As F3 prepares for the new season to kick off this weekend, here is the ultimate guide to the 2022 F3 season.
From several returning drivers to exciting rookies, 2022 promises to be an unpredictable season of racing in F3 with no clear title favourites as PREMA look to produce a fourth consecutive driver champion.
Trident and ART GP will however be eager to end that run with their own strong driver line-ups whilst several midfield teams seek to spring a surprise with an unexpected title challenger, which makes this season incredibly tricky to guess as to how it will unfold.
Add in nine rounds and some format tweaks and you have the ultimate guide to the 2022 F3 season.
Teams and Drivers
| Team | Number | Driver |
| Trident | 1 | Jonny Edgar |
| 2 | Roman Stanek | |
| 3 | Zane Maloney | |
| PREMA | 4 | Arthur Leclerc |
| 5 | Jak Crawford | |
| 6 | Oliver Bearman | |
| ART GP | 7 | Victor Martins |
| 8 | Gregoire Saucy | |
| 9 | Juan Manuel Correa | |
| MP Motorsport | 10 | Caio Collet |
| 11 | TBA | |
| 12 | Kush Mani | |
| Charouz | 14 | Laszlo Toth |
| 15 | Ayrton Simmons | |
| 16 | Francesco Pizzi | |
| Hitech GP | 17 | Kaylen Frederick |
| 18 | Isack Hadjar | |
| 19 | Nazim Azman | |
| Campos | 20 | David Vidales |
| 21 | Hunter Yeany | |
| 22 | Pepe Marti | |
| Jenzer | 23 | Ido Cohen |
| 24 | Niko Kari | |
| 25 | William Alatalo | |
| Carlin | 26 | Zak O’Sullivan |
| 27 | Brad Benavides | |
| 28 | Enzo Trulli | |
| VAR | 29 | Franco Colapinto |
| 30 | Rafael Villagomez | |
| 31 | Reece Ushijima |
Driver Changes
Returning Drivers
- Jonny Edgar and Roman Stanek have switched from Carlin and Hitech GP respectively to join Trident.
- Jak Crawford has departed Hitech GP to join PREMA and has been replaced at Hitech GP by Kaylen Frederick who left Carlin.
- Victor Martins has moved from MP Motorsport to ART GP.
- Laszlo Toth has switched from Campos to Charouz.
- Ayrton Simmons has joined Charouz full time after making a guest appearance for the team at the final round of 2021 season.
- Hunter Yeany has moved to Campos for a full rookie season, having participated in two rounds for Charouz last season.
- Ido Cohen has switched from Carlin to Jenzer.
- Niko Kari returns to F3 with Jenzer after spending two seasons out of the series due to budget issues.
- Rafael Villagomez has joined Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) after the Dutch team replaced his former team – HWA Racelab on the grid from this season onwards.
New Drivers
- Zane Maloney joins Trident after finishing fourth for R-ace GP in Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) in 2021 season.
- Oliver Bearman joins PREMA following a successful 2021 season where he claimed Italian F4 and ADAC F4 titles for Van Amersfoort Racing.
- Gregoire Saucy steps up to F3 with ART GP after previously driving for the team last season as he claimed the 2021 FRECA title.
- Kush Maini joins MP Motorsport after spending 2021 largely out of racing after finishing 11th in F3 Asia Series.
- Francesco Pizzi joins Charouz for his rookie F3 season after finishing 20th in 2021 FRECA season.
- Isack Hadjar has graduated to F3 with Hitech GP after finishing fifth in 2021 FRECA season for R-ace GP.
- Nazim Azman steps up to F3 with Hitech GP after he finished fourth in 2021 EuroFormula Open for CryptoTower Racing.
- David Vidales and Pepe Marti joins Campos after competing in FRECA and Spanish F4 for PREMA and Campos respectively last season.
- William Alatalo has graduated to F3 after finishing 11th for Arden in FRECA last season.
- Zak O’Sullivan has graduated to F3 with Carlin after winning the GB3 championship in 2021 for the British team.
- Brad Benavides joins Carlin in F3 after previously driving for the team for nine races in 2021 EuroFormula Open.
- Enzo Trulli has stepped up to F3 with Carlin after finishing seventh in 2021 EuroFormula Open despite driving for Drivex School then Carlin in a mid-season team change.
- Franco Colapinto has graduated to F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing after finishing sixth in 2021 FRECA for MP Motorsport.
- Reece Ushijima has graduated to F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing after he finished fourth in 2021 GB3 for Hitech GP.
Leaving F3
- As the reigning champion is not allowed to continue in F3, Dennis Hauger has graduated to F2 with PREMA.
- Olli Caldwell has graduated to F2 with Campos after spending two seasons in F3.
- Frederik Vesti has left F3 after two seasons to step up to F2 with ART GP.
- Jack Doohan has left F3 after two seasons to step up to F2 with Virtuosi Racing.
- Clement Novalak has joined MP Motorsport as he stepped up to F2 for the final two rounds of their 2021 season, before commencing a full rookie campaign in 2022.
- Ayumu Iwasa has departed F3 after just one season as he made the move up to F2 at DAMS.
- Amaury Cordeel has stepped up to F2 and joined Van Amersfoort Racing.
- Calan Williams has departed Jenzer and F3 to move up to F2 with Trident.
- Logan Sargeant has graduated from F3 to F2 after three seasons as he reunited with Carlin who he previously drove for during 2019 F3 season.
- David Schumacher has switched from F3 to DTM for 2022 season.
- Matteo Nannini departed F3 after two seasons and is currently without a drive.
- Oliver Rasmussen has left F3 after only one season to join LMP2 class of FIA World Endurance with Jota Sport.
- Tijmen Van Der Helm has left F3 after only one season to join LMP2 class of FIA World Endurance with ARC Bratislava.
- Lorenzo Colombo has left F3 after only one season to join LMP2 class of FIA World Endurance for PREMA.
- Filip Ugran has switched to EuroFormula with Van Amersfoort Racing for 2022 season.
- Reshad De Gerus has has left F3 after only one season to join LMP2 class of European Le Mans with Duqeine Team.
- Zdenek Chovanec has departed F3 after only one season with his future plans unclear.
Race Calendar
| Round | Country | Date |
| 1 | Bahrain | 18-20 March |
| 2 | Imola, Italy | 22-24 April |
| 3 | Barcelona | 20-22 May |
| 4 | Great Britain | 1-3 July |
| 5 | Austria | 8-10 July |
| 6 | Hungary | 29-31 July |
| 7 | Belgium | 26-28 August |
| 8 | Netherlands | 2-4 September |
| 9 | Monza, Italy | 9-11 September |
- Bahrain will make its F3 debut as the season-opener.
- Imola will feature on the F3 calendar for the very first time.
- British and Italian rounds will return after being omitted from the 2021 F3 calendar.
- French and Russian rounds have been dropped for this season.
Format Changes
- After trialling a three-race weekend format in 2021, F3 will return to the two-race weekend format in 2022 but the reverse and main races will remain on Saturdays and Sundays respectively.
- Points for pole position and fastest laps in races have been halved this season, meaning that the pole-sitter will now be awarded two points and whoever set the fastest lap in each race will receive one point.
- The Sprint Race points system has been reprofiled with the winner now receiving ten points, 9 points for second, 8 for third and descends so on with the 1 point going to the driver who finishes tenth.
Where Can You Watch F3?
Africa
| Country | Channel |
| Sub Saharan Africa (including South Africa) | SuperSport |
Americas
| Country | Channel |
| Brazil | Bandsports |
| Canada | Bell (TSN) |
| Latin America | ESPN |
| USA | ESPN |
Asia Pacific
| Country | Channel |
| Australia | Fox Sports |
| Brunei | Astro Sports |
| Indonesia | EMTEK |
| Israel | Sport 5 |
| Japan | DAZN |
| Hong Kong | Now TV |
| Malaysia | Astro Sports |
| Singapore | Singtel |
| Thailand | True Visions |
| New Zealand | Spark Sports |
Europe
| Country | Channel |
| Andorra | Telefonica/DAZN |
| Austria | Servus TV |
| Azerbaijan | Saran |
| Belgium | Telenet |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | AMI |
| Croatia | AMI |
| Czech Republic | Pragosport (AMC) |
| Denmark | Nordic Entertainment |
| Estonia | NENT |
| Finland | C More |
| France | Canal+ |
| Greece | Asset Ogilvy |
| Hungary | Digi Sport |
| Iceland | NENT |
| Italy | Sky Italia SRL |
| Kosovo | AMI |
| Latvia | NENT |
| Lithuania | NENT |
| Macedonia | AMI |
| Malta | GO |
| Montenegro | AMI |
| Netherlands | Ziggo |
| Poland | Eleven Sports |
| Portugal | Eleven Sports |
| Romania | Digi Sport |
| Russia | Match TV |
| Serbia | AMI |
| Slovenia | AMI |
| Spain | Telefonica/DAZN |
| Turkey | Saran |
| UK & Republic of Ireland | Sky Sports |
| Vojvodina | AMI |
Middle East and Northern Africa
| Country | Channel |
| MENA | SSC |
Three Must-Watch Drivers
Arthur Leclerc
Having endured a shaky rookie season in 2021, Arthur Leclerc will be looking to put his learning into practice as he embarks on a second campaign with PREMA as he looks to challenge for the title.
As the younger brother of F1 star – Charles Leclerc who won this title (formerly known as GP3 in his junior era), Arthur also will know that he needs a strong season if he is to stand any chance of continuing to progress on his path towards F1 so he will certainly be a driver to watch in 2022.
Victor Martins
As the highest-returning driver from the 2021 grid, Victor Martins will be eager to mount a stronger title challenge as he switches from MP Motorsport to ART GP.
Consistency was one of Martins’ best strength as he often found himself high up the grid and challenging all six drivers in total from across PREMA and Trident drivers, yet he will be looking to avoid a mid-season slump this time round if he is to maintain his title fight until the very end.
Martins has also enjoyed previous success with ART after they won 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup together, so if there is one strong partnership for a ready-made title challenge this season then it has to be Martins and ART GP.
Oliver Bearman
After enjoying a stunning F4 title double in 2021, Oliver Bearman has graduated to F3 with PREMA who know how to win titles at this level yet he hasn’t exactly been spoken about as a potential title contender despite his rookie status.
Bearman in particular showed huge consistency in Italian F4 where he claimed eight wins in nine races (technically nine consecutive races prior to a technical disqualification in third Imola race), which suggests that he could be a serious challenger if he is consistently fighting for wins.
There however will be a question of whether Bearman is a slow blossom of a driver or not after hitting his peak in his second seasons of Italian F4 and ADAC F4, yet this season represents a chance for Bearman to make an instant impact in F3 and potentially win the title at his first chance.
Either way, Bearman will be a driver worth monitoring across the season and potentially into 2023 if he stays in the series next year.
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