Trident racing driver Rafael Camara was victorious in the opening Feature Race of the 2025 Formula 3 season as heavy rain brought the race to a premature end.

On Lap 18, the red flag was waved after successive laps behind the Safety Car, as the stewards announced the Feature Race would not resume due to the weather.

Therefore, Camara would come back into the pits as the race winner in Melbourne, ahead of his team-mate, Noah Stromsted, to make it a one-two for Trident.

Theophile Nael rounded off the podium places for Van Amersfoort Racing.

VAR’s Santiago Ramos kicked off the 2025 F3 season with victory in an incident-packed Sprint Race as the Safety Car was called into action twice.

Heading into the Feature Race, James Wharton was handed a five-place grid penalty after receiving a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision in the Sprint.

As he failed to finish the race, the time penalty was converted into a grid drop for the following race.

Lining up from pole position was Camara, after he set the fastest lap time during Friday’s qualifying session.

How the first F3 Feature Race of the year unfolded

An unfamiliar sight on the streets of Melbourne, the rain came pouring down onto the track.

The stewards announced minutes before lights out that the formation lap would begin behind the Safety Car, with all drivers set to start the race on the wet-weather tyres.

After four formation laps, a rolling start ensued as Camara made an excellent start, pulling out a sizeable gap to his team-mate as the 30 drivers attempted to navigate the tricky conditions.

With the top 10 remaining unchanged on Lap 1, the Safety Car was brought out once again.

Nikola Tsolov, in the Campos Racing car, squeezed Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin into the wall, with the pair making contact.

Both drivers were left stranded on the grass after the collision, unable to continue.

After the cars were recovered, the racing resumed on Lap 5, as Camara once again nailed the start to continue leading the Feature race.

Heading into Lap 6, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in the Campos applied heavy pressure to Trident’s Charlie Wurz in sixth place.

By Lap 7, the Brazillian racing driver had pulled out a two-second gap to Stromsted in second place.

On the following lap, Hitech’s Martinius Stenshorne made a late lunge on Prema Racing driver Ugochukwu into Turn 3 to snatch eighth place.

Many drivers struggled to keep the cars on the track as the rain continued to fall down onto the circuit.

On Lap 9, Rodin’s Roman Bilinski barged past Ugo Ugochukwu to move up into ninth place.

The Polish driver battled hard with Stenshorne and Inthraphuvasak for seventh place.

Two laps later, Matias Zagazeta tagged Alessandro Giusti in the MP Motorsport car heading into Turn 13, and the DAMS Lucas Oil competitor received a 10-second time penalty for his actions.

For the second time, the Safety Car was called into action after an incident on Lap 14.

DAMS’ Christian Ho crashed after losing control of his car between Turn 6 and 7, before he was sent careering into the wall.

As a result, Camara lost his significant lead over Stromsted as heavy rain began to fall.

The Safety Car remained on track until Lap 18, when the red flag was eventually shown due to the excessive standing water on the track.

Soon after, the stewards announced that the race would not be resumed as Camara clinched his maiden victory in F3.

The required laps had been completed, meaning full points were to be rewarded.

Trident secured a one-two after Stromsted finished second, ahead of Nael in third place.

Nikita Bedrin finished in fourth, Tim Tramnitz in fifth, and Wurz sixth.

Inthraphuvasak ended the race in seventh, Stenshorne eighth, Bilinski in ninth, and Ugochukwu was the last of the point-scorers in 10th.

With victory at Albert Park, Camara has settled into an early championship lead, ahead of Nael in second and Stromsted in third.

Looking at the Teams’ Championship, Trident have made a good start, residing in first place with VAR in second and AIX Racing in third.

READ MORE: Santiago Ramos wins Melbourne F3 Sprint under Safety Car

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Santiago Ramos won the opening Formula 3 race of 2025, in an incident-packed race which ended under the Safety Car.

The Van Amersfoort Racing driver led from pole position and held off the challenge of Hitech’s Martinius Stenshorne to claim victory, as a frantic battle for victory truncated by the Safety Car appearing after a shunt between Javiar Sagrera and Bruno Del Pinto.

Rodin’s Roman Bilinski took third in his first-ever F3 race, with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak fourth for Campos.

Magias Zagazeta fifth in his DAMS Lucas Oil, with AIX’s Nikita Bedrin sixth, followed by Ramos’ team-mate Theophile Nael in seventh.

Nikola Tsolov was eighth, with Britain’s Callum Voisin ninth, and Noel Leon 10th.

How the first F3 race of 2025 unfolded

At lights out, Ramos held on to his lead despite Zagazeta’s fast start. At Turn 2, Bilinski got up to third, as Charlie Wurz found himself in problems, and off onto the grass into Turn 5, the Austrian having touched Tim Tramnitz and coming off worse and immediately parking on the run off.

As Ramos opened-up a big gap already, a bottleneck appeared on the exit of Turn 13, with Stenshorne having moving from fifth to first in two corners, with Inthraphuvasak outbreaking himself. Behind, Josh Dufek and Louis Sharp touched, sending both men in for repairs.

A virtual safety car was signalled and after going green a lap later, there would be further chaos at the same corner to trigger a full Safety Car this time around.

James Wharton appeared to enter the corner a bit too deep, and in turn, touched Rafael Camara and Laurens Van Hoepen, the latter two out on the spot, with Wharton able to return to the pits but would go no further.

As Dufek was given a time penalty for his role in the incident with Sharp, Tramnitz seemed to be out, crawling to a halt in his MP Motorsport on the pit entrance, but then got going again, drove through the pit lane and back onto the circuit, but now in last.

With the race now in the eighth lap and still under the Safety Car, Tramnitz’s problems finally appeared to condemn him to retirement, coasting around and managing to bring his stricken car back to the pits.

The Safety Car would return to the pits at the start of Lap 9, and Ramos timed his restart perfectly, opening a half-second lead into the lap, with Bedrin and Nael jostling for sixth, giving the top five a chance to pull ahead.

Noel Leon made his way into the top 10, as Ugo Ugochukwu, who had started fifth, finding himself struggling to gain any momentum, as he would slip down the pecking order to 13th, having dropped five places on the first lap alone.

Now at half-distance, Ramos was now ahead by nearly a second, but with DRS now open, Stenshorne’s Hitech was suddenly all over the back of the Ramos’ Van Amersfoort, but the Mexican would keep himself ahead.

The top five were well clear of the rest, with Inthraphuvasak, Zagazeta and Bilinski keeping tabs on the Ramos-Stenshorne battle.

Lap 13, and Ramos was beginning to feel the heat from Stenshorne, going deep into T13 as he defended, but just stayed ahead of the Norwegian and continued to do so even when he tried to sell a dummy into T3 on the next lap.

Inthraphuvasak took Zagazeta for fourth, as the status quo remained at the front, but Bilinski was now the only one of the rest of the top five to keep himself close to Ramos and Stenshorne, and was beginning to sniff at victory himself.

Just as the rhythm seemed to be unerring, the Safety Car was back out, as two Spaniards in the shape of Sagrera and Del Pinto coming together, the former’s AIX in the gravel at T6, and the latter’s MP nose-first in the barrier, the pair seemingly having tangled into the braking zone.

The Safety Car’s appearance was welcome news for Ramos, as gravel strewn over the track at the exit of T7 needing to be cleared by marshals, frantically sweeping it back into the run-off area.

With the Safety Car’s lights staying on at the end of Lap 19, it meant that the final lap was now going to be run under it, ensuring Ramos would take the win in the first F3 action of the year.

The top of the grid will now be reverted back to the fastest time taking pole for the feature, with Rafael Camara starting from first.

READ MORE – Rafael Camara takes maiden F3 pole position for season opener in Australia

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The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent Rafael Camara set the fastest time in Formula 3 qualifying to clinch pole position at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.

Trident secured a front-row lockout with Noah Stromsted finishing in second and Theophile Nael in the Van Amersfoort Racing car qualified in third.

His team-mate Santiago Ramos finished 12th to secure pole position for the Sprint Race on Saturday.

The 2025 F3 season kicked off with Free Practice earlier as Camara set the fastest time ahead of the other 29 drivers.

This year signifies the beginning of a new era for the junior category, featuring a newly designed car to enhance driver development while prioritising affordability, safety, and sustainability.

In collaboration with Aramco, 2025 will also see the introduction of a 100% advanced sustainable fuel to be used throughout the championship.

Pirelli have brought larger 16-inch tyres for the upcoming season, aimed at helping the young stars learn to manage tyres in advance for Formula 2 and Formula 1.

