by Alex Johnston
I've been lucky enough to have been able to be able to chat with the ideal person for this review of the FIA Formula 3 season, commentator Chris McCarthy!
Chris and were able to cover 'hopefully' almost everything from the 2023 season including our rookie champion, a trip to Oz, the return of Monaco, crazy races and surprise stars!
Let's get right into it!
1. Let's start with the champion! Gabriel Bortoleto won the title in his rookie season; having watched him come through the Formula Regional European Championship series(FRECA), were you surprised by him?"Ehh, slightly! He was always consistent and I don't think he ever had a DNF in FRECA so he was al aye going to be strong. He look comfortable as soon as he was in the F3 car and topped testing. Confidence is everything and being signed by (Fernando) Alonso will be a boost to that".
📸 Brazil rejoice? Is Bortoleto the next big hope for an F1 star?
2. Plenty rewards during the season and another big one post season, he's signed with McLaren: Do you think he's got the F1 quality? "I'd like to think so! People watching F3 don't normally look a lot at driver history and see new names and write off drivers. Gabriel had never won any titles before this year but had always been consistent and that's what McLaren have seen. One DNF this season - and it was mechanical - tells you what kind of driver he is, he's consistent".
📸 F3 champion Bortoleto has joined McLaren's squad since the season ended.
3. Only Bortoleto and Oscar Piastri have won the the FIA Formula 3 title in their rookie year in the current format: who's title would you say was better? "They're hard to compare! Piastri was more dramatic, winning at the last race. They were both with different teams too. Piastri's was more memorable but they were both very impressive".
📸 McLaren now have both rookie F3 champions in their stable.
4. We saw the return of Monaco at this level with wins for Pepe Marti and Gabriele Mini, do you think the inclusion of Monaco was a success? "I think so, it's good to have it. It was good for the previous FRECA drivers who were familiar with it from 2022. It was a proper treat, it's definitely needed".
📸 PREMA's Dino Beganovic in the Monaco pitlane.
5. While we're on circuits, Melbourne hosted F3 at Albert Park, serving up two great races: are you excited to see it back for next year? "Definitely yeah, it was fantastic. Drivers said they felt like celebrities there and one driver - I think Zak O'Sullivan - said it took ages to get to the circuit because there were so many people looking for pictures and autographs. There was a few drivers from Australia too, there was great support, probably more than these drivers are used to!".
📸 Hugh Barter enjoyed a home race in F3 at Albert Park.
6. Pepe Marti won in Bahrain but showed what he was really capable of in Melbourne with stunning pace from the back: would you say that's when you started to take notice of him as a title contender? "He was great this year. Had a really quiet 2022 but he got points in Monza and that's when I took notice. I think (Nikola) Tsolov will be like that next year. In Melbourne he crashed in qualifying but that might have been a blessing in disguise. Unlucky not to be closer for Bortoleto at the end of the season".
📸 Marti was on the charge in Melbourne.
7. Taylor Barnard was one of the stars of the season for Jenzer Motorsport, did he exceed expectations for you? "Yes and no. I've know Taylor since he was about 12 years old and he's really fast, and that was even recognised by Nico Rosberg in karts. Even pre season he looked quick and pushed Kimi Antonelli in Formula Regional Middle East for the title. He probably even exceeded his own expectations. That weekend in Spa was great to see."
📸 Barnard excelled at Spa.
8. Everyone loves some overtaking but I'm going to touch on one driver; Tommy Smith. He was the only driver at Silverstone to put wet tyres on and went last to P11 in two laps, but was penalised post race sadly, how enjoyable was that performance for you? "Oh it was fantastic! We had an 'open talk back' with the race TV directors and were constantly asking for him to be on TV hahaha! Alex Brundle and I were just watching him move up and up! ".
📸 Tommy Smith made up lots of positions to finish P11 on track before a penalty undid his work.
9. Spa is always a madness packed weekend. Pepe Marti and Ido Cohen had a scary moment for which Marti was clearly shaken and very apologetic but the fast nature of the circuit means incidents like this are common and become a talking point; how long do you think F1, F2 and F3 will keep going to Spa before a change is made? "Pepe was waved back on by a marshal, but I think somewhat, thankfully Ido had an issue and was going slowly and lessened the damage. I hope we keep coming here as fans and drivers love it, it's very much a driver's circuit. Safety has to come first. Martin Brundle did a great piece on Spa that you should watch if you haven't already."
📸 Cohen and Marti had a scary coming together.
10. The feature race at Spa was especially crazy with essentially two races happening between dry and wet runners on track, how much did you enjoy covering that? "It was amazing and a real challenge! We had a situation where the championship could have been won and had a 'Massa moment'! We had Sophia get points, Taylor won, Jenzer scored huge points, there was so much happening!".
📸 Floersch scored great points at Spa.
11. What was your moment of the season? "Tough one! Trying too think of just one is hard but the Silverstone sprint and certainly Taylor's fearure win stand out but that's me being biased haha!"
📸 Barnard capped a fine season with podiums at Spa and Monza.
12. One race still to go of course, F3 returns to Macau; are you excited for that? "Great to see it back! Should be really good, it's a really highly anticipated event".
📸 Macau returns in November.
13. The entry list is out for it, and includes two previous winners, F2 stars and some of the stars of the F3 season, who are you excited to see? "Verschoor. Good to see him back to defend his title. Ticktum should be good too".
📸 F2 race winner and Macau winner Verschoor will head for Macau.
14. Based off what we saw in testing, who are you excited to see next year? "Dino(Beganovic), Goethe and Gabriele(Mini) for sure. (Mari) Boya and (Leonardo) Fornaroli look good for 'best of the rest'".
📸 Gabriele Mini will race with PREMA for the 2024 F3 season.
15. A handful from this year's F3 grid are sure to move up to F2 for 2024, who would you be surprised not to see move up? "Definitely any one of the top 5. It's a long shot to see anyone else move up I think".
📸 F3 runner up Zak O'Sullivan will race with ART Grand Prix for the 2024 F2 season.
Thanks to Chris for his time and he was a great chat! We'll hopefully chat again before the 2024 F3 season!
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Williams Racing, McLaren Racing, FIA, PREMA Racing.
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