Leonardo Fornaroli became the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Champion, and was the first to do so without any race wins.Prema Racing successfully defended their Teams' Championship title.
Leonardo Fornaroli won the championship in his second year with Trident, yet did not take a single race victory throughout the season, becoming the first winless champion in FIA Formula 3 history. Prema Racing entered the championship as the reigning Teams' Champions, having secured their title at the final race of the 2023 season in Monza. They also secured the Teams' Championship title in 2024.
2024 was the final year using the Dallara F3 2019 chassis, which debuted in the inaugural 2019 season. Starting in 2025, a new chassis will be introduced.[2]
Entries
The following teams and drivers were competing in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship.[3] As the championship was a spec series, all teams competed with an identical Dallara F3 2019 chassis with a 3.4L (207cuin) naturally-aspirated V6 engine developed by Mecachrome.[4][5][6] All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli.
PHM Racing now operated independently of Charouz Racing System, after the latter co-ran the team during the 2023 season.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10]
Mid-season changes
The AIX Investment Group completed its acquisition of PHM Racing ahead of the third round of the season and rebranded the team to AIX Racing.[11]
PHM AIX Racing saw their driver Sophia Flörsch move to Van Amersfoort Racing.[36]Joshua Dufek replaced her, graduating from FRECA and Euroformula Open after already debuting in the final round of the 2023 season with Campos Racing.[39]Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak joined him, graduating from the Eurocup-3 championship where he came sixth with Campos Racing.[40]Nikita Bedrin filled the final seat, switching over from Jenzer Motorsport for his second season in FIA Formula 3.[41]
Similarly to Stenshorne, ART Grand Prix driver Nikola Tsolov received a suspension from the ninth round at Spa-Francorchamps. He had competed in the Eurocup-3 round at the same circuit in April without prior FIA approval.[47]Formula Regional Middle East Champion and Ferrari junior Tuukka Taponen took his place.[49]
The FIA Formula 3 Championship returned to Imola after the round in 2023 was cancelled as a result of mass flooding, which affected the region.[53]
Regulation changes
Technical regulations
FIA Formula 3 ran with 55% sustainable fuel supplied by Aramco in 2023.[54] An increase in sustainability was implemented for 2024 to continue working towards the usage of 100% sustainable fuel by 2027.[55]
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.[56]
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 deemed a driver to be the sole cause for the issuing of a red flag, the driver responsible had their fastest lap time of that session deleted and was prevented from taking any further part in that session.[57]
Laurens van Hoepen qualified twelfth and thus started the reverse-grid sprint race from first place. His ART 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 race win on his FIA Formula 3 debut. He was joined on the podium by Van Hoepen, also on his debut race, and Leonardo Fornaroli, who had passed Tsolov in the closing laps.
Dino Beganovic had set the fastest qualifying time on Friday to claim feature race pole position, followed by Luke Browning and Gabriele Minì. Beganovic encountered an issue off the start line and was overtaken by the entire field before the first corner. The lead therefore passed to Browning, with Sami Meguetounif and Tim Tramnitz improving to the podium positions. However, eighth-place starter Christian Mansell had a good start and had claimed second place by lap five. He ran close behind Browning for most of the race but was unable to pass, so the Hitech driver 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.
Van Hoepen started the sprint race from the front, again. Martinius Stenshorne and he exchanged the lead multiple times in the early laps. Stenshorne ultimately held the position, ahead of Lindblad, who had relegated Van Hoepen to third. Stenshorne's victory was his first FIA Formula 3 podium finish.
Fornaroli qualified in first place for the feature race, ahead of Minì and Beganovic. Fornaroli led away at the start and through the first safety car restart, but lost the lead to Beganovic on lap 14. Minì had lost third place to Luke Browning but recovered it on the penultimate lap. Beganovic's victory was his first in the category, making it four new winners in four races.
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 – five points ahead of Minì.
