Formula 3 back on track in Sakhir for pre-season testing

The FIA Formula 3 Championship returns with the first burst of on-track action of the year with three-days of pre-season testing in Sakhir, Bahrain. Venue for Round 1 of the 2023 campaign, the test will be hugely valuable for the teams and drivers as they look to establish some early-season confidence. Each will be looking to get up to speed as quickly as possible ahead of the competitive racing getting underway.

There are plenty of rookies joining the Championship as well as some familiar faces returning for 2023. Each will be getting their first bit of track time in the F3 cars ahead of what is sure to be a compelling 9-round, 18-race season.

WHAT TO EXPECT

From February 14-16, the Formula 3 grid will be conducting pre-season testing around the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain. F3 will get a morning and afternoon session on each of the three days, with morning running lasting from 09:00-11:30, and the afternoon session going from 14:30-17:00 local time.

Teams will have access to the hard Pirelli compound tyres across all three days, the same compound of tyre that will be used during the race weekend in March. Each driver will be handed a total of eight sets of the Hard tyres for the duration of the three-day test.

THE FIELD

29 drivers have been confirmed of the 30 that are set to compete across the 2023 campaign, and there are plenty of drivers to keep an eye on. 17 rookies will be going up against 12 returning names as things stand, all looking to make a fast start against their rivals.

Williams Academy talent Zak O’Sullivan has switched to PREMA Racing for his second F3 campaign. He will be driving alongside Paul Aron and 2022 Formula Regional European Champion, Dino Beganovic.

Fellow Williams junior Franco Colapinto has moved to MP Motorsport for the ’23 campaign, while Jonny Edgar joins him from Trident. Both are partnered by new arrival Mari Boya. Elsewhere, Caio Collet has taken up a seat at Van Amersfoort Racing, Pepe Martí returns with Campos and Ido Cohen has swapped back to Rodin Carlin for 2023. Sophia Flörsch is back in FIA F3 for the first time since 2020, driving for PHM Racing by Charouz in their first season in the Championship.

WHERE TO FOLLOW

Pre-season testing from Sakhir will be covered on the official FIA F3 website with end-of-day reports following the chequered flag on each of the three days, along with driver reactions. You can follow each session as it happens via live timing.

FIA FORMULA 3 PRE-SEASON TESTING ENTRY LIST