Right before the 2023 season started in March, I made my Predictions for this year’s FIA Formula 3 Championship. I’m usually not very good at Predictions when it comes to stuff I watch regularly, so these could either be the worst Predictions in history or actually my best (which isn’t really a high bar). Anyway, I’m excited to find out so let's start!
P30: Piotr Wisnicki
It’s fair to say that I didn’t have a lot of confidence in Piotr Wisnicki given his Junior Career up to 2023 and the fact that he was driving for the worst team on the grid in the form of PHM Racing by Charouz. However, it went even worse than I expected as Wisnicki was dropped by the team after just 4 Rounds (out of 9) and he ended up finishing 34th in the Standings which is quite something!
P29: Sophia Florsch
Sophia Florsch actually had a decent season, finishing 23rd in the Championship with 6 points to her name (P7 in the Belgian Feature Race). Sophia was the only Driver to score points for PHM Racing by Charouz in FIA Formula 3 this season (she had 4 different teammates) and as of right now, she’s the only person who’s scored points for the team in any FIA-Licensed Championship in 2023 (F2 and F3) which is pretty good going.
P28: Alex Garcia
2023 has been a strange year for Alex Garcia. On one hand, his P4 finish in the Belgian Feature Race was enough for him to finish 20th in the Drivers’ Championship so based on that, he’s performed a lot better than I expected. However, he’s been out-shone by both of his teammates which is never great, and it also makes a part of my Prediction correct.
P27: Roberto Faria
Whilst I didn’t expect much from Roberto Faria in 2023, he actually performed worse than I expected. Faria wasn’t the top performing PHM Racing by Charouz Driver which is something I expected whilst he also finished 31st in the Drivers’ Championship which isn’t very good.
P26: Nikita Bedrin
Jenzer Motorsport’s Nikita Bedrin actually had a decent first season in Formula 3, finishing 18th in the Standings with 2 Podiums to his name. The first one came in the Hungarian Sprint Race where he finished P3, whilst the second one was also a P3 in the Belgian Feature Race. Not bad at all from Bedrin, but he was still a long way behind one of his teammates.
P25: Christian Mansell
Both Christian Mansell and Campos Racing proved me wrong this year as Mansell ended up finishing 12th in the Championship with 60 points. He also scored 2 Podiums in both the Britain Sprint Race (P3) and the Belgian Feature Race (P2). When you consider I wasn’t even fully sure if Mansell was going to score a single point this season, it’s fair to say that I got this very wrong.
P24: Pepe Marti
If I got Christian Mansell wrong, my Prediction for his Campos Racing teammate Pepe Marti was even worse! Pepe Marti exceeded all expectations in 2023 by finishing 5th in the Championship with 105pts and winning 3 races along the way (2 Sprints, 1 Feature). The main reason why I had Marti 24th in my Predictions was mainly due to being with a team in Campos that have never been particularly good in F3. However, they were better this year and hats off to Marti as he scored more points for Campos this season (in F3) than any of Campos’ first 3 Seasons points total combined (105-101)!
P23: Hunter Yeany
Hunter Yeany didn’t have a particularly good 2023 Season at all as he was dropped by Rodin Carlin after Round 5, and he ended up finishing 30th in the Drivers’ Championship. I’m actually slightly surprised that Yeany did as poorly as he did (which is saying something because I didn’t rate him that highly), but I was correct in the fact that I had him to be beaten by his (original) two teammates.
P22: Ido Cohen
I said at the start of this season that I didn’t expect Ido Cohen to do much in 2023, but I did expect him to score points. That’s sort of what happened as Ido finished 24th in the Standings with 2 points to his name. One thing I was definitely wrong about and didn’t expect, though, was the fact that Cohen ended up being the only driver to score points for Rodin Carlin all season!
P21: Rafael Villagomez
I said in my Predictions article that Rafael Villagomez wasn’t a driver that particually excites me. That statement’s only become more true over this season as Villagomez ended up finishing 25th in the Championship with just 2 points (both in the final round at Monza). However, I do have to give him some praise as he was able to finish ahead (in the Standings) of one of his Van Amersfoort Racing teammates.
P20: Tommy Smith
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith was another driver that I wasn’t particularly excited about heading into the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Season, but the Australian ended up doing worse than I expected as he failed to score a single point and finished 27th in the Championship. I’ll be honest, I’d be surprised if Smith’s on the grid next year.
P19: Taylor Barnard
I thought I put Taylor Barnard quite high up in my Predictions considering he was driving for Jenzer Motorsport. I only really put him up in P19 because I thought he was a decent prospect. However, he ended up smashing my expectations as Taylor finished 10th in the Championship with 3 Podium finishes, including a win in the Belgian Feature Race! To sum up how good Barnard’s season has been, he is now Jenzer’s highest points scorer in a single season (72), a record that was previously held by none other than Yuki Tsunoda (67), and we know how his career’s gone!
P18: Hugh Barter
I’ll be honest, this wasn’t a very good prediction. I don’t mean in terms of where he finished in the Championship because he ended up 19th in the Standings which is pretty close. I mean in terms of his competitiveness compared to his teammates. I felt so confident that Barter was going to beat his Campos Racing teammates comfortably in 2023, but he ended up finishing well behind both of them, and to make matters worse, he didn’t even take part in the final round of the season which is never a great sign.
P17: Oliver Gray
This was another poor prediction by me as instead of Ollie Gray outshining his teammate, he finished 28th in the Championship without a single point to his name. Even though Rodin Carlin haven’t been as good this year as they should’ve been, I still feel like Gray massively underperformed and I’m intrigued to see whether he keeps his place in the Williams Driver Academy.
P16: Sebastian Montoya
My first spot on Prediction as Sebastian Montoya ended up finishing 16th in the Championship! Montoya did score a Podium in the Australian Sprint Race early in the season, but the Hitech Pulse-Eight Driver struggled a bit after Silverstone. A decent first-full season for Montoya overall.
P15: Mari Boya
Mari Boya actually performed slightly worse than I expected this year as the MP Motorsport Driver could only finish 17th in the Standings. To be fair to Boya, he did achieve a Podium in the final Sprint Race of the Season in Monza, but I also said he couldn’t afford to be thrashed by his teammates, a statement that sort of came true.
P14: Gregoire Saucy
Gregoire Saucy ended up finishing 14th in the Championship meaning this is my second correct Prediction! However, my Prediction isn’t fully correct as I expected Saucy to finish last out of the three ART Grand Prix Drivers, but he ended up as comfortably their Number 1 Driver which stunned me. Saucy also got a couple of Podiums this year, so fair play to him, I guess?
P13: Kaylen Frederick
I got this Prediction wrong as Kaylen Frederick underperformed massively in his ART as he ended up finishing 21st in the Championship! The crazy thing is is Frederick should’ve finished a lot higher than my Prediction so to finish 8 positions below is pretty terrible really.
P12: Jonny Edgar
Jonny Edgar ended up finishing 13th in the Standings so I was close. Jonny was also the second best performing MP Motorsport Driver which I expected and overall, he had an alright 2023 Season with his highlight being taking victory in the final race of the season in Monza.
P11: Caio Collet
I rated Caio Collet in a much higher manner than either of his Van Amersfoort Racing teammates, and he actually performed even better than I expected as he finished 9th in the Championship, scoring 4 Podiums including a victory in the Belgian Sprint Race. All in all, I think Collet had a really good year.
P10: Leonardo Fornaroli
I was just slightly wrong with this Prediction as Leonardo Fornaroli actually finished 11th in the Drivers’ Standings. Fornaroli had a decent season, finishing on the Podium 3 times as well as taking Pole at Silverstone. However, he finished last out of three Trident Drivers, something I predicted, but also something I said Fornaroli couldn’t afford to happen.
P9: Gabriel Bortoleto
I’ll be honest, I thought Gabriel Bortoleto was a decent Driver who would win races for Trident in 2023. I certainly didn’t expect to be doing this article after Gabriel Bortoleto became the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Champion! Bortoleto was the class of the field in 2023, winning 2 Races and securing 6 Podiums (more than any other Driver) as well as finishing inside the Points in 15 of the 18 Races (also more than any other Driver). Add in the fact that Bortoleto won the Championship by 45 points and it’s safe to say that my Prediction wasn’t very good!
P8: Oliver Goethe
Oliver Goethe finished 8th in the Championship meaning this is my third correct Prediction. However, this is a weird one because Goethe didn’t perform as well as I expected. Ollie Goethe wasn’t the highest-scoring Trident Driver like I expected, and he also only finished in the Points in a third of the Races in F3 in 2023 which isn’t that good, especially when you consider the fact that one of his teammates scored 6 Podiums!
P7: Gabrielle Mini
Back-to-back correct Predictions as Gabrielle Mini ended up finishing 7th in the Championship with 2 Race Victories (Monaco Feature Race, Hungarian Sprint Race). Mini had a pretty positive first year in FIA Formula 3, but he’ll be slightly disappointed with his last two Rounds of the Season because better performances could’ve maybe seen him finish inside the Top 3 (he was only 20 points off third). Mini was also the top-scoring Hitech Pulse-Eight Driver which is something I didn’t predict (but also not exactly surprised about).
P6: Franco Colapinto
Franco Colapinto has had another really impressive season in FIA Formula 3 as the MP Motorsport Driver finished 4th in the Championship and less than 10 points off 2nd! Franco’s consistency is the most impressive part for me as he finished inside the Points-paying places in 14 of the 18 Races this Season and he absolutely destroyed his two teammates. It’s also worth mentioning that Colapinto’s 4th place finish in the Drivers’ Standings is a new record for MP Motorsport, a record that was previously held by Victor Martins (a guy who went on to win the F3 Title the following Season).
P5: Luke Browning
It’s safe to say I got this one wrong as Luke Browning ended up 15th in the Standings with just one Podium to his name (P2 in the Spanish Sprint). I expected big things out of Browning after an impressive junior career, but it just didn’t end up working out this season for the Hitech Pulse-Eight Driver.
P4: Paul Aron
I wasn’t too far off with this Prediction as Paul Aron ended up finishing 3rd in the Championship. Paul’s had a pretty good first year in Formula 3, finishing P3 three times as well as winning the Austrian Sprint Race. Aron also finished as the second-best Prema Driver of the season, something I wasn’t quite expecting.
P3: Dino Beganovic
Dino Beganovic arguably slightly underperformed in 2023 as the Prema Racing Driver finished 6th in the Championship without a win to his name. Dino did score 4 Podiums over the course of the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Season, but it’s ultimately been slightly disappointing, especially when you consider the fact that he finished last out of the three Prema Drivers.
P2: Nikola Tsolov
I remember being so excited about the prospect that is Nikola Tsolov when I first discovered him doing these Predictions before the start of the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Season. Unfortunately, it hasn’t at all gone to plan for Nikola in 2023 as he ended up finishing 22nd in the Drivers’ Championship with only 6 points to his name! I’m very sad about this for two reasons. One, I feel sorry for him a little bit because clearly jumping into F3 at the age of 16 was too much, and second, this was a pretty terrible Prediction. Even for my standards!
P1: Zak O’Sullivan
Zak O’Sullivan was my pick to win the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and in the end, he finished 2nd! Overall, I’m not too disappointed about this because usually, the person I pick to win the title (in any Sport) tends to do pretty poorly. Zak won 4 races in 2023 (the most of any Driver in F3) and he was also Prema’s highest scoring Driver so overall, a good year for Zak and not a terrible round of Predictions from me (with a few exceptions)!