Charlie Wurz may not have commanded the Formula 3 spotlight in the way his Trident teammate Rafael Câmara did, but the fourth-generation Austrian racer showed growth in a challenging season. Feeder Series caught up with the 19-year-old at the 2025 F3 season finale to discuss his sophomore F3 campaign, the lessons he learned in 2025 and his plans for the future.

By Maciej Jackiewicz

Wurz, the 2022 F4 UAE champion and 2023 FR Oceania champion, made his race debut in F3 machinery at the 2023 FIA F3 World Cup in Macau. Driving for his future F3 team, Jenzer Motorsport, he finished 11th in the qualifying race but retired from the main race after sustaining damage while running sixth.

His rookie F3 campaign in 2024 with Jenzer was more challenging. He was classified in the points only once – at Albert Park, where he finished fifth in the feature race after gaining nine positions.

For 2025, Wurz switched to Trident, the home of 2024 F3 champion Leonardo Fornaroli. The news about his move was made public on 27 September, making him the first driver announced for 2025, but he said he knew about the move ‘halfway through’ the 2024 season.

“We had some strong races, some tougher ones, but we knew the goal was to try and be with Trident for the year after, with a year of learning with Jenzer,” Wurz said. “In the end, [I] was super happy when my parents told me that we’ll be racing for Trident the year after. So it was very cool. And then we already started very early on to work together and try to already make some steps forward and try to fine-tune my driving as early as possible to be as ready as possible for this season.”

Since the beginning of the season, Wurz’s plan was to win the title, but things did not turn out the way he imagined. He scored points in only three out of 10 races in the first half of his F3 campaign, but he did have standout moments, such as qualifying third during the Bahrain round.

“Obviously, everyone’s aim is to win. The goal was for sure to try and be in the top three in the championship,” Wurz said. “If I look back now, I think that was definitely achievable. I just feel like this season – especially at the beginning of the year, the first half – we were very unlucky. Pace-wise, we were always there, but things just didn’t go our way quite a few times, which felt like, ‘I don’t know how it’s possible.’”

The Austrian had chances to get good points across the first part of the year, but not all of them materialised. In the first sprint race of the year at Albert Park, he retired on lap one after making contact with Tim Tramnitz while fighting for sixth. In the feature race on the streets of Monte Carlo, meanwhile, he was unable to avoid Noel Léon’s standing car in Portier, sustaining damage that likewise caused him to retire from sixth place.

The second half of the season went much better for Wurz. He got his first F3 podium in the sprint race at Spa and followed it with another top-three finish at the Hungaroring. 

“In the end now, the last few races have been really strong and I think shown good progression through the championship on my side,” Wurz said. “Even when I make mistakes and stuff – let’s say in qualifying, in races – I’m still able to be in a really good position and still be in the front of the field or on the podium even with not my best performance. So that definitely shows that we’re driving at a high level.”

There were plenty of reasons that Wurz’s performances in the second half of the season improved. One of them was the change in regulations at Spa, where the minimum mass of the car and driver combined was increased by three kilograms to 725 kg. Wurz, one of the field’s tallest drivers, has been battling the minimum mass limit all year.

“For me, that’s one tenth of a second,” Wurz said. “When the F3 field is so tight, one tenth is easily four positions. So it also meant I could eat normally, enjoy eating and not try to minimise my weight too much. That definitely was nice when I found that out.”

Other factors behind his progress, Wurz said, were the support he received from Trident’s engineers and mechanics and the preparation he and his teammates did on the simulator.

“The level of the team is very high and I think that’s where, to be honest, they make the biggest difference,” he explained. “It’s teaching the drivers exactly what to do. And we spend so much time in the factory throughout the year. We spend a lot of time there working on those fine details that maybe can go over your head, but if you keep working on those fine details and find a few hundredths everywhere, it makes quite a big difference.

“So we’ve worked really hard on that, on the sim especially, because we’re limited on testing, so that’s where you have to do a lot of the work. That’s the main thing in general. And just learning from the engineers, from their massive experience. I’ve definitely learned so much from them and that’s where the most has been found.”

Trident’s efforts came to fruition at the Hungaroring, where Rafael Câmara won the drivers’ championship title with one round to go. Wurz backed up his teammate with third- and fourth-place finishes, the latter result coming after a spirited battle with Tuukka Taponen for the final podium spot.

Racing alongside the Brazilian and Noah Strømsted offered Wurz a big opportunity to make progress.

“Before race weekends, you feel like you did a good lap, and even if you’re the fastest, there’s always someone that did a corner maybe a bit better,” he said. “You always have something to chase and something to look at and something to improve, and that helps, I think, everyone in general.

“And then throughout the race weekends, Rafa has been very quick, but also Noah, so it’s definitely helpful to have that data and look at and analyse and overall improve myself as a driver.”

Wurz’s 2026 plans have not yet been made public. He has been variously rumoured to be joining Trident in F2 and heading to single-seater series elsewhere in the world. At the end of September, Wurz was spotted testing with Chip Ganassi Racing at Autobahn Country Club, though a move to Indy NXT is understood not to be on the table.

“On my side, I don’t know at the moment,” he told Feeder Series back in September. “My parents, they want me to focus on Monza, make sure I do a good job. That’s what I’ve been focusing on the whole summer break. The rest is not my problem at the moment… My parents said they’ll tell me after Monza what I’m doing.”

Wurz’s parents – former F1 driver Alexander Wurz and former Benetton F1 press officer Julia Wurz – are two members of a family steeped in motor racing. Charlie’s younger brother is Oscar Wurz, who was at one point rumoured to be joining the F3 grid. The 18-year-old, who won the 2024 F4 CEZ championship, is currently racing in Eurocup-3 with Drivex, and his older brother expects him to stay in the Spanish-based FRegional-level series.

“I think it’s maybe a bit too early to move to F3. I think he’s driving again quite well. But it’s definitely good to learn how to race in a championship like that. And you can make good steps before you will be ready, before you go to F3.”

While the F3 season has ended, neither brother is done racing for 2025. They will share a grid for the first time in their single-seater careers when they compete in the 2025 FIA FR World Cup with Evans GP. The famous race in Macau is scheduled to take place on 16 November. 

Interview by Michael McClure

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency