Formula 3 serves as a major opportunity for young talent to prove their worth on the way to Formula 1 as the category races on the latter’s support bill.
Previously known as GP3, Formula 3 races at 10 historic circuits – mainly in Europe – and is home to well-established teams and competitive machinery that gives its drivers the best chance to challenge for the title.
The 2024 season was one of the most competitive seasons in the category’s history, with six drivers having a mathematical chance of winning the championship.
As the chequered flag fell at Monza for the Feature Race, it was Leonardo Fornaroli who took the crown. The Italian dived past Christian Mansell at the final corner on the final lap to win the title on home soil, having not won a race all year.
After little time at all following his championship success, Fornaroli got the promotion he deserved, as it was announced that he will be making the step up to Formula 2 in 2025 with Invicta Racing.
With F3 housing some strong talent for the future as well as Fornaroli this year, here are five drivers that deserve to be promoted to F2 for next season.
Gabriele Mini
Heading into Monza, Gabriele Mini was Fornaroli’s closest rival in the standings, sitting just one point behind in second.
The Alpine Academy driver finished the Sprint Race in ninth with his fellow compatriot came home eighth. In the Feature Race, Mini had one hand on the title on the final lap as he ran in second place, but Fornaroli’s last-gasp overtake at Parabolica for third gave the championship to the latter.
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It would turn out that the overtake would not have mattered, as Mini was later disqualified from the race for not having the minimum requirements for tyre pressures. Ultimately, the 19-year-old finished second in the standings, 23 points behind Fornaroli.
Despite this crushing defeat, Mini more than showed his potential with five podiums – the joint-most after Fornaroli’s seven – including one victory and he would be a deserving candidate for an F2 seat next year.
The Italian may actually be in a very good position by driving for PREMA in 2024. In F2, both of the teams’ drivers Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be in Formula 1 next year, opening up their two seats for 2025.
If PREMA are to promote from within, it would seem only natural to bring Mini up for the challenge in F2.
Arvid Lindblad
For the exact same reason as driving with PREMA, Mini’s teammate Arvid Lindblad proved himself to be a super talent in his debut season in F3.
The Brit was the youngest driver on the grid in 2024 at just 17 years old and took the category straight away, winning four races across the year- the most of any other driver.
With five podiums in total, Lindblad established himself as a top driver in F3 and capable of a lot more. The only worry is his end to the season, as the Brit finished outside the points in the final three rounds of the season at Budapest, Spa and Monza.
Despite a rocky end to the year, Lindblad still had an impressive and as aforementioned, if PREMA are to promote drivers from within, the Brit is an easy choice.
Oliver Goethe
Technically, Oliver Goethe is already in F2, but there’s doubt as to whether he will stay there for 2025.
The German was promoted to F2 from F3 to replace Franco Colapinto at MP Motorsport, who had himself been promoted to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams for the remainder of the F1 season.
Goethe had been driving with Campos Racing in F3 and was in with a chance, albeit a slim one, of winning the championship. The 19-year-old had achieved three podiums, including one win at Imola.
While he may have finished seventh in the standings, Goethe showed great consistency, finishing outside the points three times all year – not including the final round at Monza as he was driving in F2.
With three more rounds to go in F2, the German has a great opportunity to prove himself in the machinery ahead of a potential full-time seat next year.
With Colapinto anticipated to drop back down to F2 following his stint at Williams, time will tell if Goethe keeps his spot in the junior category. If he does, it will be deserved.
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Luke Browning
Driving with Hitech in 2024, Luke Browning found himself just six points behind Fornaroli going into the final race of the season.
But after finishing sixth in the Sprint Race and 20th in the Feature Race, the Brit finished third in the standings, two points off second place Mini after his disqualification.
Browning enjoyed a successful season overall, winning two Feature Races in Bahrain and Austria and grabbed a third podium by finishing third at the Monaco Feature Race.
The 22-year-old’s biggest problem was consistency, as it was one extreme result to another, either being firmly outside the points or challenging for a win.
Sprint Races was a clear weakness, scoring points in only three across the season. Preferring the longer format of Feature Races, Browning was able to perform and showed his potential.
At 22, Browning cannot afford to be hanging around in F3 much longer. Despite his struggles in Sprint Races, which are also a key part of F2, he justifies a promotion.
Dino Beganovic
For Dino Beganovic, he finds himself in perhaps a challenging spot with PREMA, as he finished behind both his teammates Mini and Lindblad.
With those two being probably the top candidates to get the team’s vacant F2 seats, Beganovic also performed well, finishing sixth in the standings overall.
The Bosnian-Swedish driver showed solid consistency, including a run of seven consecutive races in the points and picked up four podiums, two of them being wins.
The 20-year-old was perhaps overlooked compared to the other PREMA drivers, but by scoring triple figures in 2024 and with the Ferrari academy having the potential to play a big helping hand, Beganovic proved himself in F3 and would be worthy of F2, even if It most likely will not be with PREMA.