2024_Spa-Francorchamps_Formula_3_round

2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship

2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship

Motor racing championship held in 2024


Luke Browning is the current championship leader.

The 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship is a motor racing championship for Formula 3 cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship is the fifteenth season of Formula 3 racing and the sixth season run under the FIA Formula 3 Championship moniker. It is an open-wheel racing category serving as the third tier of formula racing in the FIA Global Pathway. The category is run in support of selected rounds of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship. As the championship is a spec series, all teams and drivers competing in the championship run the same car, the Dallara F3 2019.[1]

Prema Racing entered the championship as the reigning Teams' Champions, having secured their title at the final race of the 2023 season in Monza.

Entries

The following teams and drivers are competing in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship.[2] As the championship is a spec series, all teams compete with an identical Dallara F3 2019 chassis with a 3.4 L (207 cu in) naturally-aspirated V6 engine developed by Mecachrome.[3][4][5] All teams compete with tyres supplied by Pirelli.

More information Entrant, No. ...

Team changes

PHM Racing now operated independently of Charouz Racing System, after the latter co-ran the team during the 2023 season.[7] Ahead of the season, PHM also announced the AIX Investment Group as a new title sponsor, changing the team's name to PHM AIX Racing.[8]

After Rodin Cars became Carlin's majority shareholder in 2023 and rebranded it as Rodin Carlin, the Carlin family departed the team, with Rodin taking full ownership and renaming the team Rodin Motorsport.[9]

Driver changes

Reigning Teams' Champions Prema Racing saw two of their drivers graduate to Formula 2, with Zak O'Sullivan joining ART Grand Prix and Paul Aron signing with Hitech Pulse-Eight.[10][11] Their replacements were Gabriele Minì, leaving Hitech Pulse-Eight after finishing seventh in his debut season, and Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad, graduated from the team's Italian F4 outfit after coming third in 2023.[12][13]

Trident also recruited two new drivers, as their reigning champion Gabriel Bortoleto left the series to graduate to Formula 2 with Invicta Racing, and Oliver Goethe moved to Campos Racing.[14][15] The team signed two drivers graduating after two seasons of FRECA: Sami Meguetounif, who drove for MP Motorsport and came ninth in the standings in 2023, and Santiago Ramos, who finished the 2023 season in eleventh with RPM.[16][17]

MP Motorsport promoted Franco Colapinto to their Formula 2 outfit after already fielding him in the 2023 season finale.[18] The team signed Red Bull junior Tim Tramnitz, who graduated from FRECA after coming third in the 2023 campaign with R-ace GP, to replace him.[19] Jonny Edgar also left the team and the series to race in the European Le Mans Series with Orlen Team AO by TF.[20] His replacement was Kacper Sztuka, the reigning champion of the Formula Winter Series and Italian F4 Championship.[21] With Mari Boya departing MP Motorsport to join Campos Racing, the team signed GB3 runner-up Alex Dunne to replace the Spaniard.[22]

Campos Racing signed three new drivers, all of them contesting their sophomore seasons in the championship, as Pepe Martí graduated to the team's Formula 2 outfit and Christian Mansell moved over to ART Grand Prix.[23][24] Oliver Goethe moved over from Trident after coming eighth in 2023, Mari Boya departed MP Motorsport after ending his 2023 campaign in 17th place and Sebastián Montoya departed Hitech Pulse-Eight, with whom he came 16th.[15][25][26]

Hitech Pulse-Eight saw two of their drivers move to different teams, with Gabriele Minì joining Prema Racing and Sebastián Montoya joining Campos Racing.[12][26] Filling these seats were Martinius Stenshorne and Cian Shields, runners-up in FRECA and Euroformula Open respectively.[27][28]

Jenzer Motorsport driver Alex García left the championship and was to join Isotta Fraschini in the Hypercar division of the World Endurance Championship before being replaced by Carl Bennett.[29] Matías Zagazeta replaced him, graduating to FIA Formula 3 after spending two years in FRECA culminating in a 22nd place with R-ace GP in 2023.[30] Charlie Wurz, son of former F1 driver Alexander Wurz, also joined him, stepping up from Formula Regional competition after winning the 2023 FROC.[31] Formula Ford Festival winner Max Esterson completed the team's lineup after debuting during the 2023 season, where he entered two rounds for Rodin Carlin.[32]

Van Amersfoort Racing signed reigning Euroformula Open champion Noel León, replacing Caio Collet.[33] Rafael Villagómez also departed the team and was replaced by Sophia Flörsch, the first woman to score points in Formula 3's modern era, who left PHM AIX Racing after she came 23rd with the team in 2023.[34]

