Ladies and gents, it’s almost time for the Grand Prix in the gambling capital of the world, taking place (at the time of writing) next weekend. And considering it’s the 70th time, the locals have had plenty of time to get used to it, and it has become part of the fabric of the city. Besides, there's nothing happening anywhere else in the world that could be confused with it.
Yes, that’s right. For the first time since The Virus That Shall Not Be Mentioned, Macau is opening its doors to the international motorsports fraternity – for the 70th Macau Grand Prix; or the 55th Macau Grand Prix if you like your average number of wheels roughly halved.
These hallowed, or perhaps narrowed - nallowed? - streets have long seen some of the finest drivers in motorsports vying to take the title of what has long been seen as the (arguably) the jewel in the crown of junior motor racing. Riccardo Patrese, Ayrton Senna, David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher (and even brother Ralf) have gone on to win multiple Formula 1 Grands Prix - and 10 world championships. The 1990 race in particular will go down as the beginning of the rivalry that would define Formula 1 in the late 90’s:
https://www.youtube....h?v=lGzBKdzOUbk
More recent winners have included WEC ace Mike Conway and Formula E hard charger António Félix da Costa, as well as back-to-back winners Edoardo Mortara (‘09-’10), Felix Rosenqvist (‘14-’15), and… *checks notes* er, Charles Leong Hon Chio (‘20-’21).
There’s another back-to-back winner in the field for this Macau Grand Prix, too, and here’s how he won his first…
And let’s not forget that possibly the finest driver of all time also has a Macau Grand Prix to his name, to go along with his two wins in another of motorsport’s biggest races…
This hasn’t always been a Formula 3 race, though. Over its 70-year history, the Macau Grand Prix has been run to Sports Car, Formula Libre, Formula Pacific and - most recently - Chinese Formula 4 regulations, whilst the international motorsports world was not allowed into Macau.
Of course, these nallowed streets have also long seen some of the finest young drivers in motorsport caught up in track-blocking crashes, but that’s just another of the aspects that make the Guia circuit so memorable. The GT cars are good at that, too.
From the terrifying flat-out Mandarin bend at the start of the lap, through the narrow, winding streets that rise and fall clinging to the side of Guia Hill, to the almost-full-stop Melco hairpin and back out onto the flatout straights, the track rewards patience… and demands respect, with the ever-present Armco barriers luring many a young driver into a race-ending incident.
And if you think the guys on four wheels are crazy…
So what’s the main event?
It’s the FIA F3 World Cup, i.e. the Grand Prix itself, to be held on the 19th of November. We’re back to the FIA F3-spec Dallaras that were last seen in 2019, and all but one of the FIA F3 teams (there’s no Charouz-PHM, but that’s probably for the best) are turning out three entries. Here’s your runners and riders:
Trident
Trident took Gabriel Bortoleto to the FIA F3 title this year, but the Brazilian is not present for Macau. In fact, none of the team’s F3 line-up from 2023 feature - instead, the 2019 (and spiritually if not actually reigning) champion Richard Verschoor will step down from F2 spearhead the team. One would have to say that the Dutchman would be a strong favourite to win again. Trident have brought in fellow F2 driver Roman Staněk to accompany Verschoor, and would also likely feature amongst the favourites. Finally, Ugo Ugochukwu makes a big step up (at least metaphorically - Ugochukwu is probably the tallest driver in the FIA single-seater ladder at around 195cm / 6’5”!) from Italian F4. What a place to make your F3 début…
Jenzer Motorsport
I’d be surprised to see a Jenzer take victory, but stranger things have happened. They did manage to take a win in F3 this year, though that was in the hands of Taylor Barnard, who won’t be racing. Instead, Max Esterson returns to an FIA F3 car after a mid-season cameo in the full championship, along with FRECA pairing Charlie Wurz and Matías Zagazeta. Esterson is likely going to be the fastest of the three, but I’d struggle to see Jenzer achieving anything higher than the upper 20s.
