Dennis Hauger became the third FIA F3 drivers' champion in his second year in the series. Having moved from Hitech Grand Prix to Prema Racing over the winter, Hauger laid down the gauntlet with pole position in Barcelona, but a collision in the final laps of Race 2 knocked him out of contention for a maiden victory in the series. Nevertheless, Hauger rebounded on Sunday to win Race 3 and assume the championship lead, which he never relinquished. Strong weekends at the Red Bull Ring and the Hungaroring enabled Hauger to extend his lead to 63 points—nearly a full weekend's worth—as the championship entered its summer break, and he ultimately secured the title in Race 1 of the last race at Sochi.
A late surge from Jack Doohan propelled him to second place in the drivers' championship. Like fellow Red Bull–affiliated driver Hauger, Doohan took four wins across the season. In Belgium, Doohan became the first driver in series history to take two wins in one weekend after winning Races 2 and 3; with all three Prema cars struggling in the wet conditions at Spa-Francorchamps that weekend, Doohan and his Trident team—which also fielded Clément Novalak and David Schumacher—closed their respective championship gaps to Hauger and Prema significantly. Though Doohan could not supplant Hauger in the drivers' championship, Trident did beat Prema by four points to take their first teams' championship in the series and their first in any category in 16 years of competition.
In an effort to cut costs during the COVID-19 pandemic, series organizers adopted a new format for both F3 and its parent championship, FIA Formula 2, for the 2021 season. Notably, each weekend comprised three races rather than two; the traditional feature race was moved from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning and renamed Race 3, while Races 1 and 2 adopted reverse-grid formats based on the results of qualifying and Race 1 respectively. The extra race was made possible because F2 races were run on different weekends to F3, with the exception of the Sochi round, leaving more space in the timetable of each race weekend.
The schedule adjustments also allowed several drivers to move between F2 and F3 mid-season. Matteo Nannini entered the opening F2 event with his F3 team, HWA Racelab, and two later events with Campos Racing; Jake Hughes and Enzo Fittipaldi joined the grid at Monza in September; and Doohan, Novalak, Logan Sargeant, and Olli Caldwell all made their F2 débuts at Jeddah in December. Despite enabling these opportunities, the format used in 2021 was unpopular with many in the paddock, and it was altered again for the 2022 season.[3]
Entries
As the championship was a spec series, all teams competed with an identical Dallara F3 2019 chassis and tyre compounds developed by Pirelli.[1][4] Each car was powered by a 3.4 L (207 cu in) naturally-aspirated V6 engine developed by Mecachrome.[5]
Charouz Racing System did not retain Igor Fraga or Michael Belov, with Roman Staněk leaving the team. Charouz signed Formula Renault Eurocup graduate Reshad de Gerus to race alongside Logan Sargeant and Enzo Fittipaldi.
Mid-season changes
For the second round at the Circuit Paul Ricard, BRDC British Formula 3 runner-up Johnathan Hoggard replaced Pierre-Louis Chovet at Jenzer, with Chovet citing sponsorship issues as the reason for the change.[25] Campos driver László Tóth tested positive for COVID-19 shortly prior to the round and was forced to withdraw.[26] He was replaced by Chovet.[27] Tóth returned to Campos for the third round at the Red Bull Ring.[28]
Kaylen Frederick missed the fourth round at the Hungaroring as he was still recovering from a thumb injury sustained in a crash at the Red Bull Ring. Former HWA Racelab driver Jake Hughes replaced him at Carlin Buzz Racing.[29]
Charouz Racing System made two driver changes for the fifth round at Spa-Francorchamps. Enzo Fittipaldi was promoted to the team's Formula 2 outfit and Reshad de Gerus left the team. They were replaced by Indy Pro 2000 racer Hunter Yeany and Euroformula Open driver Zdeněk Chovanec.[6] Kaylen Frederick was set to return at Spa-Francorchamps having recovered from his thumb injury, but was required to sit out the event after testing positive for COVID-19.[30] Carlin did not replace him and the team only fielded two cars.[31] Frederick returned to Carlin for the sixth round at Circuit Zandvoort.[32]
As a consequence of cost-cutting measures, the Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships will adopt a new format. The two championships will alternate between Grands Prix meetings and will no longer appear together on the support race bill. Although this will reduce the number of rounds, both championships will run three races at a Grand Prix instead of two. The format change was designed to cut costs for teams competing in both championships by allowing them to rotate staff between each championship.[35]
The Silverstone and Monza rounds, which supported the British and Italian Grands Prix respectively, were removed from the schedule to make way for the new weekend format.
The Paul Ricard round returned to the championship. It was originally timetabled for 26-27 June, but took place a week earlier due to the rescheduling of the French Grand Prix.
The Circuit Zandvoort made its début in 2021. The circuit had been included on the 2020 calendar, but was removed from the schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last race of the championship was set to take place at the Circuit of the Americas on 23-24 October, in what would have been the circuit's début in the series. However, in early September, the round was replaced "following unavoidable logistical changes" with a round at the Sochi Autodrom taking place on 25-26 September.[36]
Regulation changes
Sporting changes
The weekend format was changed with two races held on Saturday and one race on Sunday. The qualifying determined the grid of the Sunday race and the first Saturday race, which will also see the top twelve drivers from Qualifying have their grid positions reversed.[37] The grid of the second race was formed by results of the first Saturday race, with top twelve finishers reversed. The addition of a third race to the weekend meant that teams were provided with an extra set of tyres.
Season report
Round 1: Spain
The season began at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Dennis Hauger setting the fastest time in qualifying and hence taking pole position for Race 3. Jonny Edgar qualified 12th, giving him reverse-grid pole position for Race 1. Aleksandr Smolyar passed Edgar early in the race, which later ended under safety car conditions after Oliver Rasmussen went off-track and became stuck in the gravel. This allowed Smolyar to claim his first FIA Formula 3 victory.
Enzo Fittipaldi started from pole position in Race 2 by virtue of finishing Race 1 in 12th place. Race 1 winner Smolyar and Logan Sargeant were eliminated on the first lap after colliding with each other and spinning into the gravel. On lap 12 of 22, David Schumacher passed Fittipaldi for the lead of the race, however both drivers were eliminated three laps later when Fittipaldi attempted to reclaim the lead and the two collided. The lead now passed to Matteo Nannini. On the penultimate lap, Hauger attempted to pass Nannini and the two made contact, breaking Hauger's front wing and causing Nannini to spin. Olli Caldwell, who started the race in seventh place, crossed the finish line to take his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory.
Hauger led the entirety of Race 3 to take his first FIA Formula 3 race win ahead of Jack Doohan and Nannini. This result allowed Hauger to claim the lead of the championship after Round 1, two points ahead of teammate Caldwell.
Round 2: France
The season resumed at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Frederik Vesti took pole position in qualifying for Race 3, while Calan Williams qualified 12th to start on pole for Race 1. The first race featured five drivers – Williams, Logan Sargeant, Ayumu Iwasa, Aleksandr Smolyar and Victor Martins – trading the lead of the race. Iwasa was later penalised for taking the lead whilst off the track. On the final lap, Martins – who had made his way into the lead after starting 10th – was overtaken by Smolyar, who took his second race victory in four races. After starting from 30th place after breaking his suspension in qualifying, Arthur Leclerc progressed to 12th place in the race, earning himself pole position for Race 2.
Leclerc maintained his lead for the entirety of Race 2 to claim his first victory, and first points finish, in FIA Formula 3. Jak Crawford, who started the race alongside Leclerc on the front row, stalled his car at the race start and eventually finished 14th. Leclerc's teammate Dennis Hauger finished second and Martins climbed from 11th on the grid to pass Olli Caldwell on the penultimate lap for third place.
Race 3 took place in wet conditions. Hauger took the lead from polesitter Vesti at the race start, who would gradually drop back to sixth by the end of the race. Hauger held the lead until lap 15 of 20 when Jack Doohan, who had made his way up from fifth place, overtook him. Doohan crossed the finish line to take his first FIA Formula 3 victory, followed by Hauger and Caio Collet. At the conclusion of the round, Hauger held the lead of the championship by six points over Martins, with Doohan a further two points adrift in third place.
Round 3: Austria
Caio Collet initially set the fastest time in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, however Dennis Hauger was awarded Race 3 pole position after Collet's time was deleted for exceeding track limits. Logan Sargeant took reverse-grid pole position for Race 1. Sargeant, Matteo Nannini and Clément Novalak spent the race exchanging the lead, before Nannini and Novalak collided with three laps remaining. This allowed Hauger, who had progressed to third place after starting 12th, to take his second victory of the season ahead of teammate Olli Caldwell with Sargeant third. After the race, eleven drivers in total were penalised, with most penalties issued for violating track limits at turns nine and ten. This promoted Jack Doohan to third place.
After all penalties from Race 1 were applied, David Schumacher took reverse-grid pole position for Race 2.[38] The race was interrupted by safety car periods after collisions between Logan Sargeant and Tijmen van der Helm and later Juan Manuel Correa and Kaylen Frederick, with the latter collision leaving Frederick with a fractured thumb. Schumacher held the lead for the entire race distance to claim his first FIA Formula 3 victory and points finish. Second place had been traded between Jak Crawford, Victor Martins and Roman Staněk, however Crawford and Martins both retired with apparent mechanical issues and the podium was completed by Frederik Vesti and Hauger. Arthur Leclerc claimed the fastest lap and finished sixth, having started the race in 27th place.
Vesti took the lead of Race 3 from pole-sitter Hauger on lap five of 24, and Aleksandr Smolyar briefly claimed the lead before it was retaken by Vesti. On lap 15, Leclerc took to the grass whilst attempting to overtake Martins, losing control of his car and causing a heavy accident that also eliminated Novalak from the race. The safety car was deployed as a result. Vesti held his lead to take his first race win of the season, followed by Hauger in second place and Caldwell in third. Having taken a podium finish at all three races, Hauger extended his championship lead, 41 points ahead of Vesti in second place.
Round 4: Hungary
Arthur Leclerc took Race 3 pole in qualifying at the Hungaroring. Jonny Edgar qualified 12th making him the pole-sitter for Race 1. Edgar held the lead of Race 1 until lap eight, when he was overtaken by Lorenzo Colombo. Edgar retired with a mechanical issue shortly after. The safety car was later deployed after Frederik Vesti's car stopped with mechanical problems. Colombo maintained his lead and crossed the finish line in first place, however he was later judged to have fallen more than ten car lengths behind the safety car. The resulting five-second penalty dropped him to seventh place and allowed Ayumu Iwasa to take his first FIA Formula 3 victory. Logan Sargeant was elevated to third place, claiming Charouz Racing System's first FIA Formula 3 podium finish.
Enzo Fittipaldi started Race 2 in pole position. Matteo Nannini, who started third, passed second-placed Roman Staněk at the first corner and later overtook Fittipaldi for the lead. Fittipaldi claimed another podium finish for Charouz Racing System and Staněk took his first podium of the season.
Race 3 took place in wet conditions. Pole-sitter Leclerc battled for the lead with, and was eventually passed by, teammate Dennis Hauger. The race ended under the safety car after a collision involving Rafael Villagómez, Ido Cohen and László Tóth left the latter two stranded on track. After claiming his third race win of the season, Hauger now held a 63-point advantage in the championship over second-placed Jack Doohan.[39]
Round 5: Belgium
The qualifying session and all three races at Spa-Francorchamps took place in wet conditions. Jack Doohan claimed Race 3 pole position in qualifying and Lorenzo Colombo was the pole-sitter for Race 1. A multi-car battle in Race 1 for fourth place saw Caio Collet penalised for overtaking off-track. Colombo led the entirety of the race and finished over thirteen seconds ahead of second-placed Jak Crawford to claim Campos' first FIA Formula 3 race victory.
Doohan started Race 2 from pole position. The race was interrupted by a safety car in order to collect Matteo Nannini's car, which was stranded on track after a spin. The race later ended under safety car conditions after a collision at the Raidillon curve involving Amaury Cordeel and Calan Williams. Trident took a 1-2 finish with Doohan winning the race ahead of David Schumacher.
Pole-sitter Doohan and Victor Martins competed for the lead during Race 3. Martins briefly claimed the lead from Doohan, but later relinquished the position as his overtaking move was completed off-track. Doohan led the rest of the race to claim a second consecutive win. Championship leader Dennis Hauger had qualified only 14th and collected six points from the three races. This allowed Doohan to close the gap between them in the championship from 63 to 25 points by the end of the round.
Round 6: Netherlands
Dennis Hauger set the fastest time in qualifying to claim his third Race 3 pole position of the season. Amaury Cordeel began Race 1 as pole-sitter. Arthur Leclerc, who started the race in third place, took the lead at the first corner. Shortly after, Cordeel and Aleksandr Smolyar collided, causing Cordeel to spin and fall the back of the field. The race was interrupted by a safety car period after an accident involving Johnathan Hoggard and Hunter Yeany, and Leclerc held the lead of the race from Logan Sargeant at the restart to take his second victory of the season.
Ido Cohen started on pole position for Race 2. Clément Novalak took the lead of the race from Cohen at the first corner. Victor Martins, who started fifth, gained places to eventually pass Novalak for the lead with nine laps remaining. The safety car was deployed late into the race when Cordeel spun into the gravel and could not resume, and the race was restarted with two laps remaining. Championship contenders Hauger and Jack Doohan failed to score points due to incidents at the restart; Hauger and Cohen made contact whilst competing for fourth place which ended the races of both drivers, and eighth-placed Doohan ran wide into the gravel on the final lap. Martins held his lead to take his first FIA Formula 3 race victory.
Hauger took a lights-to-flag victory in the final race of the weekend, extending his advantage in the championship over Doohan, who finished fourth, to 43 points. Novalak took another second-place finish after a Lap 22 collision between David Schumacher and Martins, who were fighting for second, eliminated Schumacher from the race and left Martins with a 10-second penalty. The penalty demoted Martins from third to tenth, so Smolyar took his place on the podium.
Round 7: Russia
Jack Doohan secured pole position for Race 3 and four points in qualifying, though transponder issues meant teammate Clément Novalak was erroneously awarded pole position at first. It was announced during that session that Race 1 had been moved to Friday afternoon because of concerns over inclement weather on Saturday morning. Victor Martins started that race from the front, but Logan Sargeant took the lead into Turn 2, which he never relinquished despite late pressure from Dennis Hauger, allowing Sargeant to claim Charouz Racing System's first FIA Formula 3 race victory. Starting fourth, Hauger worked his way up to second after passing Jak Crawford and Martins. With title rival Doohan failing to score, Hauger had enough points to secure the championship title with two races to spare.
Race 2 was set to run on Saturday afternoon with Johnathan Hoggard on pole position, but the race was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
With the track dry and the skies clear by Sunday, regular running resumed, and Doohan held on to take victory in Race 3, albeit under controversial circumstances. Doohan led much of the race from Novalak and Frederik Vesti, but Novalak was setting faster times than his teammate. Trident ordered Doohan to relinquish the lead to Novalak, which he refused to do, saying after the race concluded that he was "racing for [his] own career." Doohan and Novalak briefly exchanged positions in an on-track battle on Lap 17, which allowed Vesti to close in and overtake Novalak for second the following lap. This, of course, was crucial in the battle for the teams' championship between Trident and Prema Racing. Coming into the race, Trident were 27 points behind, but Hauger, the lead Prema at the beginning of Race 3, fell out of the points after a collision with Oliver Rasmussen on Lap 7. With the other Premas of Arthur Leclerc and Olli Caldwell only finishing seventh and tenth, Trident's 40-point haul—despite the intra-team conflict—was enough to secure them their first teams' championship in the series. The exact gap between the teams, however, was only decided after the race. Hauger had set the original fastest lap of the race, but the time was voided post-race as it was deemed that he had deliberately pitted to set the fastest lap. Fortunately for Prema, the failed ploy actually worked out in their benefit: the fastest lap instead went to Leclerc, who took with it the extra two points. The final result in the constructors' championship was 381 points for Trident and 377 for Prema.
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in all 3 races. The pole-sitter in Race 3 also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in all 3 races. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in Race 1 or Race 2 as the grid for Race 1 was set by reversing the top twelve qualifiers and the grid for Race 2 was based on the results of the first race reversed from the top twelve.
Race 1 and 2 points
Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers. Two points were awarded to the driver who set the fastest lap if he finishes in the top 10. No fastest lap points were awarded if it was set by a driver outside the top 10.[40]
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers. Bonus points were awarded to the pole-sitter and to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.
