2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship

The 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship was the inaugural season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seat open-wheel formula racing cars. The championship featured drivers competing in 3.4-litre Formula 3 racing cars which conform to the technical regulations, or formula, of the championship. It ran in support of the Formula 1 World Championship and its sister series, the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It serves as the third tier of formula racing in the FIA Global Pathway. The championship was formed by the merger of the GP3 Series and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018, which brought the two championships under the umbrella of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).^[1] The Formula One theme song composed by Brian Tyler, which debuted in the 2018 F1 season, would be used in Formula 3 broadcasts.

Prema Racing driver Robert Shwartzman won the championship title with one race to spare after collecting three race wins with six other podium finishes.^[2] Shwartzman dominated from the first race of the season, losing the drivers' championship lead only for one race to his teammate Jehan Daruvala. Daruvala, who finished third overall, was victorious at Barcelona and Le Castellet. Marcus Armstrong, another Prema driver, finished second and won races at Hungaroring, Spa and Sochi. He passed Daruvala by one point in the drivers' championship just in the final race of the season. Prema Racing became the inaugural teams' champions after the second Spa-Francorchamps race.

For the championship's inaugural season, all teams were supplied with a new chassis package, named the Dallara F3 2019. It was still powered by a fuel-efficient 3.4 litre (207 cu in) naturally-aspirated direct-injected V6 engine developed by Mecachrome that also powered the GP3/16 chassis which was used in the championship's predecessor, the GP3 Series from 2016 to 2018. The chassis used tyres supplied by Pirelli and also featured the "halo" cockpit protection device used in the championship's sister series Formula One and Formula 2.

The championship introduced a rule restricting the amount of downforce available during a race. Teams were free to run as much downforce as they choose during free practice and qualifying in order to find the ideal car setup, but the minimum and maximum allowable angle of the rear wing was specified by stewards ahead of the race.

Use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) was unrestricted, whereas the championship's predecessor, GP3, restricted its use to six in the feature race and four in the sprint race.

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2019 championship. As the championship is a spec series, all teams competed with an identical Dallara F3 2019 chassis and a bespoke tyre compound developed by Pirelli.^[3][4] Each car was powered by a 3.4 L (207 cu in) naturally-aspirated V6 engine developed by Mecachrome that was previously used in the Dallara GP3/16.^[5] Teams were required to enter three cars.^[6]

Entrant	No.	Driver name	Rounds
ART Grand Prix	1	David Beckmann	All
	2	Max Fewtrell	All
	3	Christian Lundgaard	All
MP Motorsport	4	Liam Lawson	All
	5	Simo Laaksonen	All
	6	Richard Verschoor	All
Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	7	Lirim Zendeli	All
	8	Fabio Scherer	All
	9	Raoul Hyman[a]	All
HWA Racelab	10	Bent Viscaal	All
	11	Jake Hughes	All
	12	Keyvan Andres	All
Jenzer Motorsport	14	Yuki Tsunoda	All
	15	Artem Petrov	1
		Giorgio Carrara[b]	3, 5–7
		Federico Malvestiti	4
		Charles Leong	8
	16	Andreas Estner	All
Trident	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	All
	18	Pedro Piquet	All
	19	Niko Kari	All
Hitech Grand Prix	20	Leonardo Pulcini	All
	21	Jüri Vips	All
	22	Yifei Ye	All
Campos Racing	23	Alex Peroni	1–7
		David Schumacher	8
	24	Alessio Deledda	All
	25	Sebastián Fernández	All
Prema Racing	26	Marcus Armstrong	All
	27	Jehan Daruvala	All
	28	Robert Shwartzman	All
Carlin Buzz Racing	29	Teppei Natori	All
	30	Felipe Drugovich	All
	31	Logan Sargeant	All
Source:[6][7][8][9][10]

The merging of the GP3 Series and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship saw the FIA open up a tender process to prospective entrants. ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Jenzer Motorsport, MP Motorsport and Trident were selected from the GP3 Series entrants,^[7] while Carlin, Hitech Grand Prix and Prema Racing were chosen from the Formula 3 European Championship.^[7] Both Carlin and Prema Racing held entries in the championship's sister series Formula 2, as did Charouz Racing System.^[7] Charouz later formed a partnership with Sauber Motorsport, which currently runs Alfa Romeo's team in Formula 1. The final entry was awarded to HWA Racelab, who joined the series after Mercedes-Benz withdrew from the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters touring car championship.^[7] Formula 2 and GP3 regulars Arden International decided against entering Formula 3,^[11] while Motopark—who competed in the Formula 3 European Championship—were unsuccessful in their application and instead entered the Euroformula Open Championship.^[12]

