22 replies to this topic

[Frood]

Thought I'd get the ball rolling on this, since the post-season test is coming up.

Prema have announced their line-up for the test as Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic (a carry over from this year), Alpine junior Gabriele Minì (moving over from Hitech), and Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad (up from Italian F4).

Could be a strong team for next year if Prema keeps the three of them. I could see Minì romping to the title were that the case.

Also could be a soft confirmation that a certain A.K. Antonelli may be going straight to F2...

In other news, Hadrien David has supposedly signed for MP Motorsport, which would be fantastic for a talented kid who's career has kind of hit the buffers after running out of funding.

[Muppetmad]

Beganovic/Mini/Lindblad would be a strong team, each with a lot to prove in their own way: Beganovic and Mini realistically need a title win to rebuild the momentum to move up to F2; Lindblad winning in his rookie season would send a very, very strong message and mark him out as one to watch.

Edited by Muppetmad, 04 October 2023 - 15:53.

[Frood]

MP have announced their testing line-up as Hadrien David (which seems to confirm the previous rumour), Tim Tramnitz, and Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. Tramnitz has been pretty handy in FRECA, so I think he deserves a full-time seat. Fittipaldi would probably be a disaster, as he's been pretty useless in F4 and FRECA.

Campos will run with Mari Boya (moving over from MP), Ollie Goethe (from Trident), and Sebastián Montoya (from Hitech). Pretty middle-of-the-road if you ask me - Goethe has speed but no consistency, and Campos would be a step back from Trident as it stands. I think Boya is a potential race winner, but nothing more; Montoya hasn't really shown anything marking him out as a future champion either.

[Frood]

Full entry list for the test this weekend. Some interesting names - I take it Zane Maloney is very bored during the long F2 break...
 

TEAM            DRIVER 1             DRIVER 2               DRIVER 3
Prema           Dino Beganovic       Gabriele Minì          Arvid Lindblad
Trident         Leonardo Fornaroli   Sami Meguetounif       Santiago Ramos
MP Motorsport   Tim Tramnitz         Emerson Fittipaldi Jr  Hadrien David
Campos          Ollie Goethe         Sebastián Montoya      Mari Boya
Hitech          Martinius Stenshorne Cian Shields           Luke Browning
Jenzer          Max Esterson         Charlie Wurz           Matías Zagazeta
Van Amersfoort  Noel León            Sophia Flörsch         Tommy Smith
ART             Ollie Gray           Christian Mansell      Laurens van Hoepen
PHM             Taylor Barnard       Josh Dufek             Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak 
Carlin          Zane Maloney         Callum Voisin          Ugo Ugochukwu

To expand:

 

Trident: Fornaroli is a carryover from this year; Meguetounif is solid (if not spectacular) in FRECA; Ramos is also coming from FRECA where he has a blinding turn of speed on occasion, but struggles to string good results together. It is expected that Rafael Câmara will be in a race seat at Trident, but doesn't appear to be coming to the test.

Hitech: Stenshorne has had a fantastic début year in FRECA and was matching Antonelli for the first few races; Shields is a distant second in Euroformula Open and has little other results of note; Browning is a carryover from this year.

Jenzer: Esterson has middling results in GB3, but on his FIA F3 outings this year seemed solid; Wurz has had a miserable season in FRECA and has only scored one point; Zagazeta is nowhere near the pace of FRECA team-mates Tramnitz and Stenshorne.

VAR: León got kicked out of the Red Bull Junior Team this year and has since been stomping a very weak Euroformula field; Flörsch moves over from PHM; Smith has been in the seat all year and has done nothing with it.

ART: Gray is a Williams junior driver for no apparent reason and spent all year doing very little at Carlin; Mansell was solid for Campos, though not as quick as Martí; van Hoepen has been disappointing in FRECA, but still the best of the ART drivers.

PHM: I hope Taylor Barnard doesn't stay here for the full season as it's a waste of his talent; Dufek has been okay in FRECA and looked solid during his F3 cameo with Campos; Inthraphuvasak is occasionally fast but often inconsistent in Eurocup-3 (another F. Regional level series)

Carlin: Zane Maloney is here, for some reason; Callum Voisin is the current points leader in GB3; Ugochukwu is a McLaren junior and has looked very punchy in Italian F4 this season. 

Edited by Frood, 04 October 2023 - 16:13.

[Muppetmad]

Antonelli not attending adds further weight to the suggestion he'll be jumping straight up to F2 next year.

[JvsKVB77]

Full entry list for the test this weekend. Some interesting names - I take it Zane Maloney is very bored during the long F2 break...
 

Carlin: Zane Maloney is here, for some reason;

To help his current team, to have some practice or maybe even want to go to Macau? 

Edited by JvsKVB77, 04 October 2023 - 16:54.

[Frood]

To help his current team, to have some practice or maybe even want to go to Macau?

Ah, of course, I kind of forgot about Macau. Thanks Jvs, that's probably a good explanation.

[Muppetmad]

I also forgot about Macau! It's been so long since the last "proper" race there. I look forward to it.

[Frood]

Post-Season Test #1 Times. Not much info to be gleaned from this apart from the fact that Prema, Campos, and Hitech have been consistently quick.

Thursday Morning

1.  Goethe          Campos          1:30.814
2.  Minì            Prema           1:30.947
3.  Boya            Campos          1:31.125
4.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:31.160
5.  Beganovic       Prema           1:31.218
6.  Maloney         Carlin          1:31.315
7.  Voisin          Carlin          1:31.360
8.  Ugochukwu       Carlin          1:31.413
9.  Flörsch         Van Amersfoort  1:31.440
10. Wurz            Jenzer          1:31.487

Thursday Afternoon

1.  Minì            Prema           1:31.360
2.  Browning        Hitech          1:31.562
3.  Beganovic       Prema           1:31.626
4.  Goethe          Campos          1:31.777
5.  Boya            Campos          1:31.817
6.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:31.904
7.  Montoya         Campos          1:32.086
8.  Wurz            Jenzer          1:32.113
9.  Van Hoepen      ART             1:32.148
10. Meguetounif     Trident         1:32.152

Friday Morning

1.  Beganovic       Prema           1:29.900
2.  Minì            Prema           1:29.933
3.  Boya            Campos          1:29.950
4.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:30.211
5.  Goethe          Campos          1:30.280
6.  Stenshorne      Hitech          1:30.292
7.  Barnard         PHM             1:30.377
8.  Browning        Hitech          1:30.424
9.  Ramos           Trident         1:30.477
10. Maloney         Carlin          1:30.481

Friday Afternoon

1.  Stenshorne      Hitech          1:31.717
2.  Browning        Hitech          1:31.883
3.  Wurz            Jenzer          1:31.942
4.  Zagazeta        Jenzer          1:32.110
5.  Esterson        Jenzer          1:32.130
6.  Shields         Hitech          1:32.410
7.  Minì            Prema           1:32.452
8.  David           MP              1:32.548
9.  Inthraphuvasak  PHM             1:32.704
10. Beganovic       Prema           1:32.714

Edited by Frood, 06 October 2023 - 16:23.

[Frood]

Two changes for the second post-season test at Barcelona, starting tomorrow.

• Ollie Gray is out at ART, and Nikola Tsolov will rejoin the team for whom he raced this year.
• Callum Voisin is challenging for the GB3 title this weekend, and will only participate in Day 1 in order to prepare. For Day 2, the Carlin seat will be taken by Nikhil Bohra. Bohra is currently racing for Trident in FRECA, and is the highest-placed Trident driver in the standings, currently sitting 12th. Whilst he hasn't set the world on fire, he has managed a podium and would likely be a solid choice if Carlin continue with him next season.

Edited by Frood, 09 October 2023 - 18:30.

[noikeee]

Mini v Beganovic for next season's title?

Stenshorne topping a session already is impressive.

[Frood]

Post-Season Test #2 times from Barcelona. Again, consistent speed from Prema and Campos - the latter having Goethe and Boya in the Top 10 in every session, as was Fornaroli in his Trident.
 
