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Defending into a new era: PREMA Racing Pre-Season Round-Up
There’s always an air of expectancy surrounding PREMA Racing in FIA Formula 3. Going into a new season as reigning and defending Teams’ Champions for the fifth time in six years, the Italian outfit has high expectations and one goal in mind.
To help them defend the crown, Noel León is joined by rookies Brando Badoer and Ugo Ugochukwu, so what can we expect from the trio?
They achieved 586 laps in total across the three days of pre-season testing around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and looked impressive every step of the way.
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Badoer joins PREMA Racing for his rookie campaign in the F3 Championship. The Italian driver has enjoyed a positive winter both in terms of his preparation for the step up away from the racetrack as well as on it, as he claimed a maiden victory in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship ahead of testing.
Having achieved plenty of podiums in his career so far, Badoer will be aiming to continue that in Formula 3 and he’s well placed to do so, with the reigning Teams’ Champions.
Something that may also work in his favour is the switch to the new 2025 car, as teams and drivers alike get used to the new machinery in the early rounds of the campaign.
He completed all of his planned running without having any major issues keeping him away from the track, so he will carry confidence into the new season.
After a promising rookie campaign in 2024, León returns to Formula 3 in 2025 with PREMA Racing and the Mexican driver looks right at home.
He made a very fast start to life in red, topping the times on the opening day of testing, getting to grips with the new 2025 car and looking comfortable from the outset. He didn’t get out of the car in the afternoon as he logged plenty of mileage.
He was enthusiastic about what he and the team achieved across the three days of testing, adding that the new car had a number of different traits but that it boded well for the racing this season.
Having finished every dry session inside the top 10 before the rain arrived for day three, León looks to be making a fast start to the new campaign and could be a driver to watch in the early rounds of the new season.
"I’m feeling good with the team, we completed all of our programmes, so we’re satisfied"
“It was a great three days of testing,” the Mexican driver summarised afterwards. “Lots of improvements ahead of Melbourne. The big topic was tyres. Learning the window and warm-up for them along with setup, getting everything in the zone. We tried a lot of stuff, and we know where we need to work on, so I’m confident we’re happy and feeling confident for Melbourne.
“All of us had different programmes to complete and we all did, that was the main thing we focused on.
“I’m feeling good with the team, we completed all of our programmes, so we’re satisfied. Now we just need to keep working and look at what will work best and put it in place for Melbourne.”
Like Badoer, Ugochukwu is embarking on his rookie season in FIA Formula 3 and the PREMA driver looked very comfortable during the three-day Barcelona test.
Fresh from his Macau victory in 2024, the McLaren Development Driver talent has settled into life at PREMA with ease, having raced with the team previously in his junior career.
While Ugochukwu did not appear at the top of the times with any headline-grabbing laps, the American driver looked composed throughout the test and within the PREMA garage, everyone looked to be calm and went about their business as usual.
Time will tell if the reigning Champions have hit the mark with the new F3 car, but on first viewing it looks as though their well-oiled machine is in no danger of derailing going into the 2025 campaign proper.