A full grid for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship

Published on 08 March 2014 by Stefan Meens

In his first full season in single seaters, Max Verstappen will face fierce competition from the FIA Formula 3 European Championship grid. The category is the first junior single-seater series to return to action after the winter break, and does so with a packed grid for the 2014 season. In total, 30 outstanding young drivers and twelve teams will be competing for the coveted FIA Formula 3 European Championship title and will be racing at the highest level. 

All these young drivers have one clear goal: making it into Formula 1. Talents from 17 countries, including eight rookie drivers, will be competing for valuable championship points during eleven race weekends in 2014. At prestigious Formula 1 tracks and demanding street circuits, 33 races will be held all over Europe at meetings shared with international top-class series. 

More than any other one of the young drivers, Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) has unfinished business: In 2013, the Swede was beaten in the closing stages of the season by his fiercest rival, reigning European champion Raffaele Marciello. This season, the 22-year-old wants to put things straight.
With four drivers each, Italy and Great Britain have the largest contingent in the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship field. Rookie drivers Max Verstappen and Jules Szymkowiak (both Van Amersfoort Racing) will be defending the Dutch colours, together with experienced driver Dennis van de Laar (Prema Powerteam). 

Gerhard Berger, President of the FIA Single-Seater Commission: "We're absolutely delighted to have received thirty entries for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. We've filled all the slots and this confirms that Formula 3 is now back again in the vanguard of promotional Formulas. It's the best training school and every driver should go through it. The entry list, comprising twelve great teams, looks fantastic with experienced drivers and a dozen or so rookies whose performance will be highlighted by a separate classification. Given the overall level, we'll have another exceptional champion this season! The year 2014 is important as the arrival of a new generation of engines opens up a long-term perspective. Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Renault and Neil Brown Engineering are all backing the FIA F3 European Championship, and we're already hard at work trying to persuade other manufacturers to join us next year."

For many decades, Formula 3 has been the ideal stepping stone into Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport. Here, up-and-coming talents can not only hone their racing skills, but also learn how to deal with technology. In approximately one month already, the stars of tomorrow will be facing each other for the first time during the official pre-season tests in Hungary and Austria. For drivers and teams, this first encounter is also about getting to terms with the new engines in competitive conditions as quickly as possible. After all, championship points will be at stake for the first time only one week later during the FIA WEC meeting at Silverstone in the UK (18-20 April).

Click here for the entry list of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship 2014