PREVIEW: Melbourne kicks off 2025 F3 season

With pre-season testing in the books, FIA Formula 3 is back in action and for the first time ever, racing begins Down Under in Melbourne, Australia.

It will also mark the beginning of a new era, as the new Formula 3 car makes its racing debut with all 30 cars on track and going wheel-to-wheel for the first time.

The Albert Park street circuit provides a stern test for all the drivers, but who will hit the ground running and start their season on the highest note?

WHAT TO EXPECT

It’s always a raucous welcome from the Aussie fans in Melbourne and it has quickly become a favourite amongst the drivers.

Free Practice kicks the weekend off on Friday morning, 08:50 local time. Qualifying follows later in the day, with the grid set for both the Sprint and Feature Races at 14:00 local.

Saturday will provide the first taste of racing action with the new F3 car, the Sprint Race kicking off the 2025 campaign at 11:15 local time.

The first Feature Race of the new season begins at 09:00 local. Who will follow in the footsteps of Gabriel Bortoleto and Dino Beganovic as Feature Race winners in Australia?

FAST FACTS

• 13 drivers with a full F3 campaign under their belt will line-up on the grid in Melbourne.
• MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz is the highest-ranked driver from 2024 returning after finishing last year ninth in the Standings.
• In 2025, the Championship introduces a new car, designed to help driver development with a focus on affordability, safety, sustainability, and inclusion all while keeping the Championship’s DNA of exciting and entertaining racing.
• In the latest evolution of the successful partnership with Aramco, 2025 will mark the introduction of 100% Advanced Sustainable Fuel used across the Championship.
• Another change is the implementation of larger, 16-inch tyres by Pirelli. The change is focused on helping drivers learn how to manage tyres in preparation for both F2 and ultimately, F1.
• There is a 25%-win rate from pole position, with Bortoleto the only driver to win a race in Melbourne after starting first on the grid.
• There are four DRS zones around the Albert Park circuit, the most of a single track on the F3 calendar

FROM THE GRID – James Wharton, ART Grand Prix

“I think it’s one of the highest-speed tracks of the year, especially with all the DRS zones being so long. It’s quite tough on degradation as well because we’re putting a lot of energy through the tyres which makes the races tough.

“It’s easy to overtake which is good for racing and TV. It’ll be my second ever time on a street track and we’ll see how it goes. It should be exciting with good overtaking. Turn 9 after the DRS zone and then T11 which is after another DRS zone.

“The toughest part of the weekend will be managing the emotions. It’s a lot more than just a race for me, I’ll have more people there, family too so I’ll be managing all of that while we’re working on the new car that we’re still learning.”

TECHNICAL PREVIEW

Pierre-Alain Michot, FIA Formula 3 Technical Director

“After all the preparations we have made for this year, it’s good to be back here in Melbourne for the first race of the new season and a new era.

“The development of the new car has been hugely important and ultimately successful, and after pre-season testing, we are very satisfied with what we’ve seen so far. We accumulated over 6000 laps without any major issues, a huge achievement and a testament to the work we’ve put in. Now, we’re ready for the season to come.

“This weekend we introduce the new 100% Advanced Sustainable Fuel. Working with Aramco, they have developed a new formula for this fuel to make sure that in terms of performance and reliability, it was suitable for our engine and in line with our expectations for the FIA Formula 3 Championship.

“Albert Park is a circuit that places a broad range of demands on the car, from tyre wear to aerodynamic performance. It will be important for teams to find the right balance in Free Practice between maximising top-end speed along each of the four DRS zones with downforce for the medium-to-high speed sections ahead of Qualifying.”

PIRELLI PREVIEW

Melbourne sees the new 16” tyres make their F3 debut and the Medium is the chosen compound, the same in terms of its position in the range, as last year. In 2024, graining played its part throughout the course of the weekend, making tyre management very complicated for the drivers. This phenomenon actually increases degradation and tyre wear and requires astute management if a driver wants to gain an advantage over their opponents. With the Formula 3 action this weekend taking place in the early morning, the weather could add to the puzzle because, if temperatures are too low, it would definitely complicate matters during the warm-up phase for the tyres.