ART Grand Prix recruited Christian Mansell, who left Campos Racing after concluding the 2023 campaign with 12th place in the standings, to replace Grégoire Saucy, who left the series to join United Autosports in the World Endurance Championship's new LMGT3 class.[24][35] The team also promoted Laurens van Hoepen from the outfit's FRECA team after he came tenth with them in the 2023 championship.[36]

PHM AIX Racing saw their driver Sophia Flörsch move to Van Amersfoort Racing.[34] Joshua Dufek replaced her, graduating from FRECA and Euroformula Open after already debuting in the final round of the 2023 season with Campos Racing.[37] Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak joined him, graduating from the Eurocup-3 championship where he came sixth with Campos Racing.[38] Nikita Bedrin filled the final seat, switching over from Jenzer Motorsport for his second season in FIA Formula 3.[39]

Rodin driver Oliver Gray left the series and single-seater racing to move to the European Le Mans Series with Inter Europol Competition.[40] He was be replaced by reigning GB3 champion Callum Voisin.[41] Another GB3 graduate in Joseph Loake, who finished the 2023 season in third with JHR Developments, joined him.[42] Piotr Wiśnicki completed Rodin's lineup, returning to FIA Formula 3 after a part-time campaign with PHM Racing in 2023.[43]

Race calendar

More information Round, Circuit ...

Calendar changes

  • The FIA Formula 3 Championship will return to Imola after the round in 2023 was cancelled as a result of mass flooding which affected the region.[45]

Regulation changes

Technical regulations

  • FIA Formula 3 ran with 55% sustainable fuel supplied by Aramco in 2023.[46] An increase in sustainability was implemented for 2024 to continue working towards the usage of 100% sustainable fuel by 2027.[47]
  • After multiple races in 2023 had to be shortened because of concerns regarding the durability of Pirelli's medium tyre, a new specification of tyres was introduced.[48]

Sporting regulations

From this season, a new rule in order to try and prevent drivers benefitting from causing red flags during qualifying sessions was brought in for both the Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 championships. Thus, if the stewards deem a driver to be the sole cause for the issuing of a red flag, the driver responsible will have their fastest lap time of that session deleted, as well as being prevented from taking any further part in that session.[49]

Season report

Round 1: Bahrain

Dino Beganovic set the fastest qualifying time for the opening round at Bahrain International Circuit to claim feature race pole position. Laurens van Hoepen qualified twelfth and thus started the reverse-grid sprint race from first place. His ART Grand Prix teammate Nikola Tsolov took the lead at the first corner, and the two drivers continued competing for first position for much of the race. Arvid Lindblad, who started fourth, took advantage of the battle in front and overtook both drivers to claim the lead, and later the race win, on his FIA Formula 3 debut. He was joined on the podium by Laurens van Hoepen, also on his debut race, and Leonardo Fornaroli, who had passed Tsolov in the closing laps.

Pole-sitter Beganovic encountered an issue off the start line in the feature race and was overtaken by the entire field before the first corner. The lead therefore passed to Luke Browning, with Sami Meguetounif and Tim Tramnitz improving to the podium positions. Eighth-place starter Christian Mansell made overtakes at the start and had claimed second place by lap five. Mansell ran close behind Browning for most of the race but was unable to pass, and Browning took his first FIA Formula 3 victory, with Tramnitz completing the podium on his debut weekend. At the conclusion of the round, Browning led the Drivers' Championship by four points over Tramnitz.

Round 2: Australia

Leonardo Fornaroli qualified in first place at Albert Park Circuit ahead of Gabriele Minì and Dino Beganovic. Laurens van Hoepen started the sprint race from the front, and he and Martinius Stenshorne exchanged the lead multiple times in the early laps. Stenshorne ultimately held the position and then kept Arvid Lindblad behind, who had progressed to second place from fifth at the start. Stenshorne's victory was his first FIA Formula 3 podium finish.

Feature race pole-sitter Fornaroli led at the start and through the first restart after the safety car was deployed to recover Tommy Smith and Joseph Loake's collided cars. Beganovic overtook Fornaroli for the lead on lap 14. Minì had lost third place to Luke Browning but recovered the podium place on the penultimate lap. Beganovic's victory was his first in the category, and promoted him to fourth place in the Drivers' Championship. At the end of the round, Browning and Fornaroli were tied on points at the top of the championship – with Browning ahead by virtue of having won a race – both five points ahead of Minì.

Results and standings

Season summary

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in both races. The pole-sitter in the feature race also receives two points, and one point is given to the driver who set the fastest lap in both the feature and sprint races, provided that driver finished inside the top ten. If the driver who set the fastest lap is classified outside the top ten, the point is given to the driver who set the fastest lap of those inside the top ten. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race as the grid for it is set by reversing the top twelve qualifiers.

Sprint race points

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. A bonus point is awarded to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.[50]

More information Position, Points ...
Feature race points

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. Bonus points are awarded to the pole-sitter and to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.

More information Position, Points ...

Drivers' Championship standings

More information Pos., Driver ...

Notes:

  •  – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Teams' Championship standings

More information Pos., Team ...

Notes:

  •  – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
  • Rows are not related to the drivers: within each team, individual race standings are sorted purely based on the final classification in the race (not by total points scored in the event, which includes points awarded for fastest lap and pole position).

Notes

  1. Nikita Bedrin is a Russian driver competing under an Italian licence as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  2. Dino Beganovic set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to score the point for it. Leonardo Fornaroli scored the point for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
  3. Luke Browning set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to score the point for it. Mari Boya scored the point for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.

References

  1. "The Car". fiaformula3.com. Formula Motorsport Limited. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  2. "Teams & Drivers - Formula 3". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  3. "The Car". fiaformula3.com. Formula Motorsport Limited. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  4. Benyon, Jack; Evans, David (4 February 2019). "New FIA F3 car will be 'more difficult to drive' than GP3 machine". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  5. "Teams & Drivers - Formula 3". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  6. Wood, Ida (4 October 2023). "F2 racer Maloney leads entries for first post-season FIA F3 test". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 October 2023. PHM Racing, now operating independently of Charouz Racing System which it had co-run its F3 squad with this season...
  7. Overkamp, Marc (10 January 2024). "PHM Racing becomes PHM AIX Racing". PHM AIX Racing. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  8. "Leading junior motorsport team Rodin Carlin to rebrand as Rodin Motorsport". Rodin Motorsport. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  9. "Zak O'Sullivan makes the move to Formula 2". Williams Racing. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  10. Wood, Ida (30 November 2023). "Hitech GP signs Paul Aron and Amaury Cordeel for 2024 F2". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  11. Wood, Ida (25 October 2023). "Alpine junior Gabriele Mini to race for Prema in his second F3 season". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  12. Wood, Ida (31 October 2023). "Arvid Lindblad to step up to FIA F3 with Prema in 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  13. Allen, Peter (27 November 2023). "Bortoleto and Maini to form Virtuosi F2 line-up in 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. Wood, Ida (5 December 2023). "Campos Racing makes Oliver Goethe its first FIA F3 signing for 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  15. Allen, Peter (14 December 2023). "Trident F3 team signs Sami Meguetounif for 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  16. Wood, Ida (21 December 2023). "FREC podium-finisher Santiago Ramos steps up to F3 with Trident". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. Wood, Ida (25 October 2023). "Franco Colapinto to step up to F2 with MP Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  18. Allen, Peter (17 January 2024). "Tim Tramnitz secures F3 graduation with MP Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  19. "Orlen Team AO By TF ELMS Line-Up Set – WEC Champs Kubica and Deletraz Combine". Dailysportscar. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  20. Wood, Ida (19 January 2024). "MP Motorsport signs Italian F4 champion Kacper Sztuka for FIA F3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  21. Wood, Ida (5 February 2024). "GB3 runner-up Alex Dunne secures FIA F3 seat with MP Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  22. Wood, Ida (28 November 2023). "Red Bull juniors Hadjar and Marti form Campos's 2024 F2 line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  23. Wood, Ida (15 December 2023). "Christian Mansell signs with ART GP for 2024 FIA F3 season". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  24. Wood, Ida (13 December 2023). "Campos completes its 2024 FIA F3 line-up with Sebastian Montoya". Formula Scout. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  25. Wood, Ida (12 December 2023). "Todt protege Martinius Stenshorne steps up to F3 for third year in cars". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  26. "2024 FIA WEC Entry List Revealed | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  27. "Jenzer Motorsport announce rookie Matias Zagazeta as first signing for the 2024 campaign". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  28. "Jenzer Motorsport finalises 2024 F3 lineup with Charlie Wurz". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  29. "GB3 race-winner Esterson confirms FIA F3 graduation". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  30. "Van Amersfoort Racing recruit Noel León for 2024 campaign". fiaformula3.com. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  31. Wood, Ida (12 December 2023). "Laurens van Hoepen to race for ART GP in FIA F3 Championship". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  32. Gascoigne, Roger (24 January 2024). "Joshua Dufek returns to PHM Racing for full-time move to FIA F3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  33. "PHM AIX Racing confirm Tasanapol Ithraphuvasak as second signing for 2024". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  34. "PHM AIX Racing confirms Nikita Bedrin as final signing for the 2024 Formula 3 season". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  35. "Rodin Carlin confirms Callum Voisin as first signing for 2024 season". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  36. "Joseph Loake joins Rodin Motorsport's FIAF3 team". www.rodinmotorsport.com. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  37. "Wiśnicki completes Rodin Motorsport's FIA F3 team". www.rodinmotorsport.com. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
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  39. Wood, Ida (2 November 2023). "F3 gets new medium tyre in 2024 after issues with 2023-spec compound". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

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