Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Niko Lacorte left it late to top FIA Formula 3’s final pre-season test session at Barcelona, leading a DAMS one-two.

Enzo Deligny (Van Amersfoort Racing) was the pace-setter early on, leading team-mate Bruno del Pino before his other team-mate Hiyu Yamakoshi got within 0.167 seconds of his 1m30.430s.

Five teams did not record laptimes in the first half-hour, and Maciej Gladysz (ART Grand Prix) got ahead of del Pino.

More drivers headed out after, and Brando Badoer (Rodin Motorsport) posted a 1m32.108s to take top spot 38 minutes in. His team-mate Pedro Clerot went third fastest, 0.391s behind.

Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos Racing) demoted him to fourth by 0.03s before red flags waved three quarters of an hour in due to Jose Garfias (Prema) getting into trouble.

Three teams were still without laptimes, but that changed following the restart. Fernando Barrichello (AIX) lowered the pace to 1m31.688s, Ugochukwu improved in third and his team-mates entered the top 10 with their first efforts.

Theophile Nael (Campos) edged ahead of Ugochukwu by 0.075s on his next tour, but lost third shortly after as Noah Stromsted (Trident) got within 0.484s of Barrichello with his first flying lap.

Hour one of three ended with Brad Benavides (AIX), on his first flyer, going fastest by 0.115s before Freddie Slater (Trident) brought out red flags.

The restart occurred 72 minutes in, and shortly after Badoer and Yevan David (AIX) improved to 1m31.936s and 1m32.076s in third and fourth on a congesting track. Hitech GP’s drivers had now posted laptimes too.

There was no change to the top 10 until 85 minutes in, when Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport) went eighth quickest ahead of Deligny, who had not improved after topping the timesheet.

As the session’s second half began, Fionn McLaughlin (Hitech) stopped in sector three and triggered red flags.

There was 75 minutes left of the test at the next restart, and Slater posted his first laptime eight minutes later. It placed him eighth, 0.797s from the top, then team-mate Stromsted returned to third by getting within 0.144s of Benavides. There were only four cars on track, but it got busier in the final hour.

Badoer took to the front with a 1m31.473s, before Matteo De Palo (Trident) leaped from 17th to first by going 0.563s faster than anyone else. Christian Ho had risen from 22nd to sixth, but was a second off the pace.

Barcelona was at its busiest with half an hour remaining, and Tim Tramnitz (Hitech) snatched second from Badoer by 0.053s having previously been 21st. Ugochukwu improved to seventh.

Tramnitz reduced Benavides’s gap further to 0.375s with 13 minutes to go, and David set a new personal best in ninth.

The biggest change came six minutes from the end, as Lacorte and Xie jumped from 23rd and 24th to the top. Xie set a 1m30.275s, bettering Benavides by 0.635s, then Lacorte went 0.599s faster than him. The pair pitted straight after, leaving nine drivers taking the chequered flag.

Additional reporting by Ida Wood

Afternoon session results

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Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Niko Lacorte has kept his DAMS seat in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for a second season.

The 18-year-old Italian joined the French team this year for his rookie F3 campaign and he came a points-free 33rd in the standings. His highest starting position was 15th, which was also his personal-best race result and was achieved twice.

Lacorte missed round six of the 2025 season after receiving a race ban. He had accumulated too many penalty points on his race license within a 12-month period, with a safety car speeding violating tipping him over the line.

“It’s an honour to continue with DAMS. The 2025 season has taught me a great deal, about discipline, consistency and managing unpredictable race situations,” said Lacorte.

“My goal for 2026 is clear: build on this experience, improve at every race and target strong results.”

DAMS’ team principal Charles Pic added: “Nicola’s continuation reflects our ambition to invest long-term in young driver development. His analytical abilities and constant dedication throughout the 2025 season, even in difficult circumstances, demonstrated that he possesses the qualities required to progress within a highly professional environment.”

Lacorte was signed to the Alpine Academy two years ago after coming ninth in E4 and Italian Formula 4, where he took a race win and one other podium. His time as a Formula 1 junior started strongly, as in a part-time Formula Regional Oceania campaign last year he took a win, a second place and came 10th in the standings despite missing 40% of the season.

But in the FRegional European Championship campaign that followed, Lacorte only scored points twice and came 21st in the standings.

This year Lacorte made two sportscar outings in IMSA, driving in the GT3 class for the Cetilar Racing team founded by his father.

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Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Niko Lacorte has been handed a race ban in the FIA Formula 3 Championship after accumulating too many penalty points on his race license.

The 17-year-old Italian went into this morning’s feature race at Barcelona with 11 penalty points, one short of the maximum a driver can carry on their license over a 12-month period before they get a ban, and finished it with two more penalties – and the associated penalty points – to his name.

He got a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Prema’s Brando Badoer, then a 10s stop-go penalty that was converted into a 30s post-race penalty for not meeting the delta requirements during a safety car period.

Combined, he picked up three penalty points from those two offences and the application of the race ban means his DAMS team will need to find a replacement driver for the next round at the Red Bull Ring in four weeks’ time.

Lacorte was not running at the finish of the Barcelona feature race, but was classified 26th as he stopped on the final lap. The Alpine Formula 1 junior is currently 28th in the championship standings halfway into his rookie season, having scored no points.

While race bans are uncommon in FIA F3, there have been multiple instances over the last few seasons of drivers in Formula 2 – which has more races in its calendar – accumulating enough penalty points to then be banned.

Rodin Motorsport’s Roman Bilinski was also penalised post-race, for causing a collision with AIX Racing’s Jose Garfias. That crash led to Bilinski retiring on lap three, so his 10s penalty was converted into a five-place grid drop for the next race.

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Photo: Karl Zemlin

This month’s Daytona 24 Hours, the IMSA season opener, will feature several active junior single-seater stars.

In the top Grand Touring Prototype class for hypercar prototype sportscars, JDC–Miller MotorSports will run Indy Nxt podium-finisher Bryce Aron in its Porsche 963 alongside regular driver Tijmen van her Helm and reigning Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein.

Sportscar newcomer Aron was a race-winner in GB3 and Euroformula before stepping up to Indy Nxt last year with Andretti Global. He came ninth in the standings with two third places his best results, and switches to HMD Motorsports for the 2025 season.

In IMSA’s LMP2 class, Aron’s 2024 team-mate James Roe Jr will drive for Pratt Miller Motorsports. The Irishman won in Formula Regional Americas and USF Pro 2000 on his way up to Indy Nxt, and over three seasons has three podiums and a pole. Last year he was a personal-best sixth in the standings.

Roe will remain with Andretti for this year, but has also committed to a part-time but busy IMSA campaign. He will have to miss the rounds which clash with Indy Nxt, and his team-mates will be IndyCar racers Pietro Fittipaldi and Callum Ilott, and the bronze-rated Chris Cumming.

FIA Formula 3-bound Niko Lacorte will cameo with Cetilar Racing in the GTD class at Daytona, joining his team-owning father Robert, fellow second-generation talent Lorenzo Patrese and Ferrari’s reigning Le Mans 24 Hours winner Antonio Fuoco in a Ferrari 296 GT3.

The younger Lacorte won a race in FRegional Oceania and scored twice in FRegional Europe last year as a rookie with the backing of the Alpine Formula 1 team, and is stepping up to FIA F3 with DAMS.

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Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Alpine-supported Nicola Lacorte is moving up to FIA Formula 3 after just one year in Formula Regional, signing with championship newcomer DAMS.

Lacorte, the son of amateur sportscar driver and Cetilar Racing owner Roberto, finished 21st in his rookie season in the FRegional European Championship this year with Trident, scoring three points.

He made his single-seater debut after turning 15 mid-way through 2022 in Italian Formula 4, and moved from Iron Lynx to its sister squad Prema for a full campaign in 2023. He scored a win, a pole position and another podium finish at the first event of the season at Imola, but wouldn’t visit the podium again and ended up ninth in the standings.

Lacorte was then announced as a member of the Alpine Academy prior to his move up to FREC for 2024.

“I’m delighted to sign for DAMS for next season, considering their great history in Formula 2,” he said. “I’ve learnt a lot from my experiences of 30 car grids in FREC this year, which will be important with a similar size field in F3. My goal for the campaign is to maximise my performance and look to score points whenever possible.”

Lacorte made his F3 debut in the recent post-season tests with the Jenzer Motorsport team, which has effectively been replaced by DAMS for next season.

“It’s great to have Nicola on board for 2025 following the tests in Jerez and Barcelona earlier this month,” said team owner Charles Pic. “We’re looking forward to seeing him develop throughout the campaign. With the team’s proven methods in other series, we’re aiming to help one another to achieve great results.”

DAMS has already announced that former Jenzer driver Matias Zagazeta will stay on for next season. Christian Ho drove alongside Zagazeta and Lacorte for both tests.

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Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Jenzer Motorsport’s Niko Lacorte was fastest in the final session of the post-season FIA Formula 3 test at Jerez

Although Jenzer will not be competing in FIA F3 next year, the team still entered cars into testing and sent Lacorte out of the pits straight away as the final three-hour session on Wednesday began.

He set a 1m48.643s at first, improved to 1m31.702s two laps later then 1m31.584s the lap after that. After just 11 minutes, the fastest lap of the afternoon had been set.

Campos Racing’s Mari Boya went second fastest 17 minutes in, setting a 1m32.903s, and after 25 minutes there had been 12 drivers on track. However 18 remained in their garages.

Boya’s team-mate Nikola Tsolov slotted into third after half an hour, and AIX Racing’s Jose Garfias rose to fourth place five minutes later. Campos’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak sat fifth, ahead of Trident’s Charlie Wurz, Prema’s Ugo Ugochukwu and Trident’s Noah Stromsted.

Second place was finalised at the 37-minute mark, as Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennett set a 1m32.031s. His team-mate Ivan Domingues made his way into third by breaking into the 1m32s, by which point 19 drivers had set laps.

Everyone had been out by the end of the first hour, and the top 10 positions were all settled. AIX Racing’s Jose Garfias set a 1m32.250s to go third fastest 55 minutes in. Behind the top five were Stromsted, Tsolov, Inthraphuvasak, VAR’s Jesse Carrasquedo Jr and Wurz. Carrasquedo was the cause of a mid-session red flag period.

The track was busy on and off through the next two hours, but the focus was not on qualifying simulations and so the order was mostly unchanged. In total 13 drivers took the chequered flag.

Afternoon session results

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Photo: TGR NZ

Nicola Lacorte took his maiden Formula Regional Oceania win with a controlling drive in the reversed-grid race at Hampton Downs.

The race ended a lap early after a heavy crash for Gerrard Xie brought out red flags.  

Lacorte jumped into the lead off the line with Michael Shin close behind. The pair pulled away from the rest of the field while Xie and Patrick Woods-Toth battled for third. As the race wore on, Lacorte edged away from Shin and was 1.47 seconds clear when racing was stopped. 

Shin also had a simple race, comfortably clear of the battle for third to take his first podium since the opening race of the season.

The closest battle throughout the race was between Xie and Woods-Toth. Xie initially held third, but Woods-Toth was able to find a way through and briefly held the fastest lap. He could not shake Xie, though, and the defensive driving allowed those ahead to pull away. 

Roman Bilinski had a slightly slower climb through the order than his race one charge from 14th to first. He started eighth, and the points leader was on old tyres. Despite the setbacks, he found his way up to fifth and challenged Xie for fourth.

Woods-Toth was able to pull away slightly as Xie fought to keep Bilinski behind. They ran side-by-side several times, and eventually Bilinski was able to make a move stick. Less than a lap after doing so, he caught and passed Woods-Toth too.

That then meant Woods-Toth and Xie resumed their battle as Bilinski chased the top two. Xie attempted a move on Woods-Toth but clipped the back of his car and went over his rear wheels, damaging his own car which then travelled at speed along the track and into the tyre barriers. The race was immediately red flagged as the medical team went to Xie.

Woods-Toth was classified fourth, ahead of Xie. Liam Sceats took sixth ahead of Kaleb Ngatoa, who had started from the back of the grid after a difficult race one and made up nine positions over the course of the race.

Elliott Cleary had the opposite fate. After a poor getaway, he dropped down the order and finished eighth.

Race results (17 laps)

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Photo: Alpine Racing

Niko Lacorte has signed with Trident to race in the Formula Regional European Championship next year.

It is the latest announcement to come this month regarding Lacorte’s future, as at the start of December he became a member of the Alpine Academy and then he signed with M2 Competition to race in FRegional Oceania in early 2024.

The 16-year-old Italian steps up to FRegional from Italian Formula 4, where he finished third, took a win and then a pole in the opening round of this season but then became less competitive and ended up ninth in the standings. He finished in the same position in the Euro 4 points table.

“This is really a great opportunity for me and I am looking forward to the upcoming racing season,” said Lacorte of FREC.

“It is one of those situations that all drivers work for. Trident provides the best possible platform to build experience, results, and a career. I am strongly determined to make the most of this opportunity and to compete at the highest level. I would like to thank Maurizio Salvadori and the whole Trident team. They made me feel at home since the first kilometre of testing together.”

Trident team principal Salvadori added: “We already had some tests together and I must say that we have discovered a very well-balanced person, focused on what he is doing, quick and well prepared from a technical point of view. This series is very competitive and hard-fought, especially for rookies, but Nicola is definitely among the most interesting prospects in Italy and beyond.”

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Photo: TGR NZ

Niko Lacorte and Gerrard Xie are the two latest additions to the grid for Formula Regional Oceania, which has switched tyre supplier for its upcoming 2024 season.

A fire that almost completely engulfed Hankook’s Daejeon plant in South Korea in March 2023 put the tyre manufacturer’s ability to supply rubber for several single-seater series at risk as all production at the facility was put on hold and a large amount of manufacturered stock was lost to the flames.

Although the brand has manufacturing plants worldwide, the Daejon one was the biggest in scale of production and the majority of tyres from there were exported. It is also where most tyres made for racing came from.

The situation was so severe that almost nine months on, Hankook was still in a position where it was unable to meet supply agreements and so FRegional Oceania signed a deal with Italian brand Pirelli for the next two seasons.

“It was unfortunate of course and like many championships we were facing the prospect of not having any tyres moving forward as the timescale for the Hankook tyre production to resume was unknown,” said Nicolas Caillol, the chief figure responsible for FRegional Oceania at its organising company Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand.

“We had to act quickly and it made perfect sense for us to become a Pirelli customer for the 2024 and 2025 championships.

“We will be using exactly the same tyre – on the same chassis – as the FRegional European Championship so FRegional Oceania definitely has even greater significance moving forward for these competitors.

“The drivers will be able to learn both chassis and tyre extremely well during the 3,000km of testing, qualifying and racing that form our championship each year and will of course gain a huge advantage ahead of the season beginning in Europe.”

TGR NZ will provide a base set-up for teams to use with the Pirelli rubber since they have done running on them with their test car.

The biggest team on the 2024 grid right now is M2 Competition, who have signed four drivers while no rival has more than two cars entered so far. Gerrard Xie and new Alpine junior Niko Lacorte are M2’s latest signings.

Xie dominated Chinese Formula 4 as a single-seater rookie last year, winning 12 races and claiming seven poles. One of his two races losses was the Macau Grand Prix, which he finished second in.

He also dominated the Fomula Renault Super Challenge, and this year raced in GB3 where he came 20th in the standings after winning the season finale. The 17-year-old gained Formula 3-level experience in a Euroformula cameo at Spa-Francorchamps.

Lacorte stepped up from karting to cars for the final three rounds of the 2022 Italian F4 season, scoring on his debut, then joined Prema for the whole 2023 campaign. He finished third, took a win and then a pole in round one, but his form then dipped drastically and he came ninth in the standings. Last week he was signed to the Alpine Academy.

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Photo: Alpine Racing

The Alpine Academy has added Niko Lacorte, a race winner in Italian Formula 4, to its roster.

Lacorte, the son of international sportscar racer Roberto, stepped up from karting to cars for the final three rounds of the 2022 Italian F4 season with Iron Lynx before moving across to sister squad Prema for 2023.

He took a heat win the opening round at Imola, though he didn’t finish an outright podium thereafter and ended the year ninth in the points.

“It is a great pleasure for me to join Alpine F1 Team’s driver development programme and to have the opportunity to work with the Alpine Academy team for the upcoming 2024 season and beyond,” he said.

”I am thankful to have the trust of the Alpine Academy management and I am more than sure that this opportunity will help me to progress in my career and aid in my further development, both as a driver and a person.”

Lacorte has recently been testing with Trident’s team in the Alpine-supported Formula Regional European Championship (pictured).

Julian Rouse, who was head of Alpine’s academy before taking on the role of interim sporting director for the F1 team in a recent reshuffle, added: “It is great to have Nicola joining our young driver programme for the 2024 season. We are continuing to expand the Alpine Academy programme and bring in new talent to support through their career.

“We are looking forward to helping Nicola develop as a driver, both on and off the track. As with our current drivers, Nicola will benefit from the support and knowledge of both the Alpine Academy and the wider Alpine F1 Team.”

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