PREMA Racing have secured the signature of their third and final driver for the 2025 Formula 3 season.
The Italian outfit first secured the services of McLaren-backed Ugo Ugochukwu, with the 17-year-old being promoted from FRECA. However, with his lack of performances this season, PREMA fans were not impressed by Ugochukwu’s signing over his teammates Rafael Camara and James Wharton.
PREMA’s second driver for 2025 is Brando Badoer, the son of former Formula 1 driver Luca Badoer. Also a part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme and racing in FRECA with Ugochukwu, Badoer is fifth in the standings with one round to go, securing seven podiums so far.
And for the Italian team’s third driver, with their other two stepping into Formula 3 for the first time, they have brought in some experience in the form of Noel Leon.
Santiago Ramos and Daniel Suarez send messages to Noel Leon after signing with PREMA
The Mexican will embark on his sophomore campaign in F3, having finished 10th in 2024 with Van Amersfoort Racing.
Leon has enjoyed great success in his junior career thus far, winning the NACAM Formula 4 Championship in his third attempt in the 2019/20 season.
READ MORE: Formula 3 2025 driver line-up with every team’s confirmed entry for the grid
In 2021, the 19-year-old won the F4 United States Championship and the NASCAR Challenge Series in Mexico, winning seven of the 11 races and securing nine podiums.
After a difficult 2022 campaign in FRECA, Leon won the Euroformula Open Championship in 2023 with Team Motopark before moving on to F3 in 2024. After a rocky start to the season, the Mexican grabbed four podiums to finish 10th with 79 points.
After running with PREMA in the post-season test at Jerez, Leon has been confirmed to race with the team for 2025. In the comments of his post on Instagram about the news, the 19-year-old received messages of support from his fellow compatriots.
Santiago Ramos, who raced with Trident in 2024 and is currently without a seat for next year, wrote in Spanish: “Échale chiquitin!” which translates to ‘Send it little one’ in English.
NASCAR playoff driver Daniel Suarez also shared his approval of the news as he left two clapping hands emojis for Leon.
Can Noel Leon perform at PREMA in 2025?
Heading into his second year in F3, Leon will be hoping to go better than his 2024 campaign and secure his maiden win.
Consistency proved to be a problem for the Mexican in 2024, as he scored points in only one of the opening six races; that being his maiden podium in the Sprint Race at Imola with third.
READ MORE: Can Trident repeat Leonardo Fornaroli success with their three new Formula 3 signings in 2025?
Leon would score points in 10 of the remaining 14 races, including three more podiums with two second place finishes in the Sprint Race at Silverstone and the Feature Race in Hungary, and third place in the Sprint Race at Spa.
PREMA are one of the most successful teams at this level and after winning the Teams’ Championship in 2024, they will be looking to repeat that success in 2025 with Ugochukwu, Badoer and Leon.
With the Mexican finishing in the top 10 in the standings in 2024, he will be looking to improve upon that result and PREMA will more than provide him with the tools to do just that.