This season, 13 drivers return after a full-length campaign in 2024, with MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz being the highest-ranked driver from last year after finishing ninth in the Drivers’ Standings.

With plenty of rookies on the grid, a 30-minute session ensued to set the grid for both the Sprint Race and the Feature Race.

Roman Bilinski in the Rodin Motorsport car set the early pace with a 1:36.125s before Stromsted went 0.227s quicker to top the timing sheets early on.

Nikita Bedrin, who only found out he would be competing in the first round a week before the season opener, went fastest with a 1:35.873 for the AIX Racing team.

Campos’ Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Prema racing driver Ugo Ugochukwu went third and fourth, respectively, in the opening stages of qualifying.

Frenchman Nael went quickest with a lap time of 1:35.566s.

With just over 10 minutes to go, none of the three MP Motorsport drivers had set a representative lap time, which included Tramnitz.

The German racing driver set a 1:35.825s to take himself into the top five before Camara went over half a second quicker than Nael to take provisional pole with a 1:34.999s.

Stromsted matched the Brazillian with a fastest sector one but could only place his car in second, 0.129s off pole.

Charlie Wurz for Trident set a lap time good enough for sixth place with a lap time of 1:35.839s.

Prema’s Brando Badoer, coming out on Turn 1, lost the rear of the car on the astro turf, sending him spinning into the barrier and bringing out the red flag with just over five minutes to go.

With the session brought to a halt, there were notable absences from the top 10 included Laurens Van Hoepen in the ART Grand Prix car down in 17th and Campos’ Mari Boya all the way down in 24th.

As the session resumed, Nael suffered a huge blow as his team informed him that the cooler had been left on the car as he tried to limp back towards the pits.

Christian Ho brought out another red flag as he came to a stop in the DAMS Lucas Oil car with just over 2 minutes left in the session.

However, the stewards announced that qualifying would not be resumed as Camara followed up on his earlier pace in practice to take pole position for the Feature Race.

Stromsted finished second ahead of Nael in third after his late incident in the session did not prove costly.

Bedrin secured fourth, Tramnitz in fifth in front of Wurz in sixth place.

Inthraphuvasak ended in seventh place ahead of Ugochukwu in eighth.

Martinius Stenshorne qualified in ninth for Hitech, and Bilinski rounded off the top ten with Ramos securing reverse-grid pole for the Sprint Race.

READ MORE: F1 releases behind the scenes documentary on 2025 rookies

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Formula 1 has released a behind-the-scenes 50-minute documentary on F1TV for fans to discover the journey of the 2025 rookies through the single-seater pyramid.

Titled ‘Rookies,’ the documentary charts the progression through FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 of the five newbies joining the F1 grid this season.

Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (who is reigning F2 Champion and the 2023 F3 title-winner), Racing Bulls Isack Hadjar (2024 F2 vice-champion), Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli are the stars of the documentary.

‘Rookies’ takes fans behind the scenes of these young stars’ extraordinary journeys, compiled with never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews and insight from FIA Formula 2/ FIA Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel.

WATCH THE TRAILER

“I’m incredibly proud to see the progression of the 2025 Formula 1 rookies from our F3 and F2 Championships, where they have been prepared for the highest level of motorsport,” said Michel.

“They have all fought exceptionally hard for their positions on the F1 grid, and it is testament to their commitment, to the level of preparation provided by our Championships and to the support of the F2 and F3 teams, that they have reached the pinnacle of motorsport.

“I wish Gabriel, Isack, Oliver, Andrea, and Jack the very best for the future.” 

WATCH ROOKIES ON F1TV

Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights and Content Creation at Formula 1, added: “This year is truly unprecedented as we welcome five new drivers from Formula 2 to the Formula 1 grid.

“I am delighted that we can share the story of their careers so far as they prepare to take the step up to the pinnacle of motorsport,” Holmes continued.

“The drive, determination, and passion of these five rookies are a testament not only to their own talent but also to the F3 and F2 Championships, their junior teams, and their supporters.

“I can’t wait to see them line up on the grid in Melbourne.”

READ MORE – Why are F1 rookies Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto so prepared to step up?

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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has claimed that Max Verstappen proved who the “real champion” in Formula 1 is with his comeback win at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Verstappen rose to the occasion in treacherous conditions in Brazil as he stormed through from 18th place on the grid to move a step nearer to claiming a fourth title.

