Aiming for the Championship in 2025: Noel León on signing for PREMA Racing

Noel León has been confirmed at PREMA Racing for 2025 and the Mexican driver is already anticipating next year could be a momentous one.

After completing his rookie campaign in FIA Formula 3 this past season, León says that he is already focused on what comes next in 2025 as the Championship introduces a brand-new car.

“I’m super, super happy to be signing with PREMA Racing for next year,” he said. “It’s an amazing opportunity for my career and for me. I’m super happy and very thankful to Rene for giving me the chance to race with them. Also, my sponsors to put it all together and to have this opportunity.

“PREMA have been really competitive in Formula 3, and next year is going to be exciting because we have the new era beginning, so I can’t wait for the start of next season.”

The Mexican driver took part in both of the post-season tests with PREMA in Jerez and Barcelona. After a slow start to the first event due to illness, he rebounded to finish the second test with a top 10 laptime across the two days.

He explains that while it was unfortunate to miss out on some running in Jerez, he was satisfied with the early work he and PREMA were able to conduct.

“We did the post-season tests with PREMA, and they were great. They’ve received me really well and it feels like I’ve already had so many years’ experiences with the team. I was super happy and thankful to the engineers, mechanics and everyone at PREMA.

“Jerez was a difficult test for me because I was sick, so it was difficult getting out on track from my side. But then Barcelona was a lot better for me, I was feeling more comfortable in the car and we’ve started our work for next year.

“We need to wait until we arrive in Melbourne to see where we are but at the moment it’s been great and I’m really happy with our work so far.”

León finished 10th in the Drivers’ Championship in 2024, taking four podiums and accumulating 79 points in his rookie campaign.

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It was a particularly impressive second half of the season that launched him up the Standings and into the top 10, as he missed out on points just three times after Round 4 in Monte Carlo.

That level of consistency is a strength he says he’s aiming to build on next year with PREMA, in what he hopes will be a title-contending campaign.

“For me, the second half of the campaign was really strong. We were fighting for podiums, pole positions, everything. The goal now is to fight for the Championship.

“It’s going to be exciting because it’s a new era of Formula 3. That’s going to make it more difficult but to be honest, I’m really, really looking forward to it. I’m working hard with the team already and myself to be in a position to be fight for the title.

“My preparation for last year was really good. I was feeling ready every time I jumped into the car and was competitive in every session. Last season I did a couple of mistakes, lost some points so for sure in my second year, I’m going to try and avoid those moments.

“It’s important to finish every race in the points, we need to avoid mistakes that reduce our points and that could change the approach. But with my preparations, I will be more ready than ever.”

READ MORE: A night on the streets of Monterey: Noel León’s dream race weekend

With the on-track action finished for 2024, León’s attentions have now turned to his winter schedule and plans to maintain race sharpness through the break.

Up first is a second visit to Macau as he aims to round out the 2024 season on a high note before ramping up preparations in the new year.

“I’m doing Macau – last year was a great experience and I want to keep working on my side fitness and mentality-wise to be as prepared as possible for this new challenge.

“It’s a great opportunity in my career and it’s a really important year in my racing career as well. So I need to be as prepared as I can be.”