The FIA Formula 3 Championship, also known simply as F3, is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship organised by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). It was launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and FIA Formula 2 Championship.

Formula 3 came to fruition as a result of a merger between two third-tier single-seater racing championships – the GP3 Series and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. The 2025 season will see the start of a new era in Formula 3 with the latest Dallara built car being more closely in line with both F2 and F1 in terms of safety, systems and performance.

Race Weekend

Friday

Free Practice:

Friday’s proceedings begin with a singular Practice session, lasting for 45 minutes, which helps to give the teams and drivers a chance to acclimatise themselves to the circuit – especially if they have never raced there before – and allows them to optimise their set-ups before the Qualifying session later on in the day.

Qualifying:

On the Friday afternoon, the drivers take to the track to complete a 30-minute qualifying session to decide the grid for the Feature race on the Sunday. Unlike Formula One’s knock-out style qualification session, Formula 3 allows the drivers to set multiple times throughout the entire 30-minute session, with the best time at the end of the session taking pole position. 

The driver who takes pole position following the final classification of the qualifying session is awarded 2 additional points.

Saturday

Sprint Race:

The Sprint Race takes place on the Saturday and is the only session for Formula 3 that takes place on this day. The race consists of drivers taking to the track for 40 minutes and the addition of one lap.

The starting grid for the Saturday’s Sprint race is determined by reversing the top-10 finishers of the qualifying session that took place the day before.

The top ten classified drivers after the chequered flag is flown are awarded points. First place is awarded the maximum haul of points and then the points are reduced the further down the grid a driver finishes.

Position	Points
1st	10
2nd	9
3rd	8
4th	7
5th	6
6th	5
7th	4
8th	3
9th	2
10th	1

One point is also awarded to the driver who sets the fastest lap in this race, provided they are classified in the top-ten positions at the end of the race. If a driver claims the fastest lap point but is outside the top-10 then the point is awarded to the driver with the next fastest lap that is within the top-10.

Sunday

Feature Race:

The main race of the weekend, the Feature Race, takes place on the Sunday ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix and consists of drivers taking to the track for 45 minutes and an additional one lap. 

The top ten classified drivers after the chequered flag is flown are awarded points. First place is awarded the maximum haul of points and then the points are reduced the further down the grid a driver finishes.

Position	Points
1st	25
2nd	18
3rd	15
4th	12
5th	10
6th	8
7th	6
8th	4
9th	2
10th	1

One point is also awarded to the driver who sets the fastest lap in this race, provided they are classified in the top-ten positions at the end of the race. If a driver claims the fastest lap point but is outside the top-10 then the point is awarded to the driver with the next fastest lap that is within the top-10.

Tyre Allocation

The sporting regulations state that each driver will be allocated four sets of dry-weather tyres and two sets of the wet-weather tyres per event.

DRS

The drivers are able to use the Drag Reduction System (DRS) as they wish within the designated DRS zones during Free Practice and Qualifying. During both of the races however, the drivers are only allowed to activate DRS within the designated zones when they are within less than a second of the car in front at the detection point.

During the race, the DRS is available for use after two laps unless decided otherwise by the race director due to poor weather conditions or yellow flags being flown in the designated DRS zones – these zones are the same as those used in Formula 1 on every circuit of the calendar.

The same safety rules apply as that of Formula One: the DRS is disabled at the end of the designated zones, and the first time the driver uses the brakes after activation. No individual developments or upgrades are permitted in the series, and all spare parts must be purchased directly from the F2 championship organisers. Repairs of structural components must be carried out by Dallara in order to ensure integrity.

Champions

Drivers:

Year	Driver’s Champion	Points
2019	Robert Shwartzman	212
2020	Oscar Piastri	164
2021	Dennis Hauger	205
2022	Victor Martins	139
2023	Gabriel Bortoleto	164
2024	Leonardo Fornaroli	153

Teams:

Year	Teams’ Champion	Points
2019	Prema Racing	527
2020	Prema Racing	470.5
2021	Trident	381
2022	Prema Racing	355
2023	Prema Racing	327
2024	Prema Racing	352

Graduates to F1

Driver	F3 Seasons	Best Position	F1 Debut Season	First F1 Team
Yuki Tsunoda	2019	9th	2021	AlphaTauri
Oscar Piastri	2020	1st	2023	McLaren
Logan Sargeant	2019-2021	3rd	2023	Williams
Liam Lawson	2019-2020	5th	2023	AlphaTauri
Oliver Bearman	2022	3rd	2024	Ferrari
Franco Colapinto	2022-2023	4th	2024	Williams
Jack Doohan	2020-2021	2nd	2024	Alpine
Gabriel Bortoleto	2023	1st	2025	Sauber
Isack Hadjar	2022	4th	2025	Racing Bulls