The Dutchman’s return to the podium’s top step for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix in June coincided with nearest rival Lando Norris slipping to sixth place.

Norris had lined up on pole position, but multiple mistakes contributed to the plight down the order that has all but ended his slim championship chances this season.

Verstappen’s eighth win of this campaign extended his lead to 62 points with three rounds remaining, meaning he can retain his crown next time around in Las Vegas.

Marko believes that Verstappen’s faultless showing at Interlagos compared with Norris’ error-strewn outing highlighted the level between the top two in the standings.

“All this nonsense that has been spread and then this,” Marko told De Telegraaf. “Max was flying. He was faultless and we couldn’t say that about Lando Norris.

“Whether this is a giant step towards the title? No, I think this is the title. Here you could see who the real champion is.”

Marko reveals bet on Verstappen comeback

Marko’s confidence in Verstappen’s prowess in the wet even saw him make a bet with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase that Red Bull would be celebrating a podium.

However, the reigning F1 champion even surpassed Marko’s prediction as a well-timed stoppage helped him to seize the lead on Lap 43 and register a 19-second win.

“With Max’s race engineer I had bet that Max would get on the podium,” the Austrian added. “GP didn’t think so.

“We had put $100 on it. But I said only a podium and no victory. Max always wants to do better again.”

Ecclestone lauds Verstappen success

Meanwhile, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner divulged that ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone called him to voice his admiration towards Verstappen’s exploits.

Asked whether Verstappen is the greatest F1 has seen, Horner told media including Motorsport Week: “I think it’s difficult to make those calls about generation to generation.

“Bernie rang me after the race and said, I’ve seen all the greats, but that’s one of the very best I’ve ever seen.

“He’s a bit older than I am and has seen a bit more, so high credit from someone like him.”

READ MORE – Red Bull: Max Verstappen ‘answered critics’ with Brazil F1 win

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The FIA has revealed the identity of the 10 teams that will participate in the Formula 3 championship over the next three years as the feeder looks set to deliver more blockbuster racing.

F3 will once again have a 30-car grid from 2025 to 2027, with each team fielding three cars at all rounds, providing opportunities for younger drivers to impress.

9 of the 10 teams remain in the category, including Trident, following their Drivers’ Championship win with Leonardo Fornaroli and Prema, who once again took the Teams’ Championship.

A new name will arrive in the series next year, with DAMS making its debut, giving the team representation in F3 and F2 as it replaces outgoing Jenzer Motorsport.

In a statement, FIA Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel highlighted the pedigree of the teams and wished Jenzer Motorsport well as it embarks on its new ventures next season.

“For the next three-year cycle, we have retained nine of our current teams. Their level of professionalism and expertise guarantee the best preparation for the young drivers who aspire to progress to the highest levels of motorsport.

“To complete the grid, we welcome DAMS to the list of selected teams. We know them very well from the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Their pedigree and level of performance make them the perfect addition to the F3 field,” he said.

“Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Andreas Jenzer and everyone at Jenzer Motorsport for their commitment to Formula 3 since the beginning of the category. They have left their mark in the Championship, and I completely respect their decision to focus now on new challenges.” he concluded.

A new car for a new era

The first round of the new F3 season begins in March 2025, supporting the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, with a new Dallara car making its much-anticipated debut after its shakedown at Varano last month.

A new engine built by Mecachrome will also debut, with teams hoping for better reliability after various issues plagued the series in the last few seasons.

The teams selected for the 2025-2027 FIA Formula 3 Championship seasons

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Announcements of new FIA Formula 3 drivers are coming thick and fast as two days of testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain now already underway.

Alongside recent confirmations of young talents such as Ugo Ugochukwu, Louis Sharp and Brando Badoer joining 2025’s F3 grid, there are also a number of other newcomers who are planting their feet firmly on next rung up on the motorsport ladder.

Noah Stromsted

Danish teenager Stromsted has been signed by Trident for what will be his fifth season in single-seater racing. A serial podium-finisher, Stromsted is currently competing in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, in which has taken four top-three finishes to leave him in sixth place in the Drivers’ standings, with just two rounds remaining.

Stromsted has also competed in one F3 weekend already, appearing for Campos Racing at Monza.

Upon his signing, Stromsted said: “I am very happy to join Trident for my debut season in the 2025 FIA Formula 3.

“Their success the past years speaks for itself, I will work very hard to be competitive since the beginning of the season and help the team as much as possible with the development of the new car.