Teppei Natori, who placed second in the 2018 F4 Japanese Championship, joined the series with Carlin Buzz Racing along with Euroformula Open champion Felipe Drugovich and Eurocup Formula Renault race winner Logan Sargeant.^[13][14][15] FIA Formula 3 European Championship race winners and Ferrari juniors Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman continued their collaboration with Prema Racing into the championship.^[16][17] Jehan Daruvala, who raced in Formula 3 European Championship with Carlin, also joined Prema Racing.^[18]

Honda promoted F4 Japanese champion and Red Bull Junior, Yuki Tsunoda to the category with Jenzer Motorsport.^[19] Artem Petrov joined the team from the Formula 3 European Championship and Andreas Estner from ADAC Formula 4.^[20][21] Red Bull Junior Jüri Vips, who also raced in the Formula 3 European Championship, moved to the new championship with Hitech Grand Prix.^[22] Leonardo Pulcini and Yifei Ye, who raced in GP3 with Campos Racing and Formula Renault with Josef Kaufmann Racing respectively, also joined Hitech Grand Prix.^[23][24]

After racing in the GP3 Series with Jenzer Motorsport and Trident, David Beckmann signed with ART Grand Prix, who also took on Renault Sport Academy members Max Fewtrell and Christian Lundgaard.^[25][26][27] Sebastián Fernández, Alex Peroni and Alessio Deledda joined Campos Racing after competing in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with Motopark, Formula Renault Eurocup with MP Motorsport and Italian F4 with Technorace respectively.^[28][29][30]

Keyvan Andres Soori, who raced in European Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing, joined the championship with HWA Racelab.^[31] He was partnered with Bent Viscaal, who was the runner-up in the 2018 Euroformula Open Championship driving for Teo Martín Motorsport, and Jake Hughes, who raced in GP3 with ART.^[32][33] After racing with them in GP3, Richard Verschoor joined MP Motorsport alongside Simo Laaksonen and reigning TRS champion and Red Bull Junior, Liam Lawson.^[34][35][36]

The Sauber Junior Team by Charouz entered the championship fielding reigning ADAC Formula 4 champion Lirim Zendeli, European Formula 3 racer Fabio Scherer and reigning F3 Asian champion Raoul Hyman.^[37] After scoring two race wins with them in the 2018 GP3 Series, Pedro Piquet reunited with Trident and was joined by Niko Kari and Devlin DeFrancesco, both of whom switched from MP Motorsport.^[38][39][40]

Mid-season changes

Artem Petrov ended his campaign after the first round due to lack of funding. His replacement at Jenzer Motorsport was Giorgio Carrara, however the Argentine could only start participating from the Spielberg round due to visa issues.^[41][42][43] Carrara was replaced with Federico Malvestiti for the Silverstone round.^[44] Carrara returned to the seat in Hungary.^[9] Hon Chio Leong replaced Carrara for the season finale at Sochi Autodrom.^[45]

Following an accident at the Monza round that left him with fractured vertebrae, Alex Peroni missed the final race at Sochi.^[46] He was replaced with David Schumacher, son of Formula One race winner Ralf Schumacher.^[47]

David Beckmann withdrew from the final race of the championship for personal reasons.^[48]

A schedule of eight rounds was made to take place as part of the 2019 championship. The eight rounds were drawn from the 2018 GP3 Series calendar as the series was run on the Formula 1 support bill whereas the Formula 3 European Championship did not. The ninth round held at the Yas Marina Circuit in 2018 was omitted from the Formula 3 calendar to allow drivers the opportunity to compete in the 2019 Macau Grand Prix, which was announced during the season to be a non-championship round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, as all teams and cars were at the event.

Round	Circuit	Race 1	Race 2
1	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	11 May	12 May
2	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	22 June	23 June
3	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	29 June	30 June
4	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	13 July	14 July
5	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	3 August	4 August
6	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	31 August	1 September
7	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	7 September	8 September
8	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	28 September	29 September
NC	Guia Circuit, Macau	16 November	17 November
Source:[49]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2020)

For the first race of the season it was Robert Shwartzman who took pole with Christian Lundgaard second.^[50]

Round		Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap[51]	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	R1	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya	Robert Shwartzman	Christian Lundgaard	Robert Shwartzman[c]	Prema Racing	Report
	R2			Jehan Daruvala	Jehan Daruvala	Prema Racing
2	R1	Circuit Paul Ricard	Jake Hughes	Felipe Drugovich[d]	Jehan Daruvala	Prema Racing	Report
	R2			Marcus Armstrong	Robert Shwartzman	Prema Racing
3	R1	Red Bull Ring	Marcus Armstrong	Jüri Vips	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Christian Lundgaard[e]	Jake Hughes[f]	HWA Racelab
4	R1	Silverstone Circuit	Jüri Vips	Logan Sargeant[g]	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Robert Shwartzman	Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix
5	R1	Hungaroring	Christian Lundgaard	Christian Lundgaard	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Marcus Armstrong	Marcus Armstrong	Prema Racing
6	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Jehan Daruvala	Pedro Piquet	Pedro Piquet	Trident	Report
	R2			Marcus Armstrong	Marcus Armstrong	Prema Racing
7	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Christian Lundgaard	Robert Shwartzman	Robert Shwartzman	Prema Racing	Report
	R2			Jüri Vips[h]	Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport
8	R1	Sochi Autodrom	Robert Shwartzman	Jake Hughes	Marcus Armstrong	Prema Racing	Report
	R2			Marcus Armstrong	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix
NC	QR	Guia Circuit	Jüri Vips	Jüri Vips	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	Report
	MR		Jüri Vips	Jake Hughes	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in Race 1, and to the top 8 classified finishers in Race 2. The pole-sitter in Race 1 received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both races. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter in Race 2 as the grid for Race 2 is based on the results of Race 1 with the top eight drivers having their positions reversed.

Race 1 points

Race 2 points

Points were awarded to the top eight classified finishers, excluding the fastest lap points which are given to the top ten classified finishers.

Pos. Driver CAT LEC RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC Points R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 Robert Shwartzman 1 4 2 1 5 3 5 2 5 Ret 2 3 1 8 2 3 212 2 Marcus Armstrong 3 5 6 6 3 19 3 4 8 1 8 1 21 14 1 2 158 3 Jehan Daruvala 7 1 1 3 4 2 2 28† 11 7 3 5 2 13 5 14 157 4 Jüri Vips 6 2 4 17 1 6 1 15 4 4 5 21 Ret 11 8 1 141 5 Pedro Piquet 26 16 3 2 6 15 6 27† Ret 27 1 6 5 5 6 Ret 98 6 Christian Lundgaard 2 6 Ret 15 26 17 7 5 1 5 4 4 13 9 14 9 97 7 Jake Hughes 17 Ret Ret 7 7 1 9 Ret 3 3 21 Ret 6 3 7 4 90 8 Leonardo Pulcini 20 21 Ret 12 9 5 4 1 7 2 7 7 10 6 4 16 78 9 Yuki Tsunoda 10 9 7 9 16 11 14 7 9 6 6 2 3 1 12 25† 67 10 Max Fewtrell 5 8 Ret 18 2 4 19 12 2 24 9 Ret 14 21 11 11 57 11 Liam Lawson NC 17 9 5 14 25 8 3 16 9 12 19 7 2 18 8 41 12 Niko Kari 8 3 18 24† 11 8 18 19 14 12 19 Ret Ret 15 3 5 36 13 Richard Verschoor 19 19 14 4 10 12 17 21 27† 17 17 11 4 4 10 7 34 14 David Beckmann 4 7 10 Ret 15 10 11 6 28† 19 10 12 Ret 28† WD WD 20 15 Bent Viscaal 13 13 5 20 13 Ret 22 20 19 10 20 14 17 27† Ret 17 10 16 Felipe Drugovich 11 10 19 10 12 14 13 10 6 Ret 18 9 16 12 25 15 8 17 Fabio Scherer 27 Ret 15 Ret Ret 23 16 8 15 13 27 18 8 7 Ret Ret 7 18 Lirim Zendeli 14 11 Ret 16 8 7 15 9 Ret 20 22 22† Ret 18 WD WD 6 19 Logan Sargeant 15 14 12 8 22 26 26 13 10 8 13 Ret 9 10 15 10 5 20 Alex Peroni 12 24 8 14 21 Ret 10 Ret 26 16 Ret 15 Ret DNS 5 21 Yifei Ye 22 Ret 13 22 20 Ret 12 11 18 22 15 10 Ret 19 13 6 4 22 Raoul Hyman 21 Ret 17 13 19 16 Ret 18 22 25 26 Ret 15 17 9 13 2 23 Simo Laaksonen 9 Ret 20† Ret 18 18 24 24 17 18 24 Ret 20 20 17 Ret 2 24 Teppei Natori 24 15 Ret Ret Ret 22 25 16 20 Ret 11 8 11 29† 20 19 1 25 Devlin DeFrancesco 23 20 21† 21 17 9 27 17 12 11 29 Ret 12 16 23 12 0 26 Andreas Estner 25 22 11 11 23 20 23 22 21 15 23 17 22 24 24 18 0 27 Sebastián Fernández 16 12 Ret Ret 24 Ret 20 14 13 23 25 13 18 26 16 24† 0 28 Keyvan Andres 28 18 DNS 19 27 13 21 26 23 14 14 16 19 22 19 23 0 29 Alessio Deledda Ret 23 16 23 25 24 Ret 25 24 26 28 20 23 25 21 22 0 30 Giorgio Carrara 28 21 25 21 16 Ret Ret 23 0 31 Artem Petrov 18 Ret 0 32 David Schumacher 22 20 0 33 Charles Leong Ret 21 0 34 Federico Malvestiti Ret 23 0 Pos. Driver R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Points CAT LEC RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Text formatting Meaning Bold Pole position point(s) Italics Fastest lap point(s)

