FIA Formula 3 Returns To Action With Pre-Season Testing In Spielberg

The FIA Formula 3 Championship hits the track tomorrow following a dramatic closing round of the 2020 season, which saw Oscar Piastri crowned Champion at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. The action resumes this Saturday at the Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, as the field gears up for a seven-round, 21 race season which introduces a three-race weekend format, brand new for the 2021 season.

One of three official pre-season tests, the two days of track time in Austria will give teams and drivers the opportunity to prepare ahead of the first three races of the 2021 campaign, which will take place at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, on 7 – 9 May.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Running from Saturday, 3 April to Sunday, 4 April, the two days of testing at the Red Bull Ring will be spilt into a morning and afternoon session with a total of 12 hours of track time available across the weekend.

The morning session on both days will run from 9am until 12pm (local time). The afternoon testing window on Saturday will open at 2pm and run until 5pm (local time) while on Sunday the session will start at 1pm and finish at 4pm. Teams will be testing their cars on Pirelli’s medium compound with each driver assigned six sets tyres for the test.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Reigning Formula 3 Champions PREMA Racing head into the new season with an all-new line-up for 2021. Red Bull Junior Dennis Hauger switches to the Italian outfit after a rookie season with Hitech Grand Prix, while Ollie Cadwell makes the move from Trident. Ferrari apprentice Arthur Leclerc makes his F3 debut after a successful campaign in the Formula Regional European Championship with PREMA that saw him finish 2020 Vice-Champion.

Trident also boast a brand-new trio of drivers this year with Jack Doohan switching to the Italian outfit after a rookie season with HWA RACELAB. Clément Novalak and David Schumacher also both make the move to Trident after gaining valuable on-track experience in their debut Formula 3 seasons with Carlin and Charouz Racing System, respectively.

ART Grand Prix re-sign Alexandr Smolyar for 2021, while Mercedes Junior Driver and three-time F3 race-winner Frederik Vesti makes the move from PREMA. The pair are joined at the French outfit by Juan Manuel Correa, who makes his inspirational return to single-seater racing after the tragic F2 accident in 2019 which saw him suffer serious injuries.

A duo of Red Bull Juniors, Jak Crawford and Ayumu Iwasa, join Hitech Grand Prix for their debut Formula 3 season, both making the step-up from regional F4 Championships. Czech Roman Stanek also joins the British team after a rookie in F3 season with Charouz Racing System in 2020.

Formula 3 podium finisher Matteo Nannini switches Jenzer Motorsport for HWA RACELAB for the 2021 season. The Italian, who is also racing in Formula 2 with the German team this season, picked up a point in his F2 debut in Bahrain last weekend. The young Italian is joined at the German outfit by rookies Oliver Rasmussen and Rafael Villagomez.

Alpine Academy driver and 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup Champion Victor Martins makes his F3 debut at MP Motorsport. The Frenchman is joined by Formula Renault Vice-Champion and academy mate Caio Collet, and Dutch driver Tijmen Van der Helm, who also competed in Formula Renault last year.

Campos Racing will also see an all-rookie line-up in 2021 in László Tóth, Lorenzo Colombo and Amaury Cordeel. All three drivers will get behind the wheel of a Campos for the first time tomorrow after making the step-up to the second tier of junior motorsport from Formula Renault Eurocup.

Red Bull Junior Jonny Edgar joins Carlin for his debut Formula 3 season, after being crowned ADAC F4 Germany Champion in 2020. The Brit is joined at the UK-based outfit by BRDC British Formula 3 Champion Kaylen Frederick, and Euroformula Open graduate Ido Cohen.

Jenzer Motorsport’s Calan Williams returns for a second season with the Swiss team. The Australian driver is joined by F3 Asian Championship Vice-Champion Pierre-Louis Chovet, and Italian Formula 4 race winner Filip Ugran.

Reshad de Gerus returns to Charouz Racing System after getting behind the wheel of an F3 car for the first time with the team at the official 2020 post-season test at Jerez. The Frenchman is joined at this week’s tests by Logan Sargeant, who finished third in the 2020 Formula 3 Championship, and Michael Belov who raced for the team in the final three races of last season.

FIA FORMULA 3 SPIELBERG POST-SEASON TESTING ENTRY LIST