Joshua Dufek’s first full season in F3 was ultimately a disappointing one, with the driver scoring only a single point despite competing in all ten rounds of the 2024 FIA Formula 3 championship.
After an early F3 debut in the final round of the 2023 F3 championship at Monza with Campos Racing, Dufek switched to AIX Racing, then PHM AIX Racing, ahead of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, despite a promising seventh-place finish in the 2023 Euroformula Championship, the Swiss-Austrian driver struggled significantly in F3, often competing at the back of the field. He remained mostly anonymous throughout the season, failing to finish in the top 15 on all but two occasions.
Disappointment in Hungary
