Prema Racing has been a staple of junior single-seater racing for decades, but a tumultuous, trying 12 months on and off track has left them far adrift of being the dominant force in Formula 3. Ahead of the opening round of the 2026 F3 season, Feeder Series spoke to three of their former drivers about how their time with the Italian outfit in the lower categories shaped them today.

By Daniele Spadi

A heritage like Prema’s is rare in junior single-seater motorsport. Founded in 1983 by Angelo Rosin and Giorgio Piccolo, what was once a small, family-led outfit has now become a staple of racing, winning in every junior category in which they have raced – from karting all the way up to F2.

But 2025 was by far the biggest challenge Prema have faced in recent times. After years of dominance in F3, winning three drivers’ championships and five teams’ titles from 2019 to 2024, the Italian giant tumbled to seventh position at the end of last season. The team struggled to get up to speed with the new Dallara F3 2025 car and managed four podiums in their first winless season in the series.

The start of 2026 wasn’t the easiest either. In January, the entire Rosin family – consisting of team founder Angelo Rosin; his wife, Grazia Troncon; his son, team principal René Rosin; and his daughter-in-law, communications manager Angelina Ertsou – abruptly resigned. The team’s longtime technical director, Guillaume Capietto, followed in their footsteps shortly after.

Though their F2, F3 and IndyCar campaigns proved disappointing, the team enjoyed some success in lower categories last year, taking home both the drivers’ and teams’ titles across Italian F4, F1 Academy and E4. Earlier this year, their affiliate team Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited clinched the teams’ title in FRegional Middle East for the second year running asKean Nakamura-Berta won the drivers’ title.

The Italian outfit have seen plenty of champions come through their ranks, with Freddie Slater being among the most prominent recent examples. The 17-year-old, who had already dazzled on his way to the Italian F4 crown with the team back in 2024, took home the FRegional Europe title last year in Prema’s colours after an intense fight with Matteo De Palo.

After two successful years with the team, the Briton – who is now part of the Audi Driver Development Programme – has switched to another Italian stable in 2026, joining Trident alongside De Palo. The Milan-based team have produced F3’s three most recent drivers’ champions, and Slater will rely on what he learned at Prema in his quest to become Trident’s fourth champion in a row.

“To start my journey with a team like Prema in Formula 4 and Formula Regional is a very special thing,” Slater told Feeder Series at a media roundtable ahead of the F3 season opener in Melbourne.

“A team like that has so much history and knowledge. That helped me massively because I got to learn so much from drivers of previous generations, and also from very experienced engineers, and obviously René and everyone involved. I just learned a lot in my early days of cars. It was a very enjoyable time for myself and I really enjoyed working with them.”

Another title-winning former Prema driver from recent years is Ugo Ugochukwu. The American was the first Euro 4 champion back in 2023 while also becoming the Italian F4 runner-up the same year.

The 18-year-old raced for the Italian outfit since then too, moving up the ranks from FR Europe in 2024 to a full-time F3 campaign last year. After Prema’s trying start to 2025, the former McLaren junior was their beacon of hope in the second half of the season, as a livery change and the subsequent weight loss it offered enabled him to find his form and score two sprint race podiums.

For his second F3 season, Ugochukwu has joined Campos Racing, the outfit that has taken the teams’ crown away from Prema. It’s a change of scenery that comes after years of shared progress with the Italian team.

“In [my] first few years in single-seaters, I definitely learned a lot that season with them,” Ugochukwu told Feeder Series. “[2023] was a good year as well. [I] definitely learned some stuff that really helped me through the rest of my career.”

Ferrari junior Tuukka Taponen was one of Ugochukwu’s teammates and rivals in 2023, finishing as the F4 UAE runner-up with Mumbai Falcons and coming in fifth in both Italian F4 and Euro 4 with the main team.

Taponen has not raced for Prema since that year. He spent the entirety of 2024 with R-ace GP, winning the drivers’ title in FR Middle East and finishing third in FR Europe, then stepped up to F3 last year with ART Grand Prix, taking three podiums en route to ninth. As the Finn gears up for his sophomore season in F3 with MP Motorsport, he reflected on the impact of Prema’s educational approach.

“It’s a very legendary team,” he said. “They have had a very strong career all the time they have been on track. It’s quite nice that I have been able to build a strong platform on my early days of my single-seater career. They teach you very well, so you can keep that momentum when you carry on your career.”

Prema, now led by Australian engineer Stephen Mitas, field James Wharton, Louis Sharp and José Garfias in F3 this year. Wharton was teammates with Taponen and Ugochukwu back in 2023, with current DAMS F3 driver Nicola Lacorte and F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad also a member of their F4 line-up that year.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency