Opinion: 2020 FIA F3 Predictions

F1 has 20 drivers. F2 has 20 drivers. F3 however has a whopping 30 drivers split between 10 teams, and in a grid that features classic names, new faces and familiar F3 drivers, picking a champion from this crop of drivers will be nearly impossible… but I’m going to try anyway.

First of all, the full grid can be seen below, with the recent change of David Beckmann replacing Devlin DeFrancesco at Trident:

Now lets take a look at the possible contenders for the 2020 FIA F3 title:

Oscar Piastri, Frederik Vesti, Logan Sargeant – Prema Racing:

Prema dominated the first season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship last year, with all 3 of Marcus Armstrong, Jehan Daruvala and champion Robert Shwartzman making the move to F2 after locking out the top 3 positions in the championship in 2019.

19 year old American Logan Sargeant enters his 2nd year in F3, after a difficult year with Carlin last year. This was down to the car rather than Sargeant’s talent, with Carlin struggling to 9th overall in  2019. However Sargeant’s past performances in Formula Renault Eurocup in 2018, British F4 in 2017 and F4 UAE in 2016/17 proves that given the right equipment he has plenty of speed to take the title. Sargeant is yet to win a title in car racing, will 2020 be his year?

Piastri and Vesti, in contrast to Sargeant, both had an incredibly successful 2019 – Vesti dominated the 2019 Formula Regional European Championship, beating the likes of Enzo Fittipaldi, David Schumacher and Igor Fraga; Piastri likewise in Formula Renault Eurocup, surviving a late season charge from Victor Martins to secure the title. Given both their and Prema’s past performances, it would be foolish to rule them out of being title protagonists in 2020.

Frederik Vesti in 2019

Théo Pourchaire – ART Grand Prix:

16 year old French teenager Pourchaire is one of the youngest drivers on the grid. He is also one of the least experienced, having only been racing cars since 2018. Thing is, he’s won everything he’s raced – he took the French F4 Junior title in 2018, before beating Dennis Hauger to the ADAC F4 title last year. Pourchaire has been hailed one of the best up and coming drivers by many, likening him to Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. For many, he is the favourite for the 2020 F3 title, but will the teenager be able to cope with all the pressure, especially in his first year in F3?

Théo Pourchaire in 2019

Enzo Fittipaldi – HWA Racelab:

For fans of motorsport, the name Fittipaldi is one of the most sacred, and 18 year old Enzo is one of 3 Fittipaldi’s making there way through the motorsport ladder. Grandson of 2x F1 champion Emerson, Fittipaldi’s last 2 years have been very successful – he was runner up in the 2019 Formula Renault European Championship, won the 2018 Italian F4 Championship and 3rd in that year’s ADAC F4 Championship too. The skill is there for sure, and being a Fittipaldi there will be a lot of pressure on his shoulders. So far he’s proven to be able to handle it, so the main question is will HWA be able to provide a title contending car?

Enzo Fittipaldi in 2018

Richard Verschoor – MP Motorsport:

Having raced in F3/GP3 since 2018 with just 1 podium to his name, it doesn’t immediately look like the 19 year old Dutchman is likely to challenge for the 2020 title. However, strong performances in the Toyota Racing Series (3rd in 2017, 2nd in 2018) kept him being talked about. Then the 2019 Macau Grand Prix came about, and Verschoor blew the field away with an outstanding drive at F3’s jewel-in-the-crown race. Despite testing for MP in F2, he remains in F3 for 2020, and will be looking to use his Macau win to launch into the 2020 season at the front.

Richard Verschoor after winning in Macau

Igor Fraga – Charouz Racing System:

Fraga’s racing career up to now hasn’t been the traditional type. He won the Academy Class in Brazilian F3, but really made a name for himself in eSports, winning the inaugural FIA Gran Turismo Nations Cup and the McLaren Shadow racing series in 2018. He then raced in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2019 and finished 3rd, prompting Red Bull to sign him to their driver programme and securing a promotion to FIA F3 for 2020. He also raced in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series and won – can the Brazilian add another title to his 2020 season?

Igor Fraga after winning the FIA Gran Turismo Nations Cup

Final predictions:

The 2020 FIA F3 Championship will hopefully be much more competitive than in 2019, with more than 1 team being able to fight for the title. If this proves to be the case, my prediction is that Théo Pourchaire will ride the wave of hype and take the title, in a similar fashion to Robert Shwartzman last year. If it was to be between the Prema’s, Frederik Vesti’s utter dominance in 2019 Formula Regional European Championship cannot be ignored, and I think he would come out on top.

Drivers Top 3:

• Théo Pourchaire – ART Grand Prix
• Frederik Vesti – Prema Racing
• Richard Verschoor – MP Motorsport

Teams Top 3 :

• Prema Racing
• ART Grand Prix
• Hitech Grand Prix