Prema Power Team  announce that Mick Schumacher will be back with the team for a second consecutive season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

The 18-year-old racer has been impressive in his series debut last season, with many rookie podiums and even a third place overall at the challenging Monza venue in Italy.
 
After completing the European season in third place among rookies, Schumacher made a positive first appearance at the famed Macau Grand Prix, running comfortably in the top-10 overall among much more experienced contenders.
 
Schumacher showed outstanding character on race day and is ready to capitalize on the year spent on-track to make further progress together with the Team. He will be part of a bold five-driver roster lined-up to repeat and improve the results scored in 2017 which included grabbing the Team Championship for a record fifth straight time.
 
Preparations have already started for the season ahead which will begin and with the Grand Prix of Pau at the Pau-Ville street course on May 12th and 13th.
 
“We are happy and proud to have Mick with us again for 2018. Last year he faced a challenging debut season, moving up from Formula 4, but he showed great personality and huge potential, so we fully expect him to make further gains this season." Commented team manager René Rosin

"We will be lining-up five cars in an increased effort for 2018 and we expect this to be an exciting season. We are determined to put up our best efforts in order to stay in the hunt for more success.”
 
Schumacher said: "The competition in Formula 3 is tough, strong and tight; it is enriching to fight at this level, that’s why I very much look forward to racing here for another season."

"The fact that I can continue to work with a professional team such as Prema can only help me move forward. The team is great to work with and I am convinced we can experience some more exciting moments together. I am committed to advancing further and want to fight at the top with the best drivers." Concluded the young German

Following a decision by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, Circuit Zandvoort in The Netherlands will be hosting the new FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup.

Participation in the Cup is possible with Formula 3 cars built between 1 January, 1971 and 31 December, 1984. The FIA has chosen the former Grand Prix circuit in the dunes of the Dutch North Sea coast as the venue for the new annual event because of the long and rich history of Formula 3 racing at Zandvoort.

The FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup will be a part of the Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort, a meeting that has quickly established itself as one of the most popular motor sport events in The Netherlands.    

The new FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup will be held as a single FIA Competition according to Appendix K of the Federation’s International Sporting Code.

The event format includes one free practice session with a duration of 25 minutes, another 25 minutes of qualifying practice to determine the starting grid positions and two races of 25 minutes each.

There will be two separate categories: Category 1 for Formula 3 cars with 1,600 or 2,000 cc engines built from 1971-1978 and Category 2 for Formula 3 cars with 2,000 cc engines built from 1979-1984. After each race, there will be a podium ceremony for the overall top three and awards for Category 2.

The FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup will be awarded based on the aggregate results of race 1 and race 2. There will be two Cups, one for the winner in Category 1 and one for the winner in Category 2.

Circuit Zandvoort has a long-standing heritage as a venue for Formula 3 races. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the circuit was a regular fixture on the calendar of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship. In 1991, the inaugural Masters of Formula 3 event was held at Zandvoort as a one-off competition for the best drivers from the various national Formula 3 championships.

The Masters of Formula 3 was held every year until 2016 and its winners’ list includes David Coulthard, Lewis Hamilton as well as Jos and Max Verstappen. Since 2012, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship has held an event at Circuit Zandvoort every year, as had its predecessor, the Formula 3 Euro Series.

“We are delighted that the FIA has acknowledged the great history of Formula 3 racing at Circuit Zandvoort by allowing us to host the new FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup,” says Erik Weijers, C.O.O. of Circuit Zandvoort.

“The addition of an FIA-sanctioned Formula 3 competition to the programme of our increasingly popular Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort will raise the profile of this event even more.” In 2018, the Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort will be held from 31 August until 2 September.

“The FIA has decided to create the Historic Formula 3 European Cup to celebrate Formula 3 as a pillar category in the history of Motor Sport,” explains Paolo Cantarella, President of the FIA Historic Motor Sport Commission.

“There are several national Historic Formula 3 series in Europe and we want to recognize the importance of the category in an FIA labelled single event Cup in Zandvoort, in cooperation with the existing national series organisers. Cars will have to comply with Appendix K and will have to hold a valid Historic Technical Passport (HTP).”

Prema Powerteam announce that Ferrari Driver Academy racer Guanyu Zhou will enter the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, lining-up for his third year in the series and returning to the Prema stable for the second straight year.
 
The Shanghai-born racer made his single seater debut with Prema back in 2015, when he was a runner-up in the Italian Formula 4 Championship. He later graduated to Formula 3 competition where he scored seven podium finishes in the last two seasons including two third place finishes in the final round of 2017 at Hockenheim.

By continuing his journey with Prema, and thanks to the support of the FDA young driver program, Zhou is set for a further step forward in 2018 in an increased five-car effort by the team.
 
“Zhou is definitely an interesting prospect and has a lot of potential not to mention being the best Chinese racer in junior single seater competition so we are excited to have him back for 2018." Said René Rosin Team Manager

"Last season, he produced great racing but we are sure he can perform even better so we can’t wait to see him back on-track.”
 
“I am really happy to be joining Prema for the 2018 season! The last two years of work have paid off for me and the team has been successful too, so I’m looking forward to a great year together, I feel more than ready for the coming season.” commented Guanyu Zhou

Hitech GP are delighted to announce that promising young Spanish driver, Alex Palou will join the Team to make his European FIA Formula 3 debut in 2018.

Teaming up with the race-winning team serves an exciting new challenge in what has been an impressive single-seater career to date for the Spaniard.

Fresh from an illustrious karting career, Alex burst into the open-wheel racing arena in 2014, debuting in the Euroformula Open Championship. Wasting no time in proving his talent, Alex claimed victory at the season opener at the challenging Nürburgring circuit, taking 2wins, 3 pole positions and 11 podiums in a stellar debut campaign which saw him finishing 3rd in the final standings.

Graduating to GP3 machinery in 2015, Alex showed his tenacious spirit, racing ability and raw pace, fighting back from a difficult season to claim a dominant victory in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

2017 saw Alex competing in the Japanese F3 series, scoring 3 wins, 5 pole positions and 10 podiums, finishing third in the final championship standings. Closing his season in style, Alex went on to contest in the final two rounds of the FIA Formula 2 Championship claiming solid points finishes in both races on his debut weekend in Jerez.

Eager to get back out on track, Hitech GP look forward to adding to the trophy cabinet with Alex’s wealth of experience and fine-tuned racecraft on side:

“It’s great to have Alex joining the team. I have followed him over the years and he has consistently showed that he is an extremely young, quick and competent driver."

"He spent this season in Japanese F3. His one off appearances in Formula 2 in Abu Dhabi and the recent Rookie Test in Super Formula showed he has something special."

"We are looking forward to giving him the chance of a complete programme to mount a challenge for the FIA F3 Championship” — Team Principal Oliver Oakes

Alex echoed Oliver's enthusiasm commenting: “I’m super excited to compete in the FIA Formula 3 and even more excited to be joining HitechGP. I know that both, the team and I, are hungry to fight for the Championship together."

"The Winter Tests went really well and I am looking forward to racing back in Europe next year. I’d really like to thank my backers for this opportunity!”