Green light in Albert Park

It’s nearly time for the opening round of the Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships. The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy will have three drivers on track in Melbourne this weekend.

The winter break is over and Dino Beganovic, Rafael Camara and Tuukka Taponen have now made the long trip to Australia for the opening round of their 2025 season in Formula 2 and Formula 3. Both series have raced at the Albert Park track before, but this is the first year that the circuit has hosted the opening round, on the same card as the Formula 1 World Championship.

Formula 2. Dino Beganovic is all set to start his first full season in the category. The 21 year old Swede raced in the final two rounds of the 2024 season, finishing on the podium at his first attempt, and consistently running in the top ten. He has moved from DAMS to Hitech Grand Prix and pre-season testing went well. Dino will no doubt enjoy being back in Melbourne, as he took his maiden Formula 3 win there last year. “I’ve definitely got great memories of Melbourne,” he said. “Now I can’t wait to get out on track to start the season. I plan to stay focused and I think we have everything in place to do well and my aim is to get off to a strong start, which is always important.”

Formula 3. This will be the very first time that Rafael Camara and Tuukka Taponen have set eyes on the 5.278 kilometres of the Albert Park circuit, as the two Academy drivers will be tackling their first complete season in Formula 3, having made the step up from Formula Regional, although Taponen did get to race in the final 2024 Formula 3 round at Spa-Francorchamps. Learning a new track will be one of the challenges they face, as there is only one 45 minute free practice session on Friday. “This year’s calendar has four tracks I’ve never raced on,” explained Camara. “They are Melbourne, Bahrain, Silverstone and Monaco, but I don’t think it will present a big problem. A driver needs to be able to adapt pretty quickly, capable of getting the most out of the weekend, even at a track that is new to them. It will probably take a few laps to adapt, but work on the simulator is always useful, so I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. I expect the season will be far from easy, because the standard of driving is very high. It won’t be enough to be quick, you will also need to be consistent over the whole season.”

Programme.

Friday

Formula 3 Free Practice 08.50 (Thursday 22.50 CET)

Formula 2 Free Practice 10.00 (00.00 CET)

Formula 3 Qualifying 14.00 (04.00 CET)

Formula 2 Qualifying 17.30 (07.30 CET)

Saturday

Formula 3 Sprint Race 11.15 (01.30 CET)

Formula 2 Sprint Race 14.15 (04.15 CET)

Sunday

Formula 3 Feature Race 09.00 (Saturday 23.00 CET)

Formula 2 Feature Race 11.30 (01.30 CET)