Tuesday Morning

1.  Browning        Hitech          1:27.055
2.  Barnard         PHM             1:27.089 (+0.034)
3.  Boya            Campos          1:27.113 (+0.058)
4.  Tsolov          ART             1:27.151 (+0.096)
5.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:27.182 (+0.127)
6.  Goethe          Campos          1:27.286 (+0.231)
7.  Beganovic       Prema           1:27.347 (+0.292)
8.  Minì            Prema           1:27.378 (+0.323)
9.  León            Van Amersfoort  1:27.395 (+0.340)
10. David           MP              1:27.467 (+0.412)

Tuesday Afternoon

1.  Minì            Prema           1:28.368
2.  Beganovic       Prema           1:28.480 (+0.112)
3.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:28.553 (+0.185) 
4.  Boya            Campos          1:28.556 (+0.188)
5.  Meguetounif     Trident         1:28.655 (+0.287)
6.  Goethe          Campos          1:28.656 (+0.288)
7.  Browning        Hitech          1:28.730 (+0.362)
8.  Van Hoepen      ART             1:28.792 (+0.424)
9.  Lindblad        Prema           1:28.844 (+0.476)
10. Tsolov          ART             1:28.911 (+0.543)

Wednesday Morning

1.  Goethe          Campos          1:26.675
2.  Minì            Prema           1:27.034 (+0.359)
3.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:27.261 (+0.586) 
4.  Boya            Campos          1:27.287 (+0.612)
5.  Van Hoepen      ART             1:27.296 (+0.621)
6.  Tsolov          ART             1:27.362 (+0.687)
7.  León            Van Amersfoort  1:27.494 (+0.819)
8.  Meguetounif     Trident         1:27.622 (+0.947)
9.  Lindblad        Prema           1:27.636 (+0.961)
10. Mansell         ART             1:27.636 (+0.961)

Wednesday Afternoon

1.  Beganovic       Prema           1:28.553
2.  Boya            Campos          1:28.810 (+0.257)
3.  Goethe          Campos          1:29.052 (+0.499)
4.  Montoya         Campos          1:29.222 (+0.669)
5.  Wurz            Jenzer          1:29.290 (+0.737)
6.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:29.477 (+0.924)
7.  Ugochukwu       Carlin          1:29.605 (+1.052)
8.  Zagazeta        Jenzer          1:29.804 (+1.251)
9.  Meguetounif     Trident         1:29.895 (+1.342)
10. Esterson        Jenzer          1:29.944 (+1.391)

Best times for each driver:

1.  Goethe          Campos          1:26.675
2.  Minì            Prema           1:27.034 (+0.359)
3.  Browning        Hitech          1:27.055 (+0.380)
4.  Barnard         PHM             1:27.089 (+0.414)
5.  Boya            Campos          1:27.113 (+0.458)
6.  Tsolov          ART             1:27.151 (+0.496)
7.  Fornaroli       Trident         1:27.182 (+0.527)
8.  Van Hoepen      ART             1:27.296 (+0.641)
9.  Beganovic       Prema           1:27.347 (+0.692)
10. León            Van Amersfoort  1:27.395 (+0.740)
11. David           MP              1:27.467 (+0.812)        
12. Maloney         Carlin          1:27.504 (+0.849)
13. Montoya         Campos          1:27.605 (+0.950)
14. Wurz            Jenzer          1:27.614 (+0.959)
15. Meguetounif     Trident         1:27.620 (+0.965)
16. Lindblad        Prema           1:27.636 (+0.981)
17. Mansell         ART             1:27.636 (+0.981)
18. Stenshorne      Hitech          1:27.660 (+1.005)
19. Ramos           Trident         1:27.698 (+1.043)
20. Tramnitz        MP              1:27.710 (+1.055)
21. Dufek           PHM             1:27.841 (+1.186)
22. Ugochukwu       Carlin          1:27.842 (+1.187)
23. Esterson        Jenzer          1:27.887 (+1.232)
24. Zagazeta        Jenzer          1:27.956 (+1.301)
25. Flörsch         Van Amersfoort  1:28.012 (+1.358)
26. Smith           Van Amersfoort  1:28.089 (+1.435)
27. Inthraphuvasak  PHM             1:28.196 (+1.542)
28. Fittipaldi      MP              1:28.197 (+1.543)
29. Voisin          Carlin          1:28.207 (+1.643)
30. Shields         Hitech          1:28.536 (+1.972)
31. Bohra           Carlin          1:28.845 (+2.281)

Edited by Frood, 11 October 2023 - 19:57.

[Anja]

Beganovic stays at Prema as the first driver confirmed for next year. 

[HistoryFan]

Prema: Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Mini?, Arvid Lindblad?

Trident: Leonardo Fornaroli, Sami Meguetounif?, Santiago Ramos?
MP: Hadrien David?, Tim Tramnitz?, Emmo Fittipaldi?

Campos: Oliver Goethe?, Mari Boya?, Sebastián Montoya?

Hitech: Luke Browning?, Martinius Stenshorne? Cian Shields?

Jenzer: Charlie Wurz?, Max Esterson?, Matias Zagazeta?
Van Amersfoort: Noel Leon?, Sophia Flörsch?, Tommy Smith?

ART: Nikola Tsolov?, Laurens van Hoepen?, Christian Mansell?

PHM: Taylor Barnard?, Joshua Dufek?, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak?

Rodin Carlin: Zane Maloney?, Ugo Ugochukwu?, Callum Voisin?, Nikhil Bohra?

[Anja]

Newly crowned Italian F4 champ Kacper Sztuka is aiming for a move straight to F3, rumours say he's close to MP Motorsport. We should get some clues at the test session next week where he's expected to drive. 

Edited by Anja, 21 October 2023 - 07:25.

[Frood]

The rumours seem to be on point, Anja - Sztuka is testing for MP, in place of Emerson Fittipaldi Jr.

The rest of the lineup is broadly the same as the previous test - MP have also swapped Hadrien David with Greg Saucy. Zane Maloney is not present at Carlin for this test, and is replaced by new British F4 champion Louis Sharp. The only other change is at PHM, with Taylor Barnard making way for FRECA driver Josh Dürksen. I hope this is a sign of Barnard finding something better elsewhere...

EDIT: Alex Dunne will also be testing for Hitech, replacing Luke Browning on Day 2. Hopefully he finds the budget to race in F3 next year as he has the talent for it.

Edited by Frood, 23 October 2023 - 11:55.

[Frood]

Post-Season Test #3 from Imola. The usual suspects in the top 10. Tuesday afternoon was wet, so the times are a little weird...
 
Monday Morning

1.  Beganovic      Prema          1:30.946
2.  Boya           Campos         1:30.966 (+0.020)
3.  Browning       Hitech         1:31.059 (+0.113)
4.  Minì           Prema          1:31.167 (+0.221)
5.  Goethe         Campos         1:31.193 (+0.247)
6.  Saucy          MP             1:31.208 (+0.262)
7.  Fornaroli      Trident        1:31.209 (+0.263)
8.  Wurz           Jenzer         1:31.317 (+0.371)
9.  Tsolov         ART            1:31.335 (+0.389)
10. Meguetounif    Trident        1:31.351 (+0.405)

Monday Afternoon

1.  Minì           Prema          1:30.225
2.  Goethe         Campos         1:30.519 (+0.294)
3.  Beganovic      Prema          1:30.585 (+0.360)
4.  Boya           Campos         1:30.829 (+0.604)
5.  Fornaroli      Trident        1:30.832 (+0.607)
6.  Lindblad       Prema          1:31.084 (+0.859)
7.  Tsolov         ART            1:31.225 (+1.000)
8.  Stenshorne     Hitech         1:31.312 (+1.087)
9.  Meguetounif    Trident        1:31.313 (+1.088)
10. Tramnitz       MP             1:31.408 (+1.183)

Tuesday Morning

1.  Minì           Prema          1:30.679
2.  Boya           Campos         1:30.706 (+0.027)
3.  Beganovic      Prema          1:30.752 (+0.073)
4.  Tsolov         ART            1:30.836 (+0.157)
5.  Saucy          MP             1:30.926 (+0.247)
6.  Goethe         Campos         1:30.937 (+0.258)
7.  Fornaroli      Trident        1:30.985 (+0.306)
8.  Montoya        Campos         1:31.007 (+0.328)
9.  Lindblad       Prema          1:31.085 (+0.406)
10. Dunne          Hitech         1:31.091 (+0.412)

Tuesday Afternoon (Wet) - A certain driver making a statement about not being overlooked...?

1.  Dunne          Hitech         1:39.730
2.  Wurz           Jenzer         1:40.763 (+1.033)
3.  Beganovic      Prema          1:40.936 (+1.206)
4.  Minì           Prema          1:41.820 (+2.090)
5.  Esterson       Jenzer         1:41.950 (+2.220)
6.  Goethe         Campos         1:42.122 (+2.392)
7.  Fornaroli      Trident        1:42.304 (+2.574)
8.  Van Hoepen     ART            1:42.409 (+2.679)
9.  Boya           Campos         1:43.060 (+3.330)
10. Tsolov         ART            1:43.284 (+3.554)

Best times for each driver:

1.  Minì           Prema          1:30.225
2.  Goethe         Campos         1:30.519 (+0.294)
3.  Beganovic      Prema          1:30.585 (+0.360)
4.  Boya           Campos         1:30.706 (+0.481)
5.  Fornaroli      Trident        1:30.832 (+0.607)
6.  Tsolov         ART            1:30.836 (+0.611)
7.  Saucy          MP             1:30.926 (+0.701)
8.  Montoya        Campos         1:31.007 (+0.782)
9.  Browning       Hitech         1:31.059 (+0.834)
10. Lindblad       Prema          1:31.084 (+0.859)
11. Dunne          Hitech         1:31.091 (+0.866)
12. Wurz           Jenzer         1:31.094 (+0.869)
13. Sztuka         MP             1:31.213 (+0.988)
14. Tramnitz       MP             1:31.233 (+1.008)
15. Stenshorne     Hitech         1:31.312 (+1.087)
16. Meguetounif    Trident        1:31.313 (+1.088)
17. Mansell        Campos         1:31.505 (+1.280)
18. Zagazeta       Jenzer         1:31.564 (+1.339)
19. Ramos          Trident        1:31.564 (+1.339)
20. Van Hoepen     ART            1:31.579 (+1.354)
21. Esterson       Jenzer         1:31.589 (+1.364)
22. Smith          Van Amersfoort 1:31.684 (+1.459)
23. León           Van Amersfoort 1:31.756 (+1.531)
24. Ugochukwu      Carlin         1:31.771 (+1.546)
25. Flörsch        Van Amersfoort 1:31.815 (+1.590)
26. Voisin         Carlin         1:32.105 (+1.880)
27. Dufek          PHM            1:32.112 (+1.887)
28. Shields        Hitech         1:32.117 (+1.892)
29. Sharp          Carlin         1:32.130 (+1.905)
30. Inthraphuvasak PHM            1:32.247 (+2.022)
31. Dürksen        PHM            1:32.484 (+2.259)

Edited by Frood, 24 October 2023 - 15:43.

[Muppetmad]

Wurz is looking surprisingly solid, given that he's in a Jenzer.

[sportyskells]

Now onto macau for some of these srivers

[Frood]

Prema have confirmed that Gabriele Minì will be racing for them next year.

[HistoryFan]

Prema: Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Mini
Trident:

MP:

Campos:
Hitech:

Jenzer:
Van Amersfoort:

ART:
PHM:
Rodin Carlin:

[Frood]

Lindblad confirmed at Prema.

[HistoryFan]

Prema: Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Mini, Arvid Lindblad
Trident:

MP:

Campos: Oliver Goethe?
Hitech:

Jenzer:
Van Amersfoort:

ART:
PHM:
Rodin Carlin: