Preview: FIA Formula 3 Championship – Spa-Francorchamps

FIA Formula 3 arrives at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, and the championship leaders are tied at the top, with the French duo of Isack Hadjar and Victor Martins both entering the weekend with 104 points. After both drivers failed to score podiums at the last outing in Budapest, they will be eager to get back to winning ways and gain an outright lead at the top of the standings.

Hadjar is the only driver within the Hitech GP Formula 3 team to score a podium this season, and the 17 year old also has the most wins on the F3 grid in 2022 with three. However, his title rival Martins has the most F3 feature race wins in 2022, standing on the top step of the podium at the Sakhir and Barcelona feature races.

However, another driver looking to grasp the lead of the Championship, is Prema driver Arthur Leclerc. Currently sitting on 95 points, only 9 off the championship leaders, the Monagasque is looking to replicate his Silverstone feature race win this weekend, to firmly assert himself as a title contender.

Leclerc’s Prema teammates Oliver Bearman and Jak Crawford are also not far behind, as they both sit on 80 points heading into the seventh F3 race weekend of the season. Crawford, who races under the American flag, has taken one win this season, crossing the line first in a chaotic sprint race at the Red Bull ring. However the winless Brit Bearman has taken four podiums compared to Crawfords three, including three feature race podiums, which have bagged him extremely key championship points, keeping him on the tails of his teammates and still within reach of the F3 title.

Another man battling for a place on the podium in Belgium is MP Motorsport’s Alexander Smolyar. The 21 year old is looking to carry his momentum from round 6 in Budapest where he qualified on pole and took his first win of the 2022 F3 season in the feature race. Smolyar has faced a frustrating season, currently sitting seventh in the championship standings, after taking only 11 points from the first 2 race weekends, alongside being barred from competing at Silverstone due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite all this, his points tally of 63 heading into the weekend, leaves plenty still for Smolyar to fight for.

Similarly to the 2021 outing at Spa, the possibility of rain could throw a spanner into the works for teams and drivers. If the wet weather does strike over the weekend, this could favour Isack Hadjar, as he is quickly becoming somewhat of a specialist in wet conditions. The Red Bull junior caught the eyes of many spectators at Spielberg, where he delivered an outstanding performance that saw him take his feature race win of the season in a race that saw heavy rain fall through.

Furthermore, another driver that could benefit from these conditions is Caio Collet of MP Motorsport. The Brazilian took the chequered flag 8.7 seconds ahead of second place Colapinto in a rain soaked sprint race at the Hungaroring. Currently eighth in the championship, this weekend could prove to be very important for Collet if he wants to improve on his 9th place finish in 2021.

With the ever dominant Prema leading the constructors championship by 102 points, the exciting battle this weekend looks to be the 4 horse race for second place. Only 24 points separate second place ART GP and fifth place Trident, meaning any points collected in Belgium by ART, Trident, or their close competitors in third and fourth: Mp Motorsport and Hitech GP, will prove to be pivotal in the race for the 2022 F3 runners up position.