With F3 teams steadily announcing their drivers for the 2026 season, the grid for Formula 3’s eighth season took shape at an unprecedented rate, with the majority of the grid already confirmed before the first test in October. Feeder Series breaks down everything you need to know about the 2026 F3 driver market.

By Tori Turner and Daniele Spadi

Twenty-four out of 30 drivers who will feature on the 2026 grid have already been announced, with frontrunners at the FRegional level such as Freddie Slater and Matteo De Palo securing their seats early on. Alongside new faces, returning drivers such as Noah Strømsted, Théophile Naël, Alessandro Giusti and Tuukka Taponen have already signed contracts.

Recently, the championship has also introduced a €1 million prize fund that would be split between the top five drivers graduating to F2 in the following year. The champion or highest-finishing driver moving to F2 is set to receive €300,000 euros, with the prize lowered by €50,000 for the next four eligible drivers. This initiative offsets the cost of an F2 seat and offers a stronger financial incentive for drivers to fight for position.

Post-season testing is due to take place throughout October, with the teams taking to the track on three different circuits as opposed to last year’s two. The first test will take place on 7 and 8 October at Jerez before the paddock moves to Barcelona on 15 and 16 October. Finally, they will head to Italy for the third test at Imola on 21 and 22 October.

Seats on the 2026 grid have been announced at an unprecedented rate, and in no prior season of F3 has four-fifths of the grid been known one month after the season finale. By this point last year, 32 days after the season finale, only three drivers had been announced, while the first driver for the 2024 grid was announced 45 days after the season finale. The early finalising of contracts, more robust long-term planning among drivers and the desire to get ahead of rumours are all possible factors in the growing rush to confirm seats.

Campos Racing

Campos won their first teams’ championship in any iteration of F3 this season, clinching the title by 11 points at the final round in Monza. All three drivers in their line-up, each with prior F3 experience, finished in the top 10 of the championship, though the Spanish outfit is set to shake things up in 2026 by adding one rookie alongside two returnees.

Théophile Naël has been confirmed as a Campos driver for his second season in F3 after competing with Van Amersfoort Racing for his rookie season in 2025. The Frenchman placed eighth in the standings with 72 points, securing three feature race podiums in Melbourne, Barcelona and Silverstone. Naël was also linked with the Red Bull Junior Team, though that rumour has quieted for now.

Also switching teams for 2026, Ugo Ugochukwu is leaving Prema for Campos after competing in eight championships with the Italian team since the start of his single-seater career in 2022. He most recently finished the 2025 F3 season 16th in the standings with two podiums and 43 points, scoring the most of any Prema driver after a tough year for the five-time teams’ champions. Whether he will continue as a McLaren junior is uncertain.

Red Bull junior Ernesto Rivera will continue his partnership with Campos for his rookie season in F3, having competed with the team this season in Eurocup-3 and previously in the Formula Winter Series and Spanish F4.

Kanato Le, racing with ART for his second year in FRegional, was understood to be in the running for a seat, but that did not materialise as he found a spot elsewhere on the grid.

Campos’ 2025 drivers are all expected to move up to F2 for 2026. Runner-up Nikola Tsolov is confirmed at the Spanish team for his rookie season in F2. Third-placed Mari Boya suggested that his time with Campos was over, though F2 remains the expected destination for both him and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

Trident 

The Italian team secured their third consecutive drivers’ title this season when rookie Rafael Câmara won the championship with one round to go in Hungary. Once more, they narrowly missed out on the teams’ championship but took five wins and a further five podium finishes.

Noah Strømsted, 18, will return for his sophomore season with Trident after finishing sixth with 84 points in his rookie season. The Danish driver scored his maiden victory in Belgium’s sprint race, having previously finished on the podium twice earlier in the season at Melbourne and Imola. He is believed to be splitting from the Mercedes Junior Team.

Alongside him, Trident will field two hotshot rookies and title rivals separated by four points at the top of FR Europe’s standings. One is Freddie Slater, the current championship leader, who stood on the podium on his debut in the series in Bahrain with AIX Racing before making another appearance in Spa with Hitech.

