by Alex Johnston & Topher Smith
Driver’s champion
AJ: Dino Beganovic. I was highly impressed at the pace the 2022 FRECA champion showed in his rookie year in F3 last year but a win ended up elusive for the Swede.
📸 PREMA's Dino Beganovic.
I think he’s turned a corner, impressing many as he scrapped for victory at Macau against now teammate Gabriele Mini, and other drivers Alex Dunne, Dennis Hauger and eventual winner Luke Browning. He was also right at the top of the standings in post season testing, demonstrating good consistency and confidence in his car. The F3 grid is tough this year, he’ll definitely have to fight for it.
TS: PREMA Racing has been the in-form team for almost all of Formula 3’s history and I see no reason why that can’t be the case again. Trident delivered the driver’s title for Gabriel Bortoleto last season but looking at their respective line-ups I have a sneaking suspicion that the driver’s champion will come from the red team instead of the blue team.
📸 Who will follow in Bortoleto's footsteps?
Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Mini, and Arvid Lindblad all have the potential to take the title in Formula 3 and choosing between them is a very tricky task.
If I had to choose one of the three, however, I think Mini showed well enough in his rookie campaign to carry that momentum forward and claim top honours over his teammates. It should be close though.
📸 Alpine Academy driver Gabriele Mini.
Team’s champion
AJ: I don’t think there’s a world where PREMA don’t take this title. Beganovic and Mini should be regularly scoring high points, while Arvid Lindblad is capable of regular points too.
📸 Mini is tipped by many to be one of main title contenders.
Looking down the grid, I see MP Motorsport as the potential closest challengers to PREMA’s charge, but the downside is they have an all-rookie lineup, albeit a strong one with Italian F4 champ Kacper Sztuka, GB3 runner up AND Macau podium sitter Alex Dunne as well as new Red Bull junior Tim Tramnitz who impressed many in FRECA last season.
📸 A young German in Red Bull colours being tipped for great things...I'm sure I've seen this one before?
TS: The field overall in Formula 3 this season is so stacked and there are potential race winners all through the field which could help elevate their respective teams in the standings. As mentioned earlier, PREMA Racing has often been the class act of the championship and I don’t see any reason to believe why all three of their drivers can’t be at the sharp end.
I see the potential for the closest team’s battle in Formula 3 history with multiple teams capable of success. The MP Motorsport trio of Tim Tramnitz, Kacper Sztuka, and Alex Dunne looks particularly potent to me and I think the Dutch squad will overhaul Trident for the runners-up spot, but ultimately I wouldn’t bet against PREMA Racing taking yet another championship.
📸 Italian F4 champion Kacper Sztuka has joined the grid with MP Motorsport.
Rookie of the year
AJ: Tough one this! There’s so many good rookies to choose from, but I’m going to opt for Irishman Alex Dunne. The Offaly born teenager has made a rapid incline toward F1, winning British F4 in 2022, the same year he finished second in Italian F4 behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli in a grid containing Taylor Barnard, Rafael Camara and Charlie Wurz among others.
📸 Alex Dunne has gotten many people excited with his form leading to this slot on the grid.
I should add I have a slight soft spot for Alex having had him as one of my first ever interview guests, and have even shared a chicken recipe with his lovely mum! Despite all that, I do believe he’s got the talent to be the top rookie in this field, and fully expect him to win at least one race this year, if not more.
TS: Where do I start with this prediction? There will be a whopping 17 rookies in the field this season and choosing between them takes a lot more brainpower than I am used to.
As well as the potential of each driver, you also have to take into consideration how well each team will fare. Formula 3 is supposedly a spec-series with equal machinery but the operational capabilities of each team has to be a factor, which is ultimately why PREMA Racing is consistently a top team as they work the best as a unit.
📸 PREMA are the reigning teams champions going into 2024.
This reasoning would play into the hands of Lindblad, but I am looking towards MP Motorsport for the rookie of the year title given the recent rise in form of the team. Tramnitz, Sztuka and Dunne would all be worthy of this honour but I feel like I’m leaning more towards the new Red Bull recruit Tramnitz for this one.
📸 Tramnitz is stepping up from FRECA this year.
Surprise package
AJ: I’m going to give this one to Nikola Tsolov. The Bulgarian teenager, signed to Fernando Alonso’s management company, underperformed last year but I think he could be the one to make a major step forward this season.
📸 Nikola Tsolov.
Similar to Pepe Marti in 2023, I’m expecting Tsolov to come out the blocks early and take many by surprise with just how good he can be.
TS: Sophia Flörsch has shown huge improvements in the last couple of seasons, including scoring her first points at Spa-Francorchamps last season. A new berth at Van Amersfoort Racing could provide the environment she needs to build further upon that.
📸 Flörsch has returned to VAR having spent previous stints with the team.
The German has shown well at pre-season testing and proved she is not lacking in speed at all, so I believe it’s entirely possible that she could become a more regular feature in the points.
Disappointment of the year
AJ: I’m going to go with three names that might surprise people: Kacper Sztuka, Arvid Lindblad and Callum Voisin. I’m not choosing them because I think they’ll be poor, but more that they may take time to adjust compared to fans' expectations of them. They're all series champions(Italian F4. Euro-4 and GB3 respectively), and they're all very good.
📸 The step to F3 is a tough one and fans must be patient with drivers.
Expectations are high at this level, and people must be patient with these drivers as good results may be hard to come by for much of the season.
TS: This is a tricky one to discuss. As I said earlier, this field is so stacked that it’s difficult to know who will be at either the sharp end or the bottom end of the pecking order.
On the basis of previous form, ART Grand Prix is a shadow of its former self at Formula 3 level but I would have thought the combination of Christian Mansell, Laurens van Hoepen and Nikola Tsolov would help take the French squad back towards the front.
📸 Christian Mansell has made the switch from Campos to ART as the French team seek to turn their fortunes after a poor 2023.
I think ultimately the disappointment of the year will be the team that finishes last in the standings and while that in itself is difficult to predict, I think I would go with PHM AIX Racing to take that (dis)honour.
📸 PHM have upgraded their facilities over the winter break but can it help them avoid finishing bottom of the standings?
Graduates to Formula 2
AJ: I think any driver who is part of an F1 academy set up is worth a mention. At the moment, there are 4 Red Bull juniors(Lindblad, Sztuka, Tramnitz, Goethe), Mini, Tsolov and Floersch are affiliated with Alpine, Beganovic for Ferrari and Luke Browning is signed to Williams. Drivers from F2 potentially moving up open doors for all of these drivers to step up if they perform strongly at this level.
📸 Oliver Goethe has joined the Red Bull setup.
Outside of those names, I’d be looking at Alex Dunne, Leonardo Fornaroli with Trident, Campos driver Mari Boya and PHM AIX’s Nikita Bedrin.
📸 Leonardo Fornaroli is doing a second season with Trident.
F3 is incredibly hard to predict though, anything could happen between now and the F3 finale in Monza.
TS: The graduates to Formula 2 could very well be dictated by what seats are available in 2025, with the potential for “no room at the inn” for some teams.
Under the assumption that Ollie Bearman goes to F1 in 2025, that will leave at least one seat at PREMA Racing depending on what Andrea Kimi Antonelli does following his rookie season of F2. This could play into the hands of the likes of Dino Beganovic and Gabriele Mini, both in their sophomore season and both highly capable racers.
📸 Is Kimi Antonelli's development crucial to a number of F3 drivers moving up to F2?
The top MP Motorsport driver, whichever of the three is it, could take over Hauger’s Formula 2 seat as I expect him to move on following this season, while Campos Racing could also have a vacancy if my prediction of Hadjar graduating to F1 comes true. Should that be the case, I think Oliver Goethe could do well enough for a graduation.
I could also see Williams doing what they can to help Macau Grand Prix winner Luke Browning graduate to Formula 2 in 2025.
📸 Williams Academy's Luke Browning.
There could be any number of graduates though!
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, ART Grand Prix, Van Amersfoort Racing, PHM AIX Racing, PREMA Team, Trident Racing.
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