Impressive pace all round: ART Grand Prix Pre-Season Round-Up

5 March 2025

One returning driver and two rookies comprise the ART Grand Prix line-up for 2025, and the new trio are feeling confident about their chances after completing the pre-season test in Barcelona.

Laurens van Hoepen is joined by James Wharton and Tuukka Taponen for what ART hope will be a return to the summit of Formula 3.

After three-days of lapping the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, here is how the 2025 campaign is shaping up for the French squad.

Leading the way in terms of experience and lap count across the tests is van Hoepen, who returns with the team for his second season of FIA F3.

The Dutch driver was impressive during his rookie campaign, achieving multiple podium finishes and a maiden pole position. But the target of a first victory will be at the forefront of his mind going into 2025.

Early season form of last year was impressive, with three Sprint podiums in the opening four rounds, but improved Sunday performances will be the target for van Hoepen this time around.

His 226 laps are evidence of that focus, and when the team did turn attentions towards outright pace, his laptimes were far from disappointing.

Van Hoepen was one of just four drivers to dip into the 1:26s during the test, his best lap putting him fourth overall in the order when the track was at its quickest across the three days. It bodes well for what’s to come in 2025.

“We’re happy with everything we did,” he said after the chequered flag on day three. “It’s a bit of a shame that it rained but we got so much data and finished most of the things we wanted to do. It was also nice to get some running in the wet to see how the car runs in the wet. So we’re happy with the test.

“I would say in the medium and low speed corners, the new car is quite similar to the old one. In the high-speed it’s quite a bit different, there’s so much more aero so I love to drive it in the high-speed sections. I think we can definitely have a strong season and just have to work hard across the whole season.”

All three ART drivers were at or near the top of the times across the three days of testing

Two spots ahead of him however on the morning of day two was Taponen, who appears to have taken to life in F3 right away.

The Finnish driver wound up second to Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov with the second fastest time of the test overall, 1:26.782 only narrowly behind the Bulgarian’s session-topping effort.

He also achieved plenty of mileage, ending up just shy of van Hoepen’s lap count on 218. The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent looks well placed to adapt quickly to life in F3 on the evidence of testing.

Last season, Taponen was able to gain racing experience in ART colours during the Spa-Francorchamps round, and while results didn’t go his way that weekend, the opportunity was hugely valuable as he explained in the aftermath.

“It was a great opportunity,” said Taponen of his opportunity at Spa last year. “It doesn't happen every day to get these kinds of opportunities to replace someone, especially in F3.

“I learned quite well how the team worked on a race weekend, how everybody was inside the team, I knew more about the engineers, mechanics, even though the weekend is not so long.

“We only had Free Practice, Qualifying and the races, but I already got quite a good feeling and picture from ART, and it felt like a good place for me.”

Van Hoepen was feeling positive about his and the team's work after Barcelona testing

Teammate Wharton was also in the cockpit of an F3 car last season for a number of races, and his experience looks to have cut down his learning curve.

While those appearances came with a different team, Wharton looks comfortable in the ART setup alongside his teammates already.

He too broke the 200-lap mark, achieving 213 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya across the three-day event. His pace was not far away from the top 10 on the morning of day two either, just 0.012s shy of cracking the top 10.

On a rain-affected final day of testing, he led both his teammates in the final segment on day three, showing his adaptability at this very early stage of his F3 career. The new car will be a reset for everyone and could play into the rookies’ favour if they can adapt quickly enough.

“I’m quite positive going into Melbourne that we did everything we needed to do,” Wharton said after stepping out of the car on the final day. “We’re in a really good position as a team. This test was about learning, we did everything we wanted and I’m quite confident going into the first race.

“It felt a lot better than I expected for the first time. Normally you have to try and change a lot to get the car in the window. But on the first set of tyres, I felt the car was really good. The new tyre is so much more grippy than the old tyres, and it’s a bit of the car as well, but it feels really good to drive.”