Talented trio joining ART Grand Prix for 2025 with eyes on the prize

9 January 2025

After the blip of 2023, ART Grand Prix were back in familiar territory last year as the French squad moved back into the top three in the Teams’ Standings.

Race winners on three occasions last season, it was a much stronger campaign last time out, but as ever, there is room for improvement and a lot to be excited about going into 2025.

Laurens van Hoepen returns for his second F3 season, joined by James Wharton and Tuukka Taponen, two talented rookies who will both be looking to make their mark from the very start.

Van Hoepen will the the experienced driver of the ART trio after his rookie campaign in 2024

Van Hoepen’s rookie season started strongly, with three podium finishes in the opening four rounds, albeit in the Sprint Races. It was an area he was eager to improve upon and he looked to have taken a maiden Feature win in Budapest only to lose the victory to post-race exclusion.

Still, regular points across the year showcased his consistency and he looks well placed to continue on an upward trajectory in 2025. 13th in the Drivers’ Championship last year was a fair effort but he will be hopeful of putting his experience to good use and to fight for more this time around.

He was in the points 11 times out of a possible 20 (12 discounting his Budapest DSQ), and it provides a good platform to go from again this time around.

Wharton got a run out in F3 last season ahead of his full-time debut this year

Wharton gained F3 experience in 2024, but the Australian will be a rookie this year in ART colours. He finished both Silverstone races he took part in last season and the experience of how unpredictable and open Formula 3 can be will likely serve him well in the coming months.

He arrives in F3 fresh from a runner-up finish in the 2024 FRECA season, where he claimed four wins, three of which came in the final three rounds. Along with a further six podium finishes, it was a strong year, and he will aim to carry that momentum into 2025.

If ART can make a strong start to the new era of Formula 3, Wharton and his teammates will be hopeful of making their mark in the opening rounds similar to what the team was able to do last season, scoring three podiums in the opening four races.

Taponen also got an F3 opportunity last year with ART Grand Prix

Rounding out a strong driver line-up, Tuukka Taponen was another to gain some F3 experience himself last season with the ART team at Spa-Francorchamps. The Scuderia Ferrari Academy Driver achieved 14th in the Sprint but was left on the sidelines in the Feature Race. But, racing with his 2025 team already has accelerated his integration into the team for the new campaign.

Taponen finished last year’s FRECA campaign third in the Standings, earning four race victories and taking another three podium finishes in a campaign of two halves. While he was in title contention in the first leg of the season, during which he claimed all his wins, he fell away after several retirements that ultimately ended his hopes of securing the crown.

Since graduating from karts into single seater racing, Taponen has finished every season inside the top five in every series he’s raced in, most recently winning the Formula Regional Middle East Championship in 2024. Should he carry that record on in 2025 and finish as one of the top five drivers in FIA F3, plenty will be standing up and taking notice.

2024 marked a return to familiar form for ART, and the French outfit shows no signs of stopping in 2025 despite the unknowns that hang over the grid with the introduction of a brand-new car. Their competitiveness remained consistent from start to finish, achieving multiple wins, podiums and points finishes across all three of their drivers, enabling them to move back into the top three in the pecking order.

Whether that trend continues to be an upward one will depend on how quickly they understand and refine their approach with the 2025 Dallara F3 car, but riding the positive wave generated last season, ART could be a team fighting for top honours in both Championships come Monza.