“I would like to thank Trident for their trust and giving me this opportunity, and of course my sponsors, family, coach and management for making this happen.”

Gerrard Xie

Hitech Pulse-Eight have secured the signature of Chinese youngster Xie, who is a proven race-winner in his three years of car racing.

After a dominant debut year in Chinese F4, taking the title with 13 wins from 14, he also won the Formula Renault Super Challenge and finished second in the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

His last two years have been spent with Hitech in the GB3 Championship, winning one race in each season.

Xie said he was “thrilled to be making the step up to FIA Formula 3, and to be doing so with Hitech.”

Tuukka Taponen

Finnish driver Taponen is joining ART and will be another graduate from FRECA, with four victories in the series already under his belt.

It is only his second year in single-seaters, the first seeing him finish runner-up in the Formula 4 UAE Championship.

The Ferrari Academy driver has also had a taste of F3, racing in the Spa weekend this August. An “excited” Taponen said: “They already showed interest in me in the summer, giving me the opportunity to participate in last season’s FIA F3 Spa competition. The team immediately impressed me both on and off the track and it felt like coming home.

“ART GP has a long and successful history and I want to be a part of it in the future. ART GP is a familiar team to us Finns. For example, Valtteri Bottas won the championship with ART GP team before moving up to the Formula 1 series.”

Rafael Camara

Camara is the most successful FRECA graduate, having already sewn-up the title with six wins and a further four podiums. The Brazilian will join Trident, alongside Stromsted.

Another Ferrari Academy driver, Camara finished second in the F4 UAE title in 2022 and third in both Italian F4 and ADAC F4 in the same year.

A confident Camara said: “I’m very happy to join Trident, it is such a great Team and it’s very nice to be part of it.

“I can’t wait to start working with everyone and see what we can achieve together. Of course the expectations are high, I think next year we will for sure be targeting to fight for the championship.

Drivers retained for 2025

Amongst the fresher faces are ones a little more familiar, who will be competing in Formula 3 again for another year.

Trident complete its line-up with Austrian Charlie Wurz, son of former Le Mans winner and F1 driver Alexander. The half-British youngster has been lured from Jenner Motorsport, where he spent his debut year.

Campos has retained Spaniard Mari Boya after a second season in F3, in which he took victory in the Barcelona Sprint, in-front of his and his team’s home fans, having made his F3 debut with MP Motorsport the year previously.

Boya will be joined by Thai racer Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, who joins from AIX Racing, his best result coming in Hungary, where he finished second in the Sprint Race.

ART have retained Laurens van Hoepen, the Dutchman impressing with one pole position and a hat-trick of podiums.

Another retention comes from Hitech, who have re-signed McLaren Development driver Martinius Stenshorne. The Norwegian took a debut victory in the Sprint in Melbourne – only his third F3 race.

Stenshorne and Tsolov among fastest in testing

Stenshorne has already set the pace in the first day of testing, setting the fastest time ahead of Boya in yesterday’s afternoon session.

GB3 runner-up John Bennett was third fastest driving a Van Amersfoort, with its sister car driven by Jesse Carrasquedo fourth.

Van Hoepen was fifth, with Joshua Dufek sixth for Hitech. Christian Ho was seventh for Jenzer, Inthraphuvasak eighth, Roman Billinski ninth for Rodin and Stromsted rounding-up the top 10.

Day two saw Nikola Tsolov fastest for Campos, with Boya second once again. Stenshorne continues his good form with third, ahead of Stromsted, Ugochukwu, Inthraphuvasak and Wurz.

Dufek was eighth, with Freddie Slater ninth for Rodin, and Ho in 10th.

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Motorsport Week spoke with Leonardo Fornaroli after his dramatic FIA Formula 3 World Championship win to discuss what the future holds for the Italian.

Picture it, Trident’s Fornaroli entered the final few corners of the F3 season in fourth place, tucked right behind Christian Mansell. Prema’s Gabriele Mini was running in second. Without the future knowledge that Mini would later be disqualified, the watching Tifosi knew only that the leading Italian driver was about to take the third-tier championship title.

That was until Fornaroli lunged to the inside of Mansell at the Parabolica corner, snatching third and with it the F3 title.

“I knew I had to overtake Chris [Mansell] in front of me to win the championship,” Fornaroli explained to Motorsport Monday. “Going to the last corner, a lot of things went through my mind. The image of me losing the championship, and I said, ‘okay, this cannot be possible, I cannot lose the championship like this, I have to invent something.’ I just prayed that they were not going to cover the inside in the last corner, then just before the breaking point they both went back. So I said, ‘this is my time, all or nothing.’ I launched it completely on the inside, luckily Chris saw me in the mirror, so it was very fair and correct to leave the space on the inside. I think there was maximum respect between each other, so I managed to take the podium and the title in the last corner. Winning the championship like this, it’s even more special, because taking it in the last corner is something you can’t describe.”

READ MORE: Leonardo Fornaroli snatches F3 title at final corner as Meguetounif takes Monza Feature win

Winning the F3 title at Monza a ‘special’ moment for Leonardo Fornaroli

It was a Hollywood moment for Fornaroli, and his crowning glory was made all the sweeter for the young Italian with it taking place at Monza. An Italian driver, winning the title for an Italian team, at the Temple of Speed…

“It’s my home track, it’s the track closest to my house,” he acknowledged. “It’s special for me, because I had my first podium in Formula 4 and first front-row start, and the support from the home crowd is amazing. Last year was amazing too, but this year was even more so, the race in front of them was super cool, and all my family was there to support me, so it was a special weekend for me. When I took pole position and when I finished race two, I saw all the people on the grandstands cheering for me, and yeah, it was amazing.”

Fornaroli’s jubilation was in stark contrast to the dejection of Prema’s Mini. Mini and Fornaroli fought for the title all season long, but the latter revealed their longstanding friendship meant the battle was built on respect.

“Outside the circuit, I have a very good relationship with Gabriele,” Fornaroli revealed. “We were teammates in karting back in 2016, then until two years ago, we were training together, sleeping together in the same room, and also now we are playing together on the computer, on the simulator, almost every evening. We are very good friends outside the track, but inside, of course, we are rivals, but every time I raced with him, we had always maximum respect. Of course, I’d race him because we were fighting for a world championship, so both of us did the maximum to finish in front of the other, but always taking in mind that we couldn’t do any bad moves to each other.”

Leonardo Fornaroli unfazed by lack of F3 race wins

Close friends fighting to the last breath on track isn’t the only thing that makes the 2024 F3 title battle unique. Remarkably, Fornaroli won the Championship without taking a single race victory. Instead, the Trident driver finished every race, finished outside the top 10 on just two occasions and took seven podiums. A consistent campaign was the winning formula for Fornaroli, who holds little regret over failing to reach the top step of a Formula 3 podium.

“Now that I won the championship, of course, I don’t care if I didn’t win any races,” he said. “The key goal of this season was to be always in the top five, top 10, trying to score as many points as possible in every race without doing any bad mistakes. Also watching [Gabriel] Bortoleto’s season of last year, he won the first two races, then he limited himself to stay always in the top five, top 10 and always scoring points. He won the championship with quite a lot of gap, so I said, ‘okay, I have to do like him.’ I think we managed to do it quite well. We finished only two Sprint races outside the points. Even if we didn’t take any wins, we managed to take the championship.”

READ MORE: F3 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli lands 2025 Invicta Racing F2 seat

Jumping into Formula 2

Just like Bortoleto, Fornaroli is jumping from an F3 title run to a FIA Formula 2 rookie campaign with Invicta Racing. Bortoleto is on course to win the title with the Invicta outfit and Fornaroli couldn’t be happier to be following the same path.

“For me, it’s amazing to be with them next year,” Fornaroli said. “Jumping from a top team in F3 to a top team in F2 is the best thing for me. Also, watching what Gabriel is doing, he spoke very well about the team. I also spent some time already with the team and I’m feeling absolutely amazing with them. When there is time to be funny, they’re funny, but when there is time to be serious, they’re very serious. It’s an amazing team and I can’t wait to work with them next year.”

Fornaroli will have to wait some time for his F2 racing debut and he had to watch on as his F3 rivals Mini, Mansell and Luke Browning all got the chance to compete at Baku in September. With Oliver Bearman stepping up in place of Kevin Magnussen at Haas for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Prema called upon Mini to deputise and he impressed, finishing third on debut. Mansell has replaced Roman Stanek for the remainder of the F2 season at Trident and he scored two top 10 results in Azerbaijan. Browning, meanwhile, has filled the vacancy left by fellow Williams Academy driver Zak O’Sullivan at ART Grand Prix and finished seventh in the Baku Feature Race.

Leonardo Fornaroli looks ahead to 2025

Fornaroli will join in on the F2 fun next year along with another talented F3 graduate in Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad, who has signed with Campos for 2025. The new F3 champion is among a talented crop of drivers graduating to the next level.

“I think [F2] will be like a second Formula 3 championship,” Fornaroli said. “But to race with them, it’s absolutely fun for me. I think it will be another good experience because they’re very good drivers. They gave me a hard time this year and I can’t wait to fight with them again next year. It was very interesting to see Gabriele, Christian and Luke race [in Baku] because all three had basically no experience and it was their first time in Baku. I have to say they surprised me because I think they did very well, especially in the races. I think it will be a hard challenge next year, but as I said, I can’t wait again to be back on track.

“I said congratulations to all three and Gabriele told me that the car is a bit more difficult to drive, tyre management is completely different and the approach to the race is also very different.”

With his rivals getting a head start in F2, Fornaroli is focused on his preparations.

“We have six days of testing before the race in Melbourne,” he explained. “It’s not so much, but I will give my best to get a good result and I will prepare for next season by training as much as I can. I’ll also spend some time with the engineers and with the whole team to try and prepare for next year as well as possible.”

Fornaroli has perhaps sealed one of the most memorable F3 titles in recent years and he, along with his rivals, is well poised to go on to greater success in 2025.

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Brando Badoer has joined McLaren’s Driver Development Programme, conjoined with signing for Prema Racing for next season’s Formula 3 championship.

The 18-year-old has impressed the Woking outfit after a year’s evaluation and has exercised its option to sign Badoer permanently, joining the likes of former alumni Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Nyck de Vries.

Badoer also sees his relationship with Prema continue into F3 for next year after impressing in this season’s Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine with the Italian squad.

With two rounds of the FRECA series left, Badoer currently sits fifth in the standings after a string of impressive drives, including a run of six podiums in succession.

In a statement released by McLaren, Badoer said: “I am excited to join the McLaren Driver Development programme. It’s a fantastic opportunity to join a team with such a great racing heritage and a proven record for developing talent.

“Competing in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing will help continue my progression and I’d like to thank the whole team at McLaren for their support. I can’t wait to learn from the team’s guidance and get racing in the team’s iconic colours.”

In Prema’s statement, Team Principal Rene Rosin said: “Brando is a very interesting prospect, and we are delighted to give him an opportunity for 2025.

“We have kept an eye on him because we noticed his potential from F4 to FRECA, and we saw him make an impressive step this season.

“Formula 3 will be challenging, as it usually is, but he has the right attitude to quickly gel with the team and series.”

Badoer is following in the footsteps of his father Luca, who raced sporadically in Formula 1 between 1993 and 2009, driving for teams including Minardi and Forti, as well as a long and successful spell as a test driver for Ferrari.

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Rodin Motorsport has announced GB3 Champion Louis Sharp will drive for the team in the FIA Formula 3 championship in 2025.

The British-born New Zealander graduates to F3 after a successful GB3 campaign in which he won five races, with a further five podiums, taking the title at the final round at Brands Hatch last weekend.

Sharp had previously won the British F4 title with Rodin Carlin in 2022, and joins esteemed company such as Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell and Lando Norris who enjoyed relationships with the manufacturer in their junior years.

In a statement, Sharp said: “I’m obviously excited to be making the next step up to FIA Formula 4 – even more so as I’m back with Rodin Motorsport which has been such an important factor in all my successes to date.

“Though I’m still coming to terms with what I’ve achieve winning back-to-back titles, I’m already starting to concentrate on what’s ahead.

“I’m really looking forward to be racing alongside Grands Prix in 2026 and will do everything I can to maintain my current momentum.

“I’m now looking forward to starting my F3 preparations later this month in Spain and confident both the team and I will be ready hen the lights go out in Australia.”

Rodin owner David Dicker said that Sharp “has been such an exciting young talent to watch develop over the years” and was “looking forward to seeing him back out on track.”

Sharp also received praise from the F3 Team Manager Sam Waple, who said: “Having the new chassis will provide a level playing field for the rookies and Louis has shown throughout his British F4 and GB3 campaigns how quickly he adapt to new cars and tracks.

“We are really looking forward to working with Louis once again.”

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