 17-year-old also competed in four rounds of Brazilian F4 last year with Bassani Racing and Cavaleiro Sports, with a best result of sixth at Buenos Aires. He scored his first Brazilian F4 podium at Interlagos earlier this month in race two of the season opener, which he left sixth in the championship.

Drivex

Drivex finished last in the 2024 teams’ standings and sixth in the winter series, and there has already been some turbulence around their 2025 line-up. In addition to losing Cota and Ried, Drivex are currently not expected to have team stalwart Victoria Blokhina, who is not set to return to Eurocup-3 after withdrawing following the first round of the winter series.

The team will continue with their other winter series drivers Oscar Wurz (#11) and Preston Lambert (#25), whilst Wiktor Dobrzański (#21) joins Drivex’s Eurocup-3 squad after having competed with Tecnicar in Spanish F4’s winter series and in the first two rounds of the main season. Alessandro Famularo (#4) also makes his return to racing for the first time since 2022.

Wurz finished 14th in the winter series, with a best result of fourth at Portimão. Last year, the 17-year-old Austrian driver won the F4 CEZ Championship, scoring two wins and 12 further podiums in the process. While representing his nation in the Motorsport Games, Wurz qualified 15th for the qualifying race and finished 11th, but he retired from the main race after an opening-lap collision with Japan’s Tosei Moriyama. 

Lambert scored four points from a best finish of ninth at Aragón because of Rivera’s guest driver status. The 18-year-old American driver was 18th in the standings as a result. Last year, he competed in Spanish F4 with Rodin Motorsport and finished 32nd in the standings with a best result of 14th at Jarama. Lambert missed that season’s Valencia and Jerez rounds because of funding issues but later returned to the racetrack as a guest driver for Drivex in Eurocup-3 at Barcelona.

Dobrzański, 18, finished 25th in the winter series standings with a best result of 13th at Portimão and is currently 29th in the Spanish F4 standings with a best result of 17th at Navarra. Last year, the Polish driver finished 38th in Spanish F4 with a best result of 18th at Le Castellet.

Famularo last drove at the FR level in 2021 when he competed in five rounds of FR Europe with G4 Racing, scoring two best results of 18th at Barcelona and Le Castellet. His last participation in a single-seater weekend was with Charouz Racing System at Formula 3’s 2022 season finale at Monza, where he finished 23rd in both races.

Saintéloc Racing

Saintéloc Racing finished third in the teams’ standings last year with a podium at Spa and a win for Abkhazava at Portimão. In the winter series, however, the French outfit finished eighth in the standings with just a single point scored. The team enter the main season with a two-car line-up of Lorenzo Castillo (#10) and Garrett Berry (#18).

Castillo finished 25th in the winter series standings with three best results of 15th. Last year, the Mexican driver raced in the majority of the Spanish F4 season with Tecnicar before switching to Saintéloc ahead of the final round. He finished 35th in the standings with a best result of 16th at Jerez.

Berry scored the team’s sole point in his only appearance in the winter series. The 21-year-old American driver finished 10th in the final race at Portimão and 20th overall in the standings. Last year, the American driver finished 21st in the standings, with his sole points finish being a ninth place at Portimão.

GRS Team

Whilst GRS Team fielded a three-car line-up in Eurocup-3 last year en route to fifth in the teams’ standings, they entered only a single car for the winter series. Cristian Cantú drove for the team in the first two rounds before Yani Stevenheydens (#74) replaced him for the final round and scored the team’s only point in the final race at Aragón. 

Stevenheydens was set to compete in Spanish F4 with MP Motorsport after finishing 13th in the Eurocup-4 winter series standings with a win at Navarra. With the arrival of Cota to the team, however, the 19-year-old ultimately signed with GRS Team to compete in Eurocup-3. Last year, the Belgian driver finished as the runner-up in French F4 with four wins and eight further podiums.

Allay Racing

Allay Racing have joined the Eurocup-3 grid for 2025 and began their year by racing in the winter series. Fielding Swedish entrepreneurs and brothers Linus Hellberg (#43) and Emil Hellberg (#46), the team finished 10th and last in the standings. Both drivers will remain with the team in the main season.

In the winter series, 37-year-old Linus and 48-year-old Emil finished 28th and 27th in the standings respectively, with three best results of 18th for the former and two best results of 17th for the latter. Last year, they both competed in the final three rounds as guest drivers with DXR by Drivex. Their best results were 14th and 15th respectively, both at Aragón. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency