Barnicoat and Newey move to F3

Brits Ben Barnicoat and Harrison Newey have both secured their places on the grid for this year’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

Barnicoat has signed for the returning Hitech Grand Prix team for his maiden F3 campaign. The Racing Steps Foundationbacked man will join F3 race winner George Russell and Nikita Mazepin at the squad.

“When I did my first test at Jerez in December, I was impressed with the team before I even got in the car,” said Barnicoat, who was fourth in the FR Eurocup points with Fortec last term. “They’re professional and their setup is amazing – you get the real sense that they’re here to win.

“The staff they’ve recruited are impressive [including former Prema Powerteam engineer John Mcgill] and John was a key factor because he has a relationship with Racing Steps.

“I’ve known George since we started karting in Cadets and we’ve been fighting each other all the way through. We’ll be pushing each other all the way, which is good.”

Newey, the son of Red Bull Racing aero guru Adrian, has signed with Van Amersfoort Racing. Newey was a race winner in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship last year, finishing second in the championship.

“The team will be the ideal grounding for me to gain as much experience as possible with a new car and mostly new tracks,” said the 17-year-old.

Newey will line up alongside fellow Briton Callum Ilott at Van Amersfoort. Ilott has switched from Carlin to VAR for his second Euro F3 campaign.