De Palo and Carrasquedo confirmed for 2026 F3 drives

Teams are acting early to sign their new drivers for the 2026 season in FIA Formula 3, with Trident and Van Amersfoort Racing the latest to do so, announcing Matteo De Palo and Jesse Carrasquedo Jr. respectively.

De Palo, announced by Trident joins up from Formula Regional European (FRECA), and sits second behind Freddie Slater at the time of writing, a driver he’ll team up with in F3 next season. The 17 year old debuted in single seaters in 2023.

Carrasquedo Jr. steps into F3 full time with Van Amersfoort (VAR), having raced two rounds for Hitech TGR at Barcelona and the Red Bull Ring. His main racing action this year however, has been in Eurocup-3 where he sits fifth overall at the time of writing, with two race wins and one other podium to his name.

📸 Jesse Carrasquedo.

The next F3 test is next month (October) with many seats likely to be declared beforehand - or made very obvious by the testing line up as has become the norm in the series.

📸 Image credits: Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, Campos Racing.