We may have only just returned from summer break, but the end of the season is nearing for the F3 Championship drivers.
This weekend, Monza will mark the 9th and final round for the junior series with the Championship battle going down to the wire. With a maximum of 39 points up for grabs, this leaves 7 drivers still in contention for the title. Who will come out victorious?
As it stands, 5 points separate current leader, Victor Martins, from the chasing rookie of Isack Hadjar. However, the race for the title isn’t just between the Top 2, there is a tail of rookies and veterans all with their eyes on the prize. With just 8 points between 3rd place man Roman Stanek and 6th place runner Arthur Leclerc now, everyone will be desperate to pick up every point available across the weekend as it could potentially seal their spot on the final podium of the year in Abu Dhabi.
Who can win?
If you’re new to F3 or simply need a refresher, here are the drivers that are in the running for the 2022 title.
Victor Martins - Currently 1st
The 21 year old Frenchman is in his 2nd session of F3 and after placing 5th in 2021, he is on the hunt for the title. Martins has had a very consistently high scoring season, let down only by Round 6 and 7 in Belgium and Hungary after a DNF and 1 non-scoring race. As an Alpine Academy driver, all eyes are on the future of the unoccupied F1 seat in the main team. To prove his potential, we’re sure that Victor would be battling against fellow academy members, Jack Doohan and Olli Caldwell in F2, to attract the attention of the Alpine bosses. A win this season would certainly aid him on his way up the feeder series ladder.
Isack Hadjar - Currently 2nd
In only his rookie year, Red Bull Junior Isack Hadjar is the only driver in the Top 7 to have scored in at least one race in every round across the 2022 season. He has also collected the most wins with 2 sprint victories and 1 feature race win, not to mention his pole at the Red Bull Ring. Similarly to Martins, Hadjar had a tough few rounds in Hungary and Belgium suffering two non-points finishes across the 2 weekends. Rumours say that Hadjar has unofficially confirmed his move up the feeder ladder into F2 for the 2023 season, however the team is yet unknown. Although it seems his future is sealed, a new title and winners trophy wouldn’t be a bad end to his F3 campaign.
Roman Stanek - Currently 3rd
Czech driver Roman Stanek has had a steady 3rd season in F3, scoring consistently and picking up his first F3 win in Imola earlier in the year. After competing with MP Motorsport and Hitech GP in his previous F3 seasons, Stanek paired up with the reigning Team Champions, Trident, and has certainly improved upon both his other campaigns. Sitting in 3rd currently isn’t a comfortable place to be as there is tight competition for that all important last spot on the podium. Stanek will be hoping to keep the competition behind him whilst trying to pick up as many points as he can in an attempt to catch the leading pair.
Ollie Bearman - Currently 4th
The British Rookie has had a consistent first year in the series picking up multiple podiums and a maiden win in the Spa Sprint ace! Bearman is one of the latest editions to the Ferrari Driver Academy, joining in 2022 after winning both Italian F4 and ADAC F4 with Van Amersfoort Racing where he collected a total of a huge 17 wins, 13 pole positions and 26 podiums across both series. As for F3 he hit the ground running after crossing the line first on debut in Bahrain which resulted in a 2nd place after he took a time penalty for exceeding track limits on multiple occasions. To take the title would need two very strong results with low scores for the leading drivers, however it is possible and with Ollie’s recent form a good result in the sprint race could put him back into the fight.
Zane Maloney - Currently 5th
Another rookie who has risen fast through the standings is Zane Maloney! The 18 year old Barbadian has collated 2 pole positions and 2 feature race wins across the season and a late run of form has pushed Maloney right into the thick of the title fight. After getting off to a slower start to the championship scoring only 19 points in the first 4 rounds, a chance at the title seemed to be out of reach. However, where many of the leaders faltered in Hungary and Belgium, Maloney capitalised on the opportunity and collected a podium at the Hungaroring and a feature race win in Spa. To well and truly secure his place in the title race Zane went on to win the feature race in Zandvoort and overtake Leclerc in the championship. As I’ve said before, battle for 3rd in the championship is tight so every point counts.
Arthur Leclerc - Currently 6th
FDA driver Arthur Leclerc started off the year strong with a championship win in the Formula Regional Asian Championship before F3 kicked off in Sakhir. He carried the momentum through into the first round claiming a 2nd place in the feature race at the Bahrain International Circuit putting him into P2 in the championship which went onto be joint leader after round 2. The points haul continued into the middle of the season with a feature race win in Silverstone however some poor qualifying results lead to a dip in points between the past 3 rounds. The win is still possible for Leclerc but is heavily dependent on the leaders scoring little to no points in Monza.
Jak Crawford - Currently 7th
It’s a long shot but it’s possible! Jak Crawford has just made the cut by only 2 points however that means he would need 2 wins and pole with no points for the leaders to win the title. The Red Bull Junior moved from Hitech GP to Prema racing at the end of last year after their successful campaign with fellow Red Bull backed driver and reigning F3 champion, Dennis. Hauger. Crawford has since had a consistent season and claimed a ‘home’ victory at the Spielberg based Red Bull Ring which has remained his sole win in F3. This consistency has kept him in the championship battle throughout the season with the only flaw coming at Spa where he walked away with 0 points which did put him on the back foot coming into the final 2 rounds.
So, what’s up for grabs here?
As with many series outside of F1, your championship place can score you super license points which are needed to progress into F1. For winning in Formula 3 you would receive 30 points, 25 for 2nd and 20 for third. The points go down to 10th in the championship however to make it to that all important 40 points needed to obtain a super license the drivers will want to finish as high as possible.
As I’ve said before, some F2 seats are already in the works or already sealed, however there will be teams looking at the F3 grid to see which of the drivers they would like to drive for them next year. As always, better performances will attract more eyes which can aid drivers chances with academies or future teams within F3.
Speaking of teams, the teams championship will also be decided in the final round. Reminiscent of last year the battle is between Prema and Trident with Prema entering the final round with the advantage however like we saw last year anything can happen, and usually it does.
Are you ready for the final round? Find out how it unfolds in the sprint race at 10:35 am CEST on Saturday and in the feature race at 8:35 am CEST on Sunday!
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