Notes:

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

Pos. Team No. CAT LEC RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC Points R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 Prema Racing 26 3 5 6 6 3 19 3 4 8 1 8 1 21 14 1 2 527 27 7 1 1 3 4 2 2 28† 11 7 3 5 2 13 5 14 28 1 4 2 1 5 3 5 2 5 Ret 2 3 1 8 2 3 2 Hitech Grand Prix 20 20 21 Ret 12 9 5 4 1 7 2 7 7 10 6 4 16 223 21 6 2 4 17 1 6 1 15 4 4 5 21 Ret 11 8 1 22 22 Ret 13 22 20 Ret 12 11 18 22 15 10 Ret 19 13 6 3 ART Grand Prix 1 4 7 10 Ret 15 10 11 6 28† 19 10 12 Ret 28† 174 2 5 8 Ret 18 2 4 19 12 2 24 9 Ret 14 21 11 11 3 2 6 Ret 15 26 17 7 5 1 5 4 4 13 9 14 9 4 Trident 17 23 20 21† 21 17 9 27 17 12 11 29 Ret 12 16 23 12 134 18 26 16 3 2 6 15 6 27† Ret 27 1 6 5 5 6 Ret 19 8 3 18 24† 11 8 18 19 14 12 19 Ret Ret 15 3 5 5 HWA Racelab 10 13 13 5 20 13 Ret 22 20 19 10 20 14 17 27† Ret 17 100 11 17 Ret Ret 7 7 1 9 Ret 3 3 21 Ret 6 3 7 4 12 28 18 DNS 19 27 13 21 26 23 14 14 16 19 22 19 23 6 MP Motorsport 4 NC 17 9 5 14 25 8 3 16 9 12 19 7 2 18 8 77 5 9 Ret 20† Ret 18 18 18 24 17 18 24 Ret 20 20 17 Ret 6 19 19 14 4 10 12 17 21 27† 17 17 11 4 4 10 7 7 Jenzer Motorsport 14 10 9 7 9 16 11 14 7 9 6 6 2 3 1 12 25† 67 15 18 Ret 28 21 Ret 23 25 21 16 Ret Ret 23 Ret 21 16 25 22 11 11 23 20 23 22 21 15 23 17 22 24 24 18 8 Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 7 14 11 Ret 16 8 7 15 9 Ret 20 22 22† Ret 18 DNS DNS 15 8 27 Ret 15 Ret Ret 23 16 8 15 13 27 18 8 7 Ret Ret 9 21 Ret 17 13 19 16 Ret 18 22 25 26 Ret 15 17 9 13 9 Carlin Buzz Racing 29 24 15 Ret Ret Ret 22 25 16 20 Ret 11 8 11 29† 20 19 14 30 11 10 19 10 12 14 13 10 6 Ret 18 9 16 12 25 15 31 15 14 12 8 22 26 26 13 10 8 13 Ret 9 10 15 10 10 Campos Racing 23 12 24 8 14 21 Ret 10 Ret 26 16 Ret 15 Ret DNS 22 20 5 24 Ret 23 16 23 25 24 Ret 25 24 26 28 20 23 25 21 22 25 16 12 Ret Ret 24 Ret 20 14 13 23 25 13 18 26 16 24 Pos. Team No. R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Points CAT LEC RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Text formatting Meaning Bold Pole position point(s) Italics Fastest lap point(s)

Notes:

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

• Official website