Eight things to look forward to in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season

The 2026 FIA Formula 3 campaign is a few days away from getting underway in Melbourne, with the Albert Park street circuit action set to kick off a special 10 rounds of racing.

We are set to have a fascinating year of racing, filled with many storylines. So to help you all know what to look out for, we have put together a list of things to keep an eye on this season.

YEAR TWO OF THE NEW CAR

This time in 2025, the teams were preparing to race with the new Formula 3 for the first time in Melbourne, having had three days of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

One year later the teams have had 10 rounds and 20 races of experience with these cars, and will definitely have a better understanding of how to extract the performance from them.

Like we saw last year in Formula 2, the second year brings closer competition, and we saw at the back end of last season, that the F3 teams who had struggled for performance at the start had improved a lot by the end.

Expect that to continue in 2026, because if pre-season testing is anything to go by, the competition between all 10 teams will be close.

CAN CAMPOS GO BACK-TO-BACK

A new car brought with it a new name Champion, as Campos Racing made history in 2025, sealing the Teams’ title at the final race of the season in Monza.

The Spanish team did not get off to the best of starts, but were in scintillating form in the second half of the campaign – winning four races and taking five podiums in the last five rounds.

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There were also the only team to have all their drivers in the top 10 of the Standings – with Nikola Tsolov in second, Mari Boya third and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in seventh.

This year they bring Ugo Ugochukwu, Théophile Nael and Ernesto Rivera – who will be replaced by Patrick Heuzenroeder in Melbourne as he recovers from a back injury. Can this trio help them go back-to-back.

TRIDENT GOING FOR FOUR

While Campos won the Teams’ title, they did not win the Drivers’ Championship, that was TRIDENT – who won the crown for the third season in a row.

Rafael Câmara followed in the footsteps of Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriel Bortoleto by winning the title in 2025, seeing TRIDENT equal their Italian rivals PREMA Racing in having made three champions.

But can they make it a record fourth in a row this year? Well, one of their three drivers, Noah Stromsted, Freddie Slater and Matteo De Palo, will certainly be hoping so.

A NEW VENUE TO ATTEND

Formula 3 is set to visit Madrid for the first time ever this season, with the Spanish capital set to play host to the final round of the 2026 campaign.

The Madring will see 30 drivers and their cars take to the circuit on September 11-13, where if history is anything to go by, we could see both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship being contested.

Could we see history being made in the Spanish city?

ALL THE DIFFERENT FANS

Madrid will bring us new set of fans this year, but we can expect to see a lot of countries and regions represented on the grid in 2026.

We are set to see the Sri Lankan colours in F3 this year, with Yevan David becoming the first driver from the country to race in the Championship.

In addition to that, we will see 19 other countries on the grid this year, with countries such as Argentina, Thailand, New Zealand and many others represented across the 10 rounds.

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ROOKIE VS RETURNEES

While there is no substitute for experience and it is incredibly useful in Formula 3, having it does not mean you a guaranteed to win the Drivers’ Championship.

In the previous seven seasons, four rookies have won the title compared to three returning drivers. So what will we get this year?

There are 16 rookies who hope it is them, while there are 14 returnees hoping to use their knowledge from previous years to come out top. It is a fascinating battle.

A CHANCE OF A NEW CHAMPION

Campos became the third team after PREMA and TRIDENT to win the Teams’ title, but could there be a fourth this year?

MP Motorsport, ART Grand Prix, AIX Racing, Rodin Motorsport, DAMS Lucas Oil, Hitech and Van Amersfoort Racing have all retooled over the winter, with their eyes set on joining that list.

Additionally, TRIDENT, PREMA and ART are the only teams to have produced Drivers’ Champions, but could that also be about to change in 2026?

MORE RECORDS TO BE BROKEN

Last season we saw several records be broken when it came to wins, podiums, and poles, so could we see more history be made in 2026?

For example, last year we had first time winners from Poland, Thailand and Portugal, and there will be drivers on the current grid looking to make history for their own countries this year.

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In 2025, 21 drivers stood on the podium, tying the record from the previous season. With competition set to be even closer this year, could that number be bettered?

We also had Câmara and Tsolov make history when it came to Qualifying and wins, so who else will etch their name into F3 history?