Australian rising star to make FIA® Formula 3 debut at the Australian Grand Prix weekend

Rising Australian motorsport talent and 2025 GB3 Vice Champion Patrick Heuzenroeder will make his FIA® Formula 3 debut in the opening round of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Marking a major milestone in his racing career, Patrick will take to the streets of Albert Park in front of his home crowd. He will replace injured Ernesto Riviera, racing for 2025 Formula 3 Teams’ Champions, Campos Racing. The opportunity represents a significant step forward as he joins the highly competitive FIA® Formula 3 field.

It is fitting that Heuzenroeder, mentored by fellow Australian and former Formula 1 driver, David Brabham – who will also be in the paddock – will debut in Melbourne as the Grand Prix marks the 60th anniversary of Sir Jack Brabham’s 1966 Formula 1 World Championship, the only time a driver has won the title in a car of his own construction.

Heuzenroeder has built a reputation for strong race craft and precision through his performances in the junior categories. He is signed with Campos Racing for the 2026 Euro Cup 3 season and is currently competing in the Spanish Winter Championship ahead of his main Euro Cup 3 campaign, which begins in May.

The opportunity follows a breakthrough performance at the recent three day Formula 3 Official Test in Barcelona. Drafted in only a few days’ notice and stepping into FIA® F3 machinery for the first time, Heuzenroeder not only adapted quickly but demonstrated genuine front-running pace, finishing sixth overall on the final day and consistently running inside the top group. His ability to extract performance almost immediately in one of the most competitive junior categories bodes well for his debut on home soil in Melbourne next weekend.

“I’m incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity to make my Formula 3debut at my home Grand Prix in Melbourne,” said Heuzenroeder. “To be ableto do this as one of the few Aussies to have been in this paddock is prettyspecial. I’m ready to take on the challenge, learn as much as possible and makethe most of this.”

The Melbourne event will mark the opening round of the FIA Formula 3season, providing Heuzenroeder with the opportunity to showcase his talent on one of motorsport’s biggest stages.

The Australian Grand Prix takes place from 6–8 March.

About Patrick Heuzenroeder

Patrick Heuzenroeder from Sydney, Australia, the 2025 GB3 Vice Champion, began his motorsport journey at 13 after a visit to Sydney Motorsport Park sparked his passion for racing. After three years in karting, he progressed to Formula Ford before moving at just 16 to the UK and British F4 to pursue a career in single-seater racing when his talent was recognised after reaching the final of the Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific trials held in Sepang, Malaysia.

In 2024, Heuzenroeder stepped up to the GB3 Championship, impressing as a rookie with podiums and consistent top five finishes. He built on this momentum in 2025, with race wins and multiple podiums, first finishing 4th in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand before returning to GB3, with a brand-new team, Xcel Motorsport, and car, to achieve the Vice Champion result.

For 2026, Heuzenroeder has signed with Campos Racing to compete inEurocup-3, one of Europe’s leading formula 3 championships, and a recognised pathway to FIA Formula 3 and Formula 1.

The Australian driver, who boasts a solid background in junior single-seater categories, is set to further extend his European experience in the top-level Eurocup-3 international championship with the Alzira-based outfit

GriffinCore Campos Racing is pleased to announce the signing of Patrick Heuzenroeder for its line-up in the 2026 Eurocup-3 season. The arrival of the Australian driver follows the recently announced addition of Thomas Strauven, further strengthening the team’s talent roster as it sets its sights on the most ambitious objectives for the upcoming campaign.

Born in Sydney, Heuzenroeder, following in the footsteps of many fellow Antipodean drivers, moved to the United Kingdom in 2023 to compete first in British Formula 4 and then, in 2024, in the GB3 Championship. Showing a clear upward trajectory, Heuzenroeder secured the GB3 Vice Champion spot in 2025 after claiming one victory and five podium finishes. This came on the back of a strong fourth-place finish in Formula Regional Oceania, a series in which he also took one win and three third-place results. Heuzenroeder is mentored by former F1 driver and Le Mans winner, David Brabham.

Heuzenroeder is now preparing to take on a continental championship in Europe at the wheel of a latest-generation, higher-performance single-seater, the Dallara 326-Toyota, which he will race on some of the finest circuits in Europe next year. The season will get underway at Le Castellet on 2–3 May, before heading to the Algarve on 6–7 June. The championship will then visit Italy twice, first at Imola on 4–5 July and later at Monza on 1–2 August. The venue for the fifth round, scheduled for 8–9 August, has yet to be confirmed. After the summer break, the series will resume at Silverstone on 12–13 September and continue at the Hungaroring on 24–25 October. The curtain will fall on the 2026 season at its traditional finale in Barcelona, over the weekend of 7–8 November.

Adrián Campos (Team Principal of Campos Racing): “I would like to welcome Patrick to GriffinCore Campos Racing. We will do everything we can to help him adapt to the team so that he can deliver his very best from the outset. He already has experience and success in several types of single-seaters and, although the Dallara 326-Toyota will be another new car for him, I am confident that his previous seasons provide him with a very interesting and valuable foundation for Eurocup-3.”

Patrick Heuzenroeder (GriffinCore Campos Racing driver in Eurocup-3): “2025 was a break-through season for me and it was rewarding to see the interest the top teams had in me for the coming year. Accepting the offer of a seat in GriffinCore Campos Racing was an easy decision. The Team’s performance has always been impressive, and their Teams’ Championship win in FIA Formula 3 just proved what they can do. The opportunity to develop and race the Dallara 326-Toyota is something I’m really looking forward to, and the Eurocup-3 Championship is proving itself as the series to race in if you want to prepare for FIA Formula 3. I’m raring to go and my goal is the Championship win for GriffinCore Campos Racing.”

Heuzenroeder in the fight with stunning charge through the field at GB3 Round 3!

Young Australian GB3 driver Pat Heuzenroeder has finished round 3 of the GB3 Championship which was held this weekend at Spa Francorchamps with a stunning run through the field from last place to finish P4, achieving fastest lap of the race and keeping his championship hopes alive after a challenging weekend!

Round 3 of the GB3 Championship, the UK’s leading single seater category, took place in the legendary circuit Spa Francorchamps, one of 5 Formula 1 circuits on the 2025 calendar.

After a dominant performance two weeks ago   in Zandvoort which saw a win and second place and him take the lead in the drivers’ standings, this weekend saw Heuzenroeder get another good haul of points in the fight for the championship title. After a challenging qualifying and race 1 and 2 struggling with a car lacking pace on the long straights of this famous circuit, finishing P7 and P12 a wet Spa Francorchamps on Sunday morning saw Heuzenroeder line up P3 for Race 3. Initially electing, like most of the field, to start on wet tyres, Heuzenroeder made the gutsy call during the formation lap to pit and change for slicks, effectively demoting him to P23 and a delayed start from pit lane behind two other drivers.

However, after some challenging first laps managing a still wet Eau Rouge and other famous corners, a drying track saw him charge through the field, in just 9 laps moving from P23 to achieve P4! Whilst a number of other drivers started on slicks and more changed during the race it was some skilful driving and a fair share of brave moves that saw him slice through the field, achieving the fastest lap of the race by a margin of 0.9 seconds, and ending the final lap in an amazing P4 after passing 19 other drivers!

The stunning drive helped bag some good points and, despite the challenging race 1 and 2, he stays in the fight currently P2 in Championship, only 8 points adrift.

The next round sees the Championship head to yet another legendary F1 circuit as it travels to Hungaroring in early July – a circuit that saw Heuzenroeder take 3 top 5 finishes last year!

About the GB3 Championship

For more information on the GB3 Championship: https://www.gb-3.net

About Patrick Heuzenroeder

Patrick is a 19 year old Australian racing driver currently racing the British GB3 Championship after finishing 4th in the 2025 Toyota Formula Regional Championship in New Zealand and competing in 2024 in the British formula 3 series, GB3.  Patrick is mentored by ex-F1 driver and 3x winner of Le Mans 24 Hour, David, Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham 3x F1 World Champion.

Patrick embarked on his motorsport career at 13-years-old after a chance visit to Sydney’s Eastern Creek go-kart circuit ignited his passion for racing.  After kart racing in Australia for the following three years, Patrick made the jump to cars and circuit racing, competing in the 2022 NSW Formula Ford Championship where he was third overall in the standings before departing for the UK after his skill was recognised by Ferrari when Patrick earned a top six finals place from 24 competitors in the 2022 Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific trials.

2023 brought a season in British Formula 4 where the highlight of multiple top ten finishes in a competitive field of more than 20 drivers was an impressive third place at the demanding Snetterton track in Norfolk.  For 2024 he moved up a gear and into GB3, Britain’s top single seater series, where he once again established himself as a regular points scorer and top five finisher. Another podium finish in third at the annual ‘away’ round at the Zandvoort Grand Prix circuit helped him to an impressive 12th overall from more than 30 drivers.

Most recently in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand Heuzenroeder has showed he can compete with the best from F2, F3, Indy Next and V8 Supercars, finishing in fourth place in the Championship with nine top 5 finishes and four podiums.

Heuzenroeder dominated Round 2 of the British GB3 Zandvoort race weekend with a pole position, a race win, a P2, and a P7 in the reverse grid race. Round 2 of GB3 Championship, the UK’s highest single seater category, took place on the roller coaster circuit of Zandvoort, one of five current Formula 1 circuits on the 2025 calendar.

His performance carried on the fast pace he showed on Thursday and Friday testing where Heuzenroeder placed consistently in the top 3.  Taking that pace into Saturday’s Qualifying 1 session, Heuzenroeder lit up the time sheets to take pole position by more than 0.34s. He capitalized on his front-row start with an impressive lights-to-flag victory, crossing the line with an impressive 6.5 second lead over P2. The win was a dominant performance and showcased Heuzenroeder’s pace, consistency and control around the demanding Dutch circuit, marking his first GB3 feature win and the first for his team, newcomers to the championship, Xcel Motorsport.

Sunday’s feature race saw Heuzenroeder start from P3, having narrowly missed out on pole by just 0.12 seconds in an ultra-competitive Qualifying 2 session. Demonstrating his starting ability, he was off the line and into P2 by Turn 1. From there, he relentlessly pressured the leader throughout the race, finishing 0.5 seconds behind P1, with the pair leaving third place over three seconds behind. Race 3, a top 12 reverse grid, saw Pat start P10. In an interrupted race with two safety cars which saw only about 6 laps of racing, Heuzenroeder made his way to P7 to finish off a compelling performance across the weekend.

His quick pace across the weekend also saw Heuzenroeder receive two additional awards: the Omologato One to Watch Award for the most points in feature races 1 and 2; and the Sunoco Fastest Lap award for the fastest race lap of the weekend.

After Round 2, the young Australian is now leading the championship by 14 points. Round 3 takes place on 30 May – 1st June at the legendary Spa Francorchamps F1 circuit.

About the GB3 Championship

For more information on the GB3 Championship: https://www.gb-3.net

About Patrick Heuzenroeder

Patrick is a 19 year old Australian racing driver currently racing the British GB3 Championship after finishing 4th in the 2025 Toyota Formula Regional Championship in New Zealand and competing in 2024 in the British formula 3 series, GB3.  Patrick is mentored by ex-F1 driver and 3x winner of Le Mans 24 Hour, David, Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham 3x F1 World Champion.

Patrick embarked on his motorsport career at 13-years-old after a chance visit to Sydney’s Eastern Creek go-kart circuit ignited his passion for racing.  After kart racing in Australia for the following three years, Patrick made the jump to cars and circuit racing, competing in the 2022 NSW Formula Ford Championship where he was third overall in the standings before departing for the UK after his skill was recognised by Ferrari when Patrick earned a top six finals place from 24 competitors in the 2022 Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific trials.

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P2 to finish off a challenging Round 1 at Silverstone GP Circuit for the GB3 Championship! A new car, a new team and a technical and challenging (and legendary!) circuit, but we only improved across the two qualifying sessions and three races over the weekend, always going forward as a result of some great work by the team and all the drivers.

Qualifying 1 saw the car a bit out of the window and some traffic, a P11 result in a close contest. Qualifying 2 again saw some traffic, but with the car feeling better the end result was P7. For Race 1 – it was fantastic to once again be on the starting grid – there is nothing like that first lap adrenaline and the aero tow in a pack of the new generation GB3 cars was awesome. Race 1 on Saturday afternoon saw close and exciting racing: a P11 result after losing a place at the start as we went three wide into the first series of corners on lap 1, regaining that and finishing P11. Race 2 on Saturday morning saw an improved result with a P7 finish, after some tight battles and being pushed to have two wheels on the grass on lap 1 at 230kmh+.

Race 3 saw further improvement in the car and in the results with an ultimate P2 – lots of close racing and luckily avoiding some of the carnage behind me. Overall we ended on a really positive note – despite the early challenges in practice and qualifying the team pulled together under pressure (not apart) and showed that focus and consistent effort will achieve – thanks to the guys and girls at Xcel Motorsport and my mentor David Brabham for all the hard work and support. So good to be able to give the team their first piece of silverware in British GB3. Next stop is the historic F1 circuit at Zandvoort, expect high downforce, banked corners and exciting racing. You can watch last weekend’s races (car no. 5) at https://lnkd.in/gaiB_wck

About the GB3 Championship

For more information on the GB3 Championship: https://www.gb-3.net

About Patrick Heuzenroeder

Patrick is a 19 year old Australian racing driver currently racing the British GB3 Championship after finishing 4th in the 2025 Toyota Formula Regional Championship in New Zealand and competing in 2024 in the British formula 3 series, GB3.  Patrick is mentored by ex-F1 driver and 3x winner of Le Mans 24 Hour, David, Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham 3x F1 World Champion.

Patrick embarked on his motorsport career at 13-years-old after a chance visit to Sydney’s Eastern Creek go-kart circuit ignited his passion for racing.  After kart racing in Australia for the following three years, Patrick made the jump to cars and circuit racing, competing in the 2022 NSW Formula Ford Championship where he was third overall in the standings before departing for the UK after his skill was recognised by Ferrari when Patrick earned a top six finals place from 24 competitors in the 2022 Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific trials.

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