FIA F3 Barcelona test postponed due to COVID travel ban
The FIA Formula 3 Championship has been forced to postpone its pre-season test at Barcelona next month due to a COVID-19 travel ban imposed on UK travellers
The news follows a decision to postpone the championship's Jerez pre-season test, to be held this week, due to travel restrictions put in place designed to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Organisers have been elected to reschedule the Barcelona test that was set to take place on 16-17 March after the Spanish Health Ministry further extended its ban on UK travellers from 2 March to 16 March.
The ban means British teams Carlin and Hitech Grand Prix, both fielding three cars each this year, would be unable to contest the two day test.
FIA F3 organisers issued a brief statement on the championship's official website, stating the test will be rescheduled.
"The 2021 FIA Formula 3 pre-season test in Barcelona, which was scheduled for March 16-17, has also been postponed," read the statement.
"This is again due to a travel ban for UK travellers which has now been further extended by the Spanish Health Ministry until 16 March.
"This ban makes it impossible for British teams, Carlin and Hitech Grand Prix, and for any UK based drivers to travel and participate in the two-day test.
"As a consequence, it has been decided that the test will be rescheduled at a later date, which will be announced in due time."
The championship is yet to confirm the dates for its rescheduled tests at Jerez and Barcelona.
It does however have a two-day test outing at Austria's Red Bull Ring planned for 3-4 April.
As preparations for the 2021 F3 campaign continue to ramp up, only Campos Racing, Carlin Buzz Racing and Charouz Racing are yet to reveal their full driver line-ups.
Earlier today, it was confirmed that Italian Formula 4 graduate Filip Ugran will complete the driver line-up at Jenzer Motorsport alongside Australian Calan Williams and Frenchman Pierre-Louis Chovet.
The 2021 season is not due to begin until the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix on 7-9 May.
FIA F3 2021 grid so far
Prema Racing: Arthur Leclerc, Dennis Hauger, Olli Caldwell
Trident: David Schumacher, Clement Novalak, Jack Doohan
ART Grand Prix: Frederik Vesti, Aleksandr Smolyar, Juan Manuel Correa
Hitech Grand Prix: Jak Crawford, Ayumu Iwasa, Roman Stanek
HWA Racelab: Matteo Nannini, Rafael Villagomez, Oliver Rasmussen
MP Motorsport: Victor Martins, Caio Collet, Tijmen van der Helm
Campos Racing: Amaury Cordeel, Lorenzo Colombo, TBA
Carlin Buzz Racing: Jonny Edgar, Ido Cohen, TBA
Jenzer Motorsport: Calan Williams, Pierre-Louis Chovet, Filip Ugran
Charouz Racing System: TBA, TBA, TBA
Red Bull junior Doohan joins Trident for sophomore F3 season
Correa still in "pain" but encouraged by comeback F3 test
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
Why the Formula 3 benchmark's 2022 season hinges on qualifying
Prema Racing has long dominated FIA Formula 3, taking the teams’ title in two of the past three seasons. But its start to 2022 has been trickier than usual, and the answers lie in its qualifying performance
How the ultra-tight F3 title fight is taking shape
With just five points separating the top five after two rounds, FIA Formula 3 looks set for another thrilling season in 2022. But who stands the best chance of pulling away from that pack, and who are the contenders bubbling under?
The F3 newcomer making good on his unusual career path
Joining the FIA Formula 3 grid as a rookie with a team new to the series could prove daunting for most, but then there aren't many drivers who have the extensive experience Franco Colapinto brings from his time racing sportscars. The Argentinian explains how his LMP2 experience is already helping him in 2022
The British trio hunting for F3 title glory
The 2022 FIA Formula 3 season kicks off this weekend in Bahrain. British trio Zak O’Sullivan, Ollie Bearman and Jonny Edgar have all become proteges of Formula 1 teams, and are talents to watch this year
How an outsider demolished a rank of F1 juniors
His career has been a slowburner but Gregoire Saucy trounced a collection of F1 juniors in Formula Regional by Alpine last year, and now he’s preparing to do it again in FIA F3. Here’s how the Swiss caught the world by surprise in 2021 and how he plans to do it all over again
Ranking the top 10 F2 and F3 drivers of 2021
With a veritable feast of feeder series talent in 2021, FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 produced some of its most exciting racing yet. Although Prema Racing drivers once again dominated the respective series, drivers from other teams also stole the limelight to mark themselves out as stars of the future, or validate their highly-regarded standing
How Prema continued its dominance of F1's junior ladder in 2021
Taking three of the four titles and producing two outstanding champions in the process, Prema Racing remained the team to beat in Formula 1's feeder series in 2021. Team boss Rene Rosin reveals the traits that helped Dennis Hauger and Oscar Piastri to come out on top in Formula 3 and Formula 2