Slater’s FR Europe title rival, Matteo De Palo, has been the Italian team’s most successful driver in the series by far, scoring four wins and 259 of the team’s 282 points so far. He will continue to race for Trident for a second consecutive year in 2026.

Reigning F3 champion Câmara is set to move to Invicta Racing, one of F2’s top teams, in a bid to win both championships back to back. Charlie Wurz, who unlocked his potential to score two podiums in the closing stages of the season, is looking to find a seat elsewhere on the 2026 F3 grid. 

MP Motorsport

The Dutch team secured their joint-best teams’ championship result in 2025, finishing third overall with 177 points, one win and five additional podiums. Tim Tramnitz took their only race win of the season in the Imola sprint race.

Williams junior Alessandro Giusti, 19, is confirmed to stay with MP for his second season in F3 after scoring consecutive podiums in Barcelona and Austria this season. The Frenchman finished 10th in the championship standings with 67 points. 

Argentine driver Mattia Colnaghi has also been announced to race with the Dutch team for his rookie season, having competed with them for the entirety of his single-seater career. The Red Bull junior secured the 2025 Eurocup-3 title with a round to spare and currently has 256 points, five wins and a further five podiums. He also took the 2024 Spanish F4 title with the team.

The third seat will be filled by Finnish driver Tuukka Taponen, who raced with ART Grand Prix for his rookie season in 2025. The Ferrari junior finished ninth with 67 points and three podiums. 

MP’s most successful driver of both 2024 and 2025, Tim Tramnitz, is expected to make the step up to F2 for 2026. Though he is looking to stay with the Dutch outfit for his maiden F2 campaign, he has also been linked to the seat at Campos alongside Tsolov.

ART Grand Prix

The French team had a small step back in performance for 2025, scoring only one sprint race victory and finishing fourth in the standings as opposed to last year’s result of third.

Maciej Gładysz, 17, is joining ART’s 2026 lineup after testing with the team in Barcelona. The Polish driver has raced only with MP Motorsport for the entirety of his single-seater career and won the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship earlier this season with them.

Eighteen-year-old Kanato Le will join Gładysz for his maiden F3 campaign. The Japanese driver, who started racing full-time with the team this year after joining them for the 2024 Macau Grand Prix, took a win in FR Middle East on his way to eighth in the standings, and he currently sits in 14th in FR Europe with one round to go.

Honda protégé Taito Kato, the 2024 French F4 champion, is likely to stay with ART as he steps up from FR to F3. The 17-year-old raced with the team in FR Middle East earlier this season and currently sits ninth in FR Europe.

As for the 2025 lineup, Taponen and James Wharton are switching teams but staying in F3, while Laurens Van Hoepen is set to move up to F2.

Van Amersfoort Racing

Van Amersfoort Racing improved from seventh to fifth in the teams’ standings, notching three wins in the first half of the season as well as their first 1-2 in the series at Barcelona in the sprint.

Jesse Carrasquedo was confirmed as the team’s first driver on 23 September for his first full-time campaign in the series after stepping in for two rounds with Hitech this season. The 18-year-old scored no points in his F3 stint, though he sits fifth in the standings with 135 points in Eurocup-3, in which he races for Campos.

FR Europe driver Hiyu Yamakoshi has been called up to F3 in 2026 for his fourth year associated with the team. The Japanese driver – who excelled in Italian F4 last year, finishing third – currently sits eighth in the FR Europe standings with two podiums to his name.

Alongside two rookies, VAR will complete their line-up with a returning driver, as Bruno Del Pino has left MP Motorsport after three years together to join the other Dutch outfit on the 2026 F3 grid. The 19-year-old scored a sprint race podium in his rookie campaign.

Originally, Ivan Domingues was expected to stay with the team for a second consecutive year in F3, but a difficult end to the season and six retirements from 19 starts left him demoralised. Naël is moving to Campos, while Santiago Ramos’ future looks uncertain for now after budget issues forced him to miss the 2025 season finale.

Rodin Motorsport

Rodin Motorsport took their best finish in the teams’ standings, ending up sixth with 128 points, but their results fell below expectations given the line-up’s promise. For 2026, an all-new trio has been selected, with two returning drivers and a rookie.

Brando Badoer will switch to Rodin after a tough first season in F3 with Prema that yielded only 13 points and 25th in the standings. The Italian has enjoyed stronger results in the past, finishing fifth in FR Europe in 2024 and sixth in Italian F4 the year before with VAR, but his lacklustre F3 campaign may also have cost him his spot in McLaren’s junior programme.

Christian Ho will join Badoer for his second full season in F3. The Singaporean, 19 later this month, finished his rookie year as DAMS’ highest-placed driver in 2025 in the team’s maiden F3 campaign.

Rounding out Rodin’s 2026 line-up is Pedro Clerot. The 2022 Brazilian F4 champion has excelled in FR Europe in the past two seasons, finishing eighth in his rookie campaign last year and currently sitting in fourth with two wins in 2025.

Before Clerot signed with the team, several drivers were linked with the British outfit to fill their third seat. Louis Sharp looked to stay on for a second F3 campaign before changing course, while newly crowned GB3 champion Alex Ninovic was also rumored to make the step up with the team that had backed him throughout his single-seater career.

The other two drivers who competed with Rodin in the 2025 F3 season will leave the team. Roman Bilinski is set to step up to F2. Callum Voisin had been looking to do the same, though he was among the finalists of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior Programme on Wednesday and could be lining up a move to sports car racing instead.

Prema Racing

After years of dominant performances, Prema Racing suffered an uncharacteristically tough season in 2025. The Italian giant finished seventh in the teams’ standings, their worst result since the series’ rebranding in 2019, and failed to win a race for the first season in F3 – ultimately scoring a total of 92 points, with four podiums and one fastest lap.

To change the narrative in 2026, Prema are swapping their entire line-up. James Wharton is expected to wear Prema’s colours once again, having done so from 2022 to 2024 in F4 and FR. Last year’s FR Europe runner-up enjoyed a troublesome maiden F3 season with ART, finishing 18th with 25 points and a sprint race win at the Red Bull Ring.

Stepping up from FR Europe to join him will be former Red Bull junior Enzo Deligny. The Frenchman currently sits in third in FR Europe with 233 points with one round to go, collecting four wins and five further podium finishes with R-ace GP.

The third seat is yet to be filled, though several names have been rumoured to take it. The most persistent rumour is that Louis Sharp, who is testing with the team in Jerez, will join the Italian outfit after his maiden F3 season with Rodin Motorsport, in which he took fourth in the sprint at Imola.

Charlie Wurz, who raced for Prema in 2022, has also been linked to the Italian team after prior F3 seasons at Jenzer Motorsport and Trident. Others in the conversation previously were 2025 DAMS F3 driver Nicola Lacorte, who raced for Prema in 2023 in F4; Lacorte’s DAMS teammate Ho; 2025 Hitech driver Gerrard Xie; and Rashid Al Dhaheri, who is spending his maiden FR Europe season with the Italian team and is expected to return there next year.

The team’s entire 2025 line-up is therefore expected to leave, with Ugochukwu and Badoer moving to other teams and Noel León appearing set to make the step up to F2 next year.

Hitech

The British team faced difficulties in 2025, falling from fifth in the 2024 standings to eighth overall. They fielded six drivers, among whom Martinius Stenshorne contributed all but one of the team’s points as well as both of their wins.

With Stenshorne moving to Rodin’s F2 team, Hitech are looking for a new lead driver. That will be Toyota junior Jin Nakamura, 19, whose primary backer is a naming partner of Hitech. He currently sits 10th in FR Europe with R-ace GP, having also finished 10th in the FR Middle East standings over the winter. 

Alongside him, South Korean driver Michael Shin will rejoin Hitech after previously racing with them in GB3 in 2023. The 21-year-old, who had already competed in the last three rounds of the 2023 F3 season with PHM Racing, is currently fighting for drivers’ title in Euroformula Open, sitting second in the standings with a 23-point gap to close and three races to go.

