Norris heads smallest-ever Macau F3 entry
European Formula 3 champion Lando Norris tops a depleted entry list for next month’s Macau Grand Prix, in which just 22 cars will compete.
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
The field is a record low for Macau since it switched to F3 rules in 1983 – that first year, 25 cars were hastily scrambled together, but in the 33 years since then there have always been at least 28 entries.
This year’s race is the first to be held without any input from long-time Macau GP coordinator Barry Bland, who stood down from organisation duties in late summer 2016, when much of the entry had already been put in place, and passed away in July this year.
Norris spearheads a five-car attack from Carlin, which bids to follow up its 2016 victory with Antonio Felix da Costa.
The 17-year-old McLaren protege is joined by regular European F3 teammates Jehan Daruvala and Ferdinand Habsburg, late-season newcomer Devlin DeFrancesco and Formula Renault Eurocup points leader Sacha Fenestraz, who made his F3 debut with Carlin at the Nurburgring.
Series runner-up Joel Eriksson leads the Motopark squad, and is joined by F2 race winner Sergio Sette Camara, who finished on the Macau podium with Carlin last year.
Prema Powerteam takes its usual four European F3 drivers from 2017: Ferrari juniors Callum Ilott and Guan Yu Zhou, Mercedes protege Maximilian Gunther and Mick Schumacher.
Hitech GP has pulled out of Macau, leaving Ralf Aron and Honda junior Tadasuke Makino to find alternative berths at Van Amersfoort Racing and Motopark respectively.
Further Motopark interest lies with Red Bull junior Dan Ticktum, who makes his second visit to Macau after being a race winner this season in Formula Renault Eurocup and starring in late-season GP3 outings.
Japanese F3 champion Mitsunori Takaboshi is not on the entry list, but the B-Max squad with which he has raced this season will field Super Formula drivers Yuhi Sekiguchi and Kenta Yamashita.
B-Max will also field a car for its 50-year-old team principal Ryuji Kumita, who races under the pseudonym of ‘Dragon’.
Macau GP entry list:
| Team (Engine) | Drivers |
|---|---|
| Carlin (VW) |
|
| Prema (Mercedes) |
|
| TOM'S (Toyota) |
|
| Motopark (VW) |
|
| Drago Corse (Tomei/ThreeBond) |  Alex Palou |
| B-Max (VW) |
|
| Van Amersfoort (Mercedes) |
|
Lando Norris
Jehan Daruvala
Ferdinand Habsburg
Sacha Fenestraz
Devlin DeFrancesco
Guan Yu Zhou
Maximilian Gunther
Sho Tsuboi
Joel Eriksson
Sergio Sette Camara
Ralf AronBe part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Wheldon Jr hailed as big talent by team boss after winning debut
Introducing the IndyCar junior race winner still too young to join GB3
The top 10 Ferrari F1 rookies
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying results: Lando Norris takes pole
Why Norris's China F1 sprint pole lap was deleted and reinstated
The impatient pair who’d hoped to be a thorn in Red Bull’s side again
Shanghai F1 grass fire mystery remains; emergency team on standby
F1 live: Follow the Chinese GP Sprint race as it happens
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying results: Lando Norris takes pole
The Haas F1 updates that have bucked a sprint race trend
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
How a much-changed Macau GP kept the party going
Inside the Macau Grand Prix's greatest moments
From banned bad boy to Red Bull's next bright hope
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments