Formula 3 – Is F2 The Only Option For Formula 3 Drivers At The End Of The Season?

The choices drivers will be left with at the end of the Formula 3 season are similar to those they face during other stages of their careers and will affect them in either a positive or negative manner. F3 drivers who have had a bad season will continue driving in the series until they feel they are ready to pursue their next steps. Others will believe they should drive in Formula 2 instead next season in order to continue their development. The third group of drivers will leave the series due to financial concerns or to drive in other series they are interested in.

Option 1: Stay in Formula 3

Some drivers may not have performed as well as they had hoped to this season and will stay in F3 next year. Alpine juniors Nikola Tsolov and Sophia Floersch are 12^th and 25^th in Formula 3 this year. First year drivers Martinius Stenshorne and Alex Dunne are both part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme and are 16^th and 20^th in the championship. Driving in Formula 3 in 2025 might increase the self-confidence of these drivers and other struggling F3 drivers who aren’t part of F1 driver academies such as Tommy Smith, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Cian Shields, by encouraging them not to put themselves under too much pressure to do well during the remainder of this season as opposed to if they knew this was their last Formula 3 season.

Option 2: Drive in Formula 2

Drivers might compete in Formula 2 next year if they feel they have tried their best in Formula 3 this season and as a result do not need to spend more time driving in the championship when they could instead be driving in F2. The drivers in the top 4 in the championship so far this year are all in their second F3 seasons and most of them will race in Formula 2 next year if they keep up their performances during the rest of the season. Other Formula 3 drivers such as Arvid Lindblad and Tim Tramnitz may drive in Formula 2 in 2025. Both rookies are in the top 10 in the championship (in 5^th and 7^th place respectively) and are part of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Option 3: Race in other series

After driving in Formula 3, drivers may compete in series in their birth countries or other parts of the world to save money whilst they are racing. Hunter Yeany and Reece Ushijima have both driven in the USF Pro 2000 Championship after previously participating in the Formula 3 Championship. Yeany drove in two F3 rounds in 2021 (in Spa and Zandvoort) and also drove in Formula 3 in 2022 and 2023, whilst Ushijima raced in the championship in 2022. William Alatalo was an F3 driver in 2022, however he is now driving in the Italian GT Championship for Lazarus Corse. Like Alatalo, Italian driver Federico Malvestiti raced for Jenzer Motorsport whilst he was in Formula 3. He has also taken part in the Porsche Carrera Cup and Italian GT Championship in his homeland. 

Jonny Edgar was the ADAC Formula 4 Championship champion in 2020, before driving in Formula 3. He currently drives in ELMS and IMSA and finished 3^rd in the 2024 4 Hours of Le Castellet (in the LMP2 class) alongside his teammates Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica. Edgar likely decided he wanted to compete in endurance racing after the end of the 2023 F3 season and knew wouldn’t need to drive in F2 to achieve his goal. Like Alejandro Garcia, he demonstrated the importance of future planning for racing drivers, by giving himself time to get used to driving in endurance racing and earn good results to secure his seat for future seasons. Garcia drove in Formula 3 last year and was also part of the COOL Racing team which won the LMP3 ELMS title in 2023. He competes in ELMS (in the LMP2 class) this season.