SJM Prema Theodore Racing
…and conversely, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest to see a Prema victory. Gabriele Minì would be my tip - the rapid Sicilian has immediately looked at home at Prema after moving across from Hitech. Paul Aron finished 3rd overall in FIA F3 so would likely be right on the pace; Dino Beganovic had a difficult F3 season, but he has plenty of speed and will also be a strong contender.
Hitech Pulse-Eight
The biggest name at Hitech is Red Bull’s F2 driver Isack Hadjar, who recently had his first taste of Formula One in Free Practice for the Mexican Grand Prix. His career momentum somewhat stalled this year, and a Macau victory would really get that momentum going again. Luke Browning is another F1 academy driver - in this case, Williams - and has a strong turn of speed when he’s got things hooked up. Alex Dunne will be making his (well overdue) FIA F3 début; as one of the few drivers who appears to have rattled Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the last couple of years, the Irishman is held in high regard by a lot in the feeder series world.
Campos Racing
Pepe Martí is a new addition to the Red Bull junior team and had some flashes of greatness throughout the year; I’d wager he’d be another favourite for the win. Ollie Goethe is a new maybe possibly to the Red Bull junior team and had some flashes of okay-ness throughout the year; I’d wager he’d be another favourite for about 5th to 8th place. Sebastián Montoya is a new ejection from the Red Bull junior team and flashes of nothingness throughout the year; I’d wager he'd be another favourite for not a lot.
Van Amersfoort Racing
Sophia Flörsch again returns to the circuit that tried to kill her in 2018, after an absolutely frightening incident with Sho Tsuboi that sent her head-first into a photographers’ bunker. Luckily she - along with the photographers and marshals - narrowly avoided death, and she recovered from her spinal injuries to compete in the 2019 race. She’s back with VAR, for whom she competed in 2018, and is aiming for her first finish in Macau. Noel León won the poorly subscribed Euroformula Open championship this year, and the jury is still out on whether he can make the step up to a competitive championship. Tommy Smith is… also there.
ART Grand Prix
Laurens van Hoepen and Nikola Tsolov continue with the team for which they raced in this year’s FIA F3 championship; both had a somewhat difficult campaign for a team which seems to have lost its way in F3, and will be looking for strong results to round out the year. They’re joined by Campos refugee Christian Mansell (no relation to Brands Hatch Indy Circuit lap record holder Scott. Or that other guy.)
Rodin Carlin
This is an interesting one. Carlin have, to be brutally honest, been useless in F3 for the past couple of years. To try to save some face, they’ve brought in two big guns. In from the F2 team is Zane Maloney, who has been present at the post-season F3 tests in preparation for his shot at the Grand Prix. Also in, this time from Formula E, is the only other previous winner, apart from Verschoor - two-time Macau Grand Prix winner Dan Ticktum. There’s no denying the controversial Englishman is a dab hand around Macau, and it’s heartening to see he’s determined enough to return. The last Carlin seat is still up for grabs at time of writing.
MP Motorsport
MP are also bringing their A-game to Macau. Newly announced F2 signing Franco Colapinto will be looking for the big win to take him into his rookie F2 season. Colapinto is out, having suffered a collarbone injury, so in his place will be F2 driver and outbound Red Bull driver Dennis Hauger. Mari Boya is frustratingly inconsistent, but appears to have some talent beneath the surface. Finally, Marcus Armstrong comes in off the back of his maiden IndyCar campaign. Again, he goes into the bracket of “I’m just glad there’s drivers out there who’ll still race for the thrill of it, and take the Macau Grand Prix seriously” and I’m sure his now vast open-wheel experience will put him in good stead to be up the sharp end.
Schedule
We’re spread over two weekends, folks. Main attraction for the first weekend will likely be the F4 race, featuring a two-time winner in the aforementioned Charles Leong Hon Chio; reigning Macau Grand Prix winner Andy Chang Wing Chung will not be returning. I’ve not included practice sessions here. All times are GMT +8.
Saturday 11th November
12:10-13:00 TCR Asia Qualifying
13:15-13:45 Macau Roadsport Challenge Qualifying
14:00-14:30 Greater Bay Area GT Cup GT4 Qualifying
14:45-15:15 Greater Bay Area GT Cup GT3 Qualifying
15:45-16:15 Formula 4 Qualifying
Sunday 12th November
08:00-08:25 Formula 4 Qualifying Race
09:05-09:40 TCR Asia Race 1
10:20-10:50 Macau Roadsport Challenge Race
11:30-12:00 Greater Bay Area GT Cup GT4 Race
12:50-13:20 Greater Bay Area GT Cup GT3 Race
14:00-14:35 TCR Asia Race 2
15:40-16:20 Formula 4 Main Race
Thursday 16th November
15:15-15:55 Formula 3 Qualifying 1
Friday 17th November
08:00-08:45 Motorcycle Qualifying 1
10:30-11:05 Chinese Touring Car Championship Qualifying
11:25-11:55 70th Anniversary Challenge Qualifying
12:45-13:35 TCR World Tour Qualifying
14:05-14:35 FIA GT World Cup Qualifying
15:05-15:45 Formula 3 Qualifying 2
16:10-16:55 Motorcycle Qualifying 2
Saturday 18th November
08:40-09:25 55th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix
10:05-10:40 Chinese Touring Car Championship Race 1
11:20-11:50 70th Anniversary Challenge Race 1
12:50-13:25 TCR World Tour Race 1
14:05-15:05 FIA GT World Cup Qualifying Race
15:50-16:50 Formula 3 Qualifying Race
Sunday 19th November
08:20-08:55 Chinese Touring Car Championship Race 2
09:30-10:00 70th Anniversary Challenge Race 2
10:35-11:10 TCR World Tour Race 2
12:05-13:15 FIA GT World Cup Main Race
15:30-16:30 70th Macau Grand Prix
Wow, that’s a lot of racing! What else is going on?
Firstly, there’s the Formula 4 race. The team to beat here will be, as usual, Prema, who’re entered with Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad, rapid youngster Freddie Slater, Emirati Rashid Al Dhaheri, and two-time winner Charles Leong Hon Chio. They’ll likely not have everything their own way - R-ace GP are entered with the now-experienced Hadrien David; Macau native and Chinese F4 championship leader Tiago Rodrigues will be present with more experience in the car than the other local entries. The biggest name, though, is FRECA runner-up Martinius Stenshorne, who would have deserved a punt at the main Grand Prix in my eyes. F1 Academy’s Bianca Bustamante is also competing, along with former Formula Regional Japan champion and ex-W Series racer Miki Koyama. Finally, keep an eye out for cult hero “Dragon”, who competed in the 2018 Macau Grand Prix aged 51… three times the age of some of the other drivers!
The Macau Grand Prix is a motorcycle event as well, and has long featured a large contingent of quick road racers, such as John McGuinness, and 9-time winner Michael Rutter. There have been Grand Prix racers and winners too, the highest profile probably being 1988 victor Kevin Schwantz. I’d have to defer any bets to the bike contingent here - but Rutter is in the field again, along with other TT/Superbike racers such as Peter Hickman and Josh Brookes.
The FIA GT World Cup has also attracted some of the best sports car racers in the world previously, and is no different this year. This is a “sprint” as GT races go, with single-driver entries. Jules Gounon, Augusto Farfus, Kévin Estre, Earl Bamber, Raffaele Marciello and Daniel Juncadella are amongst the drivers present, along with two-time Grand Prix winner Edo Mortara.
The TCR World Tour is back in Macau too, reinstated as the season finale as it was previously back in the WTCC days. The top names in the championship are present, in what is a close championship fight going into the last two rounds at Bathurst, and then Macau the following weekend. Norbi Michelisz maintains his slim championship lead currently, ahead of Rob Huff and Yann Ehrlacher. There’s plenty of local interest in the minor touring car races, too.
There you have it. It’s good to have the Grand Prix back at full strength.
Edited by Frood, 11 November 2023 - 23:40.
Martin Jessopp was always a front runner at Macau 
