Feature
Road to 100: Shwartzman and PREMA become F3’s first Champions
2024 will be the sixth season of FIA Formula 3 Championship racing and we are hurtling towards the 100th race, set to take place in Barcelona in the Feature Race.
In anticipation of the milestone, we are looking back through the years from the inaugural campaign and starting point for the Championship in 2019 right through to the latest talents making their names in the FIA pyramid.
With just one finish outside of the top five and one other non-score as a result of a DNF, Robert Shwartzman was the first Drivers’ Champion. Alongside his teammates Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala they fired PREMA Racing to the Teams’ Standings. So, here is how the 2019 campaign unfolded.
THE EARLY ROUNDS
2019 kicked off with Barcelona, and PREMA set the tone for the season right away as Shwartzman earned the year’s first Pole Position. He initially lost P1 at the start to ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard, who held the lead and crossed the line first.
A post-race penalty though handed victory to Shwartzman, and his teammate Armstrong rounded out the podium in third. PREMA’s Daruvala was the first Race 2 winner of 2019, ensuring it was a clean sweep for the Italian outfit in Round 1.
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Next up was a trip to Paul Ricard for Round 2, and it was a familiar theme as PREMA Racing swept both races, but Jake Hughes earned a first Pole with HWA Racelab ahead of Daruvala and Shwartzman. Race 2 was the Shwartzman show, as he rose through the order from seventh on the grid to earn victory – his second in four races. It was a repeat podium from the race before, with Pedro Piquet finishing second this time while Daruvala earned third.
Spielberg was the first race weekend that didn’t feature a PREMA driver on the top step, as Hughes made up for his Paul Ricard disappointment to earn victory around the Red Bull Ring. The HWA driver won out in a four-car battle for the win, leading home the PREMAs of Daruvala and Shwartzman in Race 2.
MIDSEASON
After earning his maiden F3 win in Race 1 back at the Red Bull Ring, Juri Vips Vips was on pole in Silverstone, taking the top spot by just under a tenth from Armstrong with Daruvala third. The Estonian wouldn’t be denied in Race 1 either, leading the entirety of the way and showing his defensive prowess to keep Daruvala at bay. The Indian driver’s P2 finish lifted him into the lead of the Championship while victory lifted Vips up to third heading into Race 2.
It was two weekends without a win for PREMA as this time, Leonardo Puccini secured Race 2 victory as Hitech swept their home race weekend at Silverstone. The Italian won from fifth on the grid, escaping far enough up the road to keep Shwartzman at bay, while Liam Lawson rounded out the podium for MP Motorsport.
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The fifth round of the season was Shwartzman’s worst, with a P5 at Race 1 in Budapest as good as things got for the PREMA driver, while Lungaard let from lights-to-flag.
Armstrong’s victory in Race 2 was even more emphatic as he won by 12.6s over Puccini and Hughes. His teammate Shwartzman was forced to retire however after sustaining damage mid-race. This meant his 20-point lead prior to the race was now cut to 12 with Vips in second heading into Round 6.
THE FINAL ROUNDS
Daruvala earned his first Pole of the season, almost a quarter of a second clear of anyone else to take top honours in Qualifying. In Race 1, Pedro Piquet was the next ‘first’ winning his maiden F3 race in an action-filled 17-lap affair. PREMA locked out the remaining spots on the podium with Shwartzman second ahead of Polesitter Daruvala in P3.
Armstrong claimed back-to-back Race 2 wins following his Budapest success, while PREMA were uncatchable on 400 points in the Teams’ Championship, courtesy of Shwartzman completing the podium in third. It was the Italian outfit’s first F3 title of what would become a growing collection.
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The penultimate round of the year brought the paddock to Monza and for new Champions PREMA, the home favourites were in great form. It looked good with all three of their drivers inside the top four places, though it was ART’s Lundgaard that earned Pole in Qualifying.
Race 1 was very much the PREMA show, with Shwartzman battling with teammates Armstrong and Daruvala for victory. Armstrong lost his P2 finish post-race to a time penalty, allowing Tsunoda to take third.
He’d go two places better in Race 2, with the Japanese driver earning his and Jenzer Motorsport their first F3 victory. He climbed to third from sixth on the grid to earn his maiden win.
CHAMPION AT LAST
And so, to the final round of 2019 and Shwartzman’s wait was finally over. His impressive campaign was capped off with two podium finishes, with P2 in Race 1 followed up with a second trip to the rostrum and third place in Race 2.
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After earning Pole Position, Shwartzman battled with teammate Armstrong and Trident’s Niko Kari throughout an action-filled race, eventually settling for second after the Kiwi made a final lap pass for the victory. It wasn’t enough to deny Shwartzman the crown, as he finished ahead of title rival Daruvala to mathematically secure the title.
Vips was dominant in Race 2, leading all the laps of the final race of the inaugural F3 campaign. Armstrong was P2 and Shwartzman capped off his title-winning campaign with third.