No fewer than 20 graduates of the GB3 Championship and its BRDC F4 and BRDC British F3 predecessors will start their new seasons in single-seater categories across the world this weekend.
Graduates will be found in the very upper echelons of the sport in Formula 1 and IndyCar, leading feeder categories FIA F2 and FIA F3 on the F1 ladder, and the Road to Indy pathway in IndyNXT and USF Pro 2000.
Here’s where to follow our graduates this weekend.
Formula 1 – Bahrain Grand Prix
F1’s newest race-winner George Russell remains with Mercedes AMG Petronas for his second campaign with the team, and his fifth season at the top level. The 2014 BRDC F4 champion out-scored seven-time world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton last year, and won his first F1 contest in a thrilling Sao Paulo Grand Prix in November.
He’s joined on the grid by multiple BRDC British F3 race-winner Lando Norris at McLaren, also in his fifth F1 season. Norris has taken multiple podiums in his F1 career, and came within a lap or two of taking a maiden win at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. A tricky start is expected at McLaren however, with major car upgrades due in a handful of races time.
FIA Formula 2 – Bahrain
2019 BRDC British F3 champion Clement Novalak returns for a second season in F1’s main feeder category. The Frenchman helped his 2022 team MP Motorsport to last year’s title but for 2023 has switched to the Trident squad with whom he was a front-runner in FIA F3.
2020 runner-up Kush Maini steps up to F2 for the first time this year with Campos Motorsport, and has shown rapid pace in pre-season testing, while Oliver Bearman, who did a part-GB3 campaign in 2021 and took a race win and multiple podiums, is a possible title contender with Prema.
FIA Formula 3 – Bahrain
A total of seven graduates will pack out the FIA F3 grid, with GB3’s three most recent champions among a 30-car line-up.
2020 champion Kaylen Frederick stays for a third season, this time with ART GP, while 2021 winner Zak O’Sullivan is tipped as a likely championship contender as the Williams Academy driver makes the move to Prema. They’re joined by reigning GB3 champion Luke Browning, who confirmed his drive earlier this week with Hitech Pulse-Eight after showing excellent pace in testing a couple of weeks ago.
GB3 race-winners Roberto Faria (PHM Racing by Charouz), Tommy Smith (Van Amersfoort), Christian Mansell (Campos) are also on the grid, along with Hunter Yeany at Rodin Carlin, who was a podium finisher in BRDC British F3 at Spa a couple of years ago.
IndyCar - Florida
Across the Atlantic, the 2023 IndyCar season kicks off this weekend too at St Petersburg, Florida.
Benjamin Pedersen, who completed two race-winning BRDC British F3 seasons in 2019-2020, makes his top-line debut with AJ Foyt after a front-running performance in IndyLights last year.
He’s joined on the grid by Colton Herta who was a podium finisher in the 2016 BRDC British F3 campaign, and is a likely candidate for this year’s title having won plenty of IndyCar contests in recent seasons.
IndyNXT - Florida
The former IndyLights category has three recent graduates to look out for, with each eyeing potential IndyCar careers.
Jamie Chadwick, who became the first woman to win a British F3 race back in 2018 and has since dominated W Series, graduates to IndyNXT with Andretti Autosport, where she is joined by another BRDC British F3 race-winner Louis Foster, who won last year’s USF Pro 2000 Championship.
Meanwhile, 2017 BRDC British F3 champion Enaam Ahmed also makes his debut in IndyCar’s premier feeder series, racing with Cape Motorsports.
USF Pro 2000 - Florida
Finally, three graduates will be in action on the third tier of the IndyCar ladder; the USF Pro 2000 series.
Joel Granfors, who ran Luke Browning very close in last year’s GB3 title race is hoping to challenge for the title with Exclusive Autosport, and he’s joined on the grid by another GB3 race winner Reece Ushijima (Jay Howard Driver Developments) and podium finisher Jonathan Browne (Turn 3 Motorsport).
Fans wanting to follow the progress of each graduate can do so via the Sky Sports F1 channel (F1, F2, F3 and IndyCar) and via live streaming (IndyNXT and USF Pro 2000).