Fionn McLaughlin will complete Hitech’s line-up in 2026, making his F3 debut. Though the 17-year-old has graduated from karting at the start of this year, he has excelled in his maiden season in single-seaters, finishing third in FWS and later taking home the title in British F4 with Hitech. He is also part of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Both 2025 driver Xie and Nikita Johnson, who competed with the British team for six F3 races this season as well as in GB3, were linked to full-time seats for 2026, but both are going elsewhere. Xie is set to remain on the grid, while Johnson announced in late September that he would be returning to the American racing circuit to compete in Indy NXT with Cape Motorsports. He has also missed the most recent GB3 round.

AIX Racing

AIX Racing fielded eight different drivers throughout the 2025 season – the most of any team on the grid – but scored 52 points and matched their 2024 result of ninth in the teams’ standings. Despite all the changes this year, they were the first team to confirm their complete 2026 lineup.

American driver Brad Benavides is returning for a third season in F3, continuing an association with AIX stretching back to his ill-fated 2023 F2 campaign. He joined the team two rounds into the championship, claiming two pole positions and scoring 18 points to finish 20th. At 24 years old, he is likely to be the oldest driver on the grid in 2026.

At the end of August, Fernando Barrichello, 20, was announced to join the team for the season finale in Monza and the 2026 season. The younger son of former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello currently sits sixth in the Euroformula Open standings with 188 points.

Also stepping up from that championship is Yevan David, who will become the first Sri Lankan driver to compete in F3 next season. The 18-year-old is provisionally third in Euroformula Open with one round to go, having scored five wins and a further seven podiums. 

Nicola Marinangeli, the only driver to have completed all 10 rounds with the team, has not yet confirmed his racing plans for 2026. 

DAMS

DAMS entered the 2025 season as the new team on the grid, but they fared no better than predecessors Jenzer Motorsport did in 2024 and finished last in the standings. They are the only team not to have officially confirmed at least two drivers.

Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi, 19, is believed to have signed with the French team for his rookie season in F3. The Thai driver is currently competing in FR Europe in which he sits 16th in the standings with 20 points and a best finish of fifth.

Gerrard Xie, who raced for Hitech in 2025, could potentially make the switch over to the French team for a second season in F3, and he, like Bhirombhakdi, appeared in a private test at Barcelona last week. The 19-year-old Chinese driver scored one point throughout the 2025 season.

Recent rumours suggest that Nicola Lacorte could stay on with the team for a second season as he searches for a seat on the 2026 grid, though his spot is believed to be less secure than Bhirombhakdi’s or Xie’s.

As for Lacorte’s teammates, only Ho’s future is decided, and he will drive for Rodin. Matías Zagazeta confirmed that he was leaving F3 with a switch to endurance racing likely for 2026.

Date	Driver	Team
8 August 2025	Yevan David	AIX Racing
20 August 2025	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport
29 August 2025	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing
9 September 2025	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport
11 September 2025	Freddie Slater	Trident
12 September 2025	Brad Benavides	AIX Racing
23 September 2025	Matteo De Palo	Trident
23 September 2025	Jesse Carrasquedo	Van Amersfoort Racing
25 September 2025	Théophile Naël	Campos Racing
25 September 2025	Brando Badoer	Rodin Motorsport
26 September 2025	Hiyu Yamakoshi	Van Amersfoort Racing
26 September 2025	Noah Stromsted	Trident
29 September 2025	Christian Ho	Rodin
30 September 2025	Jin Nakamura	Hitech
30 September 2025	Ernesto Rivera	Campos Racing
30 September 2025	Bruno del Pino	Van Amersfoort Racing
1 October 2025	Enzo Deligny	Prema Racing
1 October 2025	Michael Shin	Hitech
2 October 2025	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport
2 October 2025	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos Racing
6 October 2025	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech
6 October 2025	Maciej Gładysz	ART Grand Prix
6 October 2025	Pedro Clerot	Rodin Motorsport
7 October 2025	Kanato Le	ART Grand Prix
14 October 2025	James Wharton	Prema Racing
15 October 2025	Louis Sharp	Prema Racing
27 October 2025	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS
11 November 2025	Taito Kato	ART Grand Prix
16 December 2025	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency