Prema Racing has announced that Ferrari Driver Academy member Marcus Armstrong will remain with the team for the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
The 18-year-old Kiwi, made his debut in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship this season and quickly emerged as a front runner.
Armstrong ended fifth in the championship with one win, three pole positions and nine further podiums to his name.
His one win came round the streets of the Norisring where he dominated the challenging streets to take victory by almost three seconds.
The New Zealander had a very successful karting career, before graduating to single seaters in 2014. At the end of 2016 he joined the FDA joining Prema’s Formula 4 operation for 2017.
In that year he won the Italian Formula 4 championship and was runner up in the German series.
For 2019, Prema will field three cars in the new Formula 3 series which merges European Formula 3 and the GP3 Series.
Team principal, René Rosin, said: “It is great to line-up with Marcus for another season. He has huge talent and has been a championship contender in every single series he took part in so far. We know we can aim at some outstanding results together and we want to carry our winning legacy into the new era of Formula 3. I want to thank Marcus and the Ferrari Driver Academy for their renewed trust. Our partnership achieved amazing results, but we won’t back down and we are hungry for more!”
“This is an exciting step in my career, and this series is definitely the place to be for a young driver in terms of development and learning. Competition will be incredibly tight and everybody is looking forward to the new adventure. The car is obviously quite different to the Formula 3 we raced this year, not only the car itself but the engine and tyres,” said Armstrong.
“I have the right people around me to get on top of these details quickly though. Together we shared a lot of success in recent years, winning the 2017 Italian Formula 4 Championship and fighting for the German series title. We had a great 2018 too but I feel there is unfinished business and I’m very excited to get going. The new FIA F3 is new for everyone, including us, but I feel confident in our team that we can hit the ground running in 2019.”
Teams will get the first experience for the new series in February for the shakedown.
