Van Amersfoort Racing has confirmed Keyvan Andres and Artem Petrov as their first two drivers for their FIA European Formula 3 Championship team for 2018.
Andres will remain in the series having debuted in 2017 with Motopark, and he hopes to take what he learned from racing in European Formula 3 last season and bring home a good haul of points, something that was lacking from his rookie campaign.
“I’m ready for the next step in my racing career,” said Andres. “Last season was very useful in getting used to the latest spec Formula 3 car and learning the characteristics of the different tracks.
“Now I want to use this experience to be competitive together with Van Amersfoort Racing. I’m very much looking forward since Van Amersfoort Racing is one of the best teams in FIA Formula 3 European Championship.”
Petrov has made the step up into Formula 3 machinery for the first time after two years of racing in Formula 4, and was twice a race winner in 2017 in the Italian Formula 4 Championship, ultimately finishing fifth in the final standings.
“I am happy that I can make the step into the FIA F3 European Championship with VAR,” said Petrov. “I felt right away at home in the team and am looking forward to enter battle together in this competitive championship with very strong drivers, who I have known since my karting days.
“With the many years of experience of Frits and his team behind me, I am confident that I can be competitive this forthcoming season.”
Team founder Fritz van Amersfoort has welcomed both drivers into the team, and he hopes they can both help the team secure some strong results in 2018.
“We like to give Keyvan a warm welcome in our team,” said van Amersfoort. “Considering Keyvan is only 17 years old, he has collected quite some experience in single seater racing around the globe. It is our goal to help him using his experience and talent to be competitive in the forthcoming European F3 season.
“It is a pleasure to announce that Artem joins our Formula 3 squad for the 2018 season. We had him on our radar for some time. Last season he came in the team with a “Bang”, being very fast and winning one race.
“We believe Artem is ready for the next step and we feel his motivation to be successful at the next level. We will certainly give him our full support during his maiden F3 season.”