Twenty-two drivers have been confirmed for the second annual FIA F3 World Cup, taking place this November around the streets of Macau.
It is the lowest entry level since the event switched to Formula 3 rules back in 1983, with the last thirty-three years of the event having at least twenty-eight cars.
Four of the five FIA European Formula 3 Championship teams will compete in Macau, which also acts as the 64th Suncity Grupo Macau Grand Prix, with three Japanese Formula 3 outfits also joining the grid.
Only Hitech Grand Prix from the European championship are absent, with Carlin Motorsport, SJM Theodore Racing by Prema, Motopark and Van Amersfoort Racing all fielding entries.
Carlin will field five cars, with Lando Norris, the European Formula 3 champion of 2017, being joined by regular team-mates Jehan Daruvala and Ferdinand Habsburg, with EuroFormula Open star Devlin DeFrancesco and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion-elect Sacha Fenestraz completing the line-up.
“We are thrilled to have such a strong, exciting and young line-up for the 2017 Macau Grand Prix,” said Carlin’s racing director Trevor Carlin. “We’ve worked closely with Lando, Jehan, Ferdinand and Devlin all season long in their respective championships and we’re pleased to have a talent like Sacha back on board with us for Macau.
“I’m excited for them to all take to the track and see what they can achieve around the circuit – we have two guys [Lando and Ferdinand] who have raced here before and have experience of the tight circuit however for Jehan, Devlin and Sacha this will be an entirely new challenge and experience which they will no doubt enjoy.”
SJM Theodore Racing by Prema will field all four of Prema Powerteam’s European Formula 3 racers, meaning a Macau debut for Mick Schumacher alongside Maximilian Günther, Callum Ilott and Guan Yu Zhou.
“It is a great honour for us to line-up an increased effort in the 64th Macau Grand Prix,” said Prema team manager Rene Rosin. “We will rely on a very talented and well-sorted driver roster and I am sure that they will be outstanding competitors this season.
“We will provide them with our absolute dedication and utmost commitment to successfully carry on the amazing Theodore Racing legacy.”
Motopark will also field five cars, with Joel Eriksson being joined by Tadasuke Makino, Marino Sato, Daniel Ticktum and Sergio Sette Câmara, while Van Amersfoort Racing will bring Ralf Aron and Pedro Piquet to Macau.
The Japanese contingent is led by B-Max Racing, who will field three cars for Kenta Yamashita, Yuhi Sekiguchi and fifty-year-old team boss Ryuji Kumita, who races under the pseudonym ‘Dragon’.
Team TOM’s will field Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata, while Spaniard Alex Palou, a race winner in Japanese Formula 3 and World Series Formula V8 3.5 in 2017, will race the sole entry for ThreeBond Racing with Dorago Corse.
The line-up ensures a new winner in 2017, with none of the previous Macau victors on the entry list, with the twenty-two drivers looking to follow in the illustrious footsteps of 2016 winner Antonio Felix da Costa.