Kacper Sztuka started the sprint race from first place, but was overtaken by Noel León at the first corner. León held the position ahead of Oliver Goethe and Tim Tramnitz through four safety car restarts. A virtual safety car was deployed on the penultimate lap after sixth-place Browning collided with Sztuka and retired in the gravel. Racing resumed on the final lap, and a faster reaction from Goethe allowed him to gain the lead from León and cross the finish line first. Goethe was initially penalised for a safety car procedure infringement, but the penalty was later reversed and his position reinstated.[58]
Trident achieved a 1-2-3 classification in qualifying, with Santiago Ramos on feature race pole position, ahead of teammates Fornaroli and Meguetounif. Ramos held the lead at the start of the feature race, but was overtaken by Fornaroli on lap three and would ultimately drop to eighth place by the end. Goethe, who started seventh, made his way up to second place and then gained the lead when Fornaroli slowed with a mechanical issue. This allowed Meguetounif into second place, who then caught and passed Goethe with four laps remaining. Meguetounif achieved his first win and podium in the category and was joined on the podium by Goethe and Fornaroli.
The latter now led the Drivers' Championship by three points over Browning.
Tsolov started the sprint race in first and maintained the place, whilst Tramnitz claimed second place from Van Hoepen at the first corner. Mansell and Lindblad collided at Casino Square, leading to their own and three other drivers' retirements. The race was red-flagged to clear the track. Tsolov held his position at the restart and through a later safety car restart to claim his first victory in the category.
Minì led the start of the feature race ahead of Mansell and Browning. Racing was interrupted by three safety cars, but the top three drivers maintained their places through each restart and Minì took his first win of the season.
His victory promoted him to the lead of the Drivers' Championship, four points ahead of Browning.
Ramos started the sprint race from first place. Second-placed Meguetounif tried to overtake but collided with him, bringing out the safety car and allowing Mari Boya into the lead. Boya stayed in front until the end of the race, which finished under safety car conditions because of a clash between Sebastián Montoya and Gabriele Minì, taking his first victory in the series, ahead of Alex Dunne, claiming his first podium, and Oliver Goethe.
Mansell achieved his first FIA Formula 3 pole position in Friday qualifying and led at the start, but he was overtaken by Lindblad on lap five. Browning passed Tsolov for third place early in the race but later lost the position to Fornaroli. Lindblad claimed his second victory of the season, with Mansell and Fornaroli completing the top three.
Championship leader Minì failed to score in Barcelona and dropped to third in the standings, whilst Fornaroli's podium promoted him to the lead, five points ahead of Browning.
Stenshorne started the reverse-grid sprint race in first, but he was down in third by the end of the first lap. Mansell and Tsolov fought for the lead until the closing stages of the race, passing each other multiple times. A high-speed collision between Montoya and Dunne in a battle for fourth place brought out the safety car, under which the race ended. Tsolov and Stenshorne both passed Mansell shortly before racing was paused, allowing Tsolov to take his second win of the season.
Browning had qualified first for the feature race, whilst championship leader Fornaroli started down in 24th. The Briton held the lead from start to finish, ahead of Minì and Beganovic completing the podium.
Browning's win promoted him to first place in the Drivers' Championship, 11 points ahead of Minì.
Heavy rain forced the sprint race to be rescheduled from its morning slot to the evening, which Noel León was allowed to start in first. However, he was passed by Lindblad at the first corner. The race was interrupted by a safety car on lap four after an accident involving Esterson and Goethe. Lindblad led the rest of the race and claimed his third win of the season, followed by León and Matías Zagazeta, who took his first podium in the category.
Browning scored his second consecutive pole position for the feature race, ahead of Max Esterson and Sami Meguetounif, but on Sunday, the weather played a central part. Rain had fallen before the start of the race, so most drivers started on wet-weather tyres. But a dry forecast prompted some to switch to slicks at the end of the formation lap. Callum Voisin was one of the few drivers to originally choose slicks; he started in eighth but was first after three laps. An incident between three drivers brought out the safety car on lap five, during which rain fell and Browning utilised his wet-weather tyres to regain the lead. During another safety car intervention on lap eight, the track began to dry, giving back the advantage to the slick runners and allowing Voisin into the lead once again. The Briton initially won the race but was penalised for having made an off-track overtake earlier in the race, demoting him to third place and handing the win to Lindblad.
Minì started fourteenth but finished second to gain the lead of the Drivers' Championship. Lindblad's double victory promoted him to second in the standings, six points behind.
Beganovic started the sprint race in first, but he was passed by Nikita Bedrin. He held on to the lead and scored his first FIA Formula 3 victory. Teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak also overtook Beganovic to finish second, marking his first points finish in the series.
Van Hoepen scored his first pole position for the feature race, with Tsolov second and Fornaroli third. The Dutch driver ran wide coming out of the first corner and lost the lead to teammate Tsolov, but he managed to fend off León and Fornaroli for second place. The main title contenders had qualified outside the top 12 and two laps from the end, Lindblad collided with Zagazeta, leading to their retirements and a race finish under safety car conditions. Tsolov scored his third win of the season, while Van Hoepen was disqualified for his car being underweight. Minì and Browning finished outside of the points.
Minì was still in the lead of the Drivers' Championship, but only a couple of points ahead of Browning, Lindblad and Fornaroli.
Dino Beganovic started the sprint race in first but immediately lost the lead to teammate and championship leader Minì. Esterson lost control of his car at Raidillon and crashed as a result. While all drivers managed to avoid him, the safety car was brought out to remove the stricken Jenzer car. At the restart, Beganovic retook the lead and stayed there until the end. Minì got under pressure from several drivers behind, but he held on to his position and finished ahead of León.
Callum Voisin had scored his first pole position on Friday and started ahead of Dunne and Fornaroli. Dunne fell back, making room for Montoya into second place. Minì was tagged from the back, spun his car and fell down to last place. The race was neutralised twice due to an accident, in one of which Mansell wiped out Lindblad. Voisin took his first win in the series, ahead of Montoya and Fornaroli.
Fornaroli took over the lead of the championship, one point ahead of Minì and six ahead of Browning.
Tramnitz began the sprint race in first place and fought off Montoya and Beganovic. The safety car was brought on the second lap, when both León and Bedrin were taken out by other drivers in the first chicane. In the laps after the restart, Santiago Ramos passed Beganovic and Montoya, but the Colombian later regained the place. Another safety car intervention left only one lap of racing, in which Browning, Fornaroli and Minì heavily fought over eighth place. Tramnitz won, ahead of Ramos and Dunne, because Montoya was handed a post-race penalty.
Going into the last race of the season, Fornaroli led the championship by five points over Minì and seven over Browning. Fornaroli started on pole position, while Minì started third and Browning fourteenth. Second-starting Alex Dunne took over the lead at the end of the first lap, before multiple incidents on lap three led to a safety car intervention. Browning was involved and, while he could continue the race, he was out of the championship fight. Minì fell back to fifth on the restart, but when Fornaroli went off track, he was up to third. He looked set to tie his rival on points until, on lap eight, he too went off track. Minì later re-overtook Fornaroli, with Mansell following suit, putting Minì in a championship-winning position. But Fornaroli fought back to overtake Mansell going into the final corner of the final lap, to clinch third place behind Meguetounif and Minì and won the championship by two points, becoming the first FIA Formula 3 champion to not score a race win all season.
After the race, Minì was disqualified because his car did not meet the minimum requirements in tyre pressures, so Fornaroli ended up winning the championship with 153 points over Minì and Browning on 130 and 128 points, respectively.
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in both races. The pole-sitter in the feature race also received two points, and one point was 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 was classified outside the top ten, the point was given to the driver who set the fastest lap of those inside the top ten. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race as the grid for it was set by reversing the top twelve qualifiers.
Sprint race points
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers. A bonus point was awarded to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.[59]
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers. Bonus points were awarded to the pole-sitter and to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.
†– 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
↑ Bedrin is Russian, but competed under an Italian licence as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
↑ Dino Beganovic set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top ten, so he was ineligible to score the point for it. Leonardo Fornaroli scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten.
↑ Luke Browning set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top ten, so he was ineligible to score the point for it. Mari Boya scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten.
↑ Martinius Stenshorne set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top ten, so he was ineligible to score the point for it. Luke Browning scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten.
↑ Piotr Wiśnicki set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top ten, so he was ineligible to score the point for it. Laurens van Hoepen scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten.
↑ Callum Voisin finished first on track, but earlier received a ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Arvid Lindblad, who crossed the finish line second, inherited the win.
↑ Joseph Loake set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top ten, so he was ineligible to score the point for it. Nikita Bedrin scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten.
↑ Sami Meguetounif set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top ten, so he was ineligible to score the point for it. Christian Mansell scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten.
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References
↑ "The Car". fiaformula3.com. Formula Motorsport Limited. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
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