In the nearly three-month-long break between the Formula 3 rounds at Melbourne and Monaco, F3 held an in-season test at the Red Bull Ring in May. Feeder Series spoke to Taito Kato, Noah Strømsted and Enzo Deligny about the test’s influence and the expected intense weather conditions this weekend. 

By Kaylene Lau

For most of the drivers on the grid, the in-season test at Austria on 20 and 21 May was the first time that the drivers had gotten into a car after an unexpected gap that followed the Melbourne round in March. 

This was the case for Kato, who bounced back after a difficult first day at the in-season test at the Red Bull Ring to finish as the fastest driver overall across the two days. The Japanese driver, who is currently ninth in the standings, set a time of 1:20.297 in the morning session on the second day. Louis Sharp was the second-fastest driver in that session, with Strømsted in third. 

During the in-season test, however, temperatures were significantly lower than they are this weekend. Austria, like much of Europe, is battling a severe heatwave, with temperatures as high as 35ºC that will completely shape the weekend. 

“The car was really good in the testing, so we have really good confidence for this weekend,” Kato told Feeder Series. “But for sure on the track it’s much more different. For example, the temperature is much [higher], like 20 degrees different, I guess. 

“So I think we’re waiting for another story for this weekend. I’m really looking forward to how it evolves during the race weekend, but still… I don’t know how it will go with the tyre degradation, or overtaking parts. So I think let’s see how it goes. We have good confidence with the car. I think performance is really good so far, so I think it’s going to be a good weekend.” 

Kato also noted that taking care of the rear tyres would be much more difficult this weekend. 

Strømsted, like Kato, looked promising at the in-season test. Last year’s sixth-place finisher overall was third fastest overall on both days, with his time on day one being the fastest for the afternoon session. 

However, the Dane has had a more mixed start to his sophomore season in the series. His best finish this year was fourth in the sprint race in Melbourne, and he took home points in both races at Monaco. Having said that, he lost a fourth-place finish  in the Melbourne feature race to a 10-second penalty that dropped him to 23rd, and he also just missed out on points in both races at Barcelona by finishing 11th twice. The Trident driver is currently sitting 15th in the championship, while his teammate Freddie Slater is in fourth. 

“Well, the in-season testing went quite well here, and I think except for Barcelona, the season has been good,” Strømsted reflected. “I mean, the pace has been there. It’s been small mistakes and some unlucky situations. But I still expect we can be fighting at the front here again.” 

Strømsted also noted the significant temperature difference between testing and the conditions in Austria now. 

“I think the testing here was a bit different, it was a lot colder, the temperature,” he added. “But for sure, it has to be quite representative of how the track is and how we need to drive, so just a few things we need to change in the car to make the balance for this weather.”

Deligny shared similar sentiments to Stromsted and Kato. 

“The temperature’s going to be really hot, even more than Barcelona, so I think it’ll make the races quite interesting with the deg.” 

Between Barcelona and Spielberg, the VAR driver spent his weekend off in Monza to support his team in FR Europe in an advisory capacity. F3 will head to Monza later this year in September, with the Italian track hosting the penultimate round of the championship. 

Deligny, who stepped up to F3 this year after finishing third in FR Europe in 2025, said that it was always nice to visit and help the drivers in F4 and FR Europe. 

“I have quite a bit of friends there, so I’m just trying to advise them like when I started on pole last year how it was and just have a good time and see everyone again. I chill around in the paddock, and I’ve already done some coaching in UAE last year,” he said.

“Obviously I like motorsport, so if later I could do some coaching as well, just being around motorsport is definitely something that’s cool for me.” 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency