Van Hoepen ‘happy’ and ‘excited’ to be back with ART for 2025 Formula 3 season

Laurens van Hoepen is delighted to be back for a second season of Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix, with the Dutchman already dreaming of getting his hands on the all-new car in 2025.

The 19-year-old enjoyed a strong debut campaign in the Championship, achieving three podium finishes and one Pole Position on his way to finishing 13th in the Standings with 58 points.

He now returns for a second go round not only in F3 but also with ART and talking through his decision, van Hoepen explained why staying with the French outfit made sense.

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“It feels good,” said van Hoepen on returning for a second season. “I am very much very looking forward to starting the season again. We had a good season last year and definitely some good pace for us to take into next year.

“I just think we have built a good relationship with the team, so I am just really happy and excited to get back out there and start the 2025 season.

“We realised that we had such a good pace platform, and we are really happy with the team, so that's one of the main reasons to keep going with ART and also to do another year with ART.

“We have definitely learned so much and it's almost time to do that work all over again and put everything that we have learned into action.”

A big part of why van Hoepen is so excited about 2025 is the new car, jokingly admitting that he already “dreams” about going racing with it at the opening round in Melbourne.

He is also enthusiastic about the chance to develop a new car from scratch with the ART engineers, with whom he has formed a great relationship.

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But the Dutchman is also looking to improve on his own performance as from his point of view, 2024 was a season of two halves.

All three of his podiums came in the first four rounds of the year, and while he did finish in the points several times throughout the campaign, he feels he left a lot on the table given his pace.

He explained: “If I look at the 2024 season, the first half of the season the speed was good and I was still in the top 12, but it was not as good at the end of the season yet I still maximised the points I could get in the beginning of the season.

“Whereas towards the end of the season I think I was one of the quickest drivers out there, but the results and points didn't really go my way.

“So, for me, one of the key points for next year is to keep being this quick but then make sure we get the points on the board and stay consistent for the whole year.”

2025 will not only change in the car for van Hoepen but also off it, as the dynamic within ART is expected to be different for him.

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As a rookie, he raced alongside second year drivers Christian Mansell and Nikola Tsolov but next season he will be the experienced member of the team with newcomers James Wharton and Tuukka Taponen forming their lineup.

Van Hoepen and Wharton have previously been teammates in karting and when talking about the team’s new lineup, the Dutch driver admits he is excited by his change of status within the group.

“Of course, it's nice to be a rookie but I think I am very much looking forward to being the experienced guy in the team and sort of leading the way in some sense,” said van Hoepen.

“Of course, it's nice to have two good teammates coming from FRECA, they both finished second and third in the Championship, so I think just for the whole team it's a good to have a line-up like that.

“But with the new car coming, you also need all the good experience from the older drivers to make sure you develop this car really well and I am looking forward to that.”

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Van Hoepen was speaking after finishing up the first part of a karting competition back home. He revealed that jumping back into a kart is part of his preparations for the upcoming season, as he looks to keep in shape both physically and mentally.

“First point, it's mental, not to go crazy because like I said, I am in a karting race this weekend, just because I want to go out there and drive a car, or anything that races,” he said.

“So, I think I am just going to try and stay busy with everything, go to the sim, speak with the team but also, doing other forms of racing like karting for example which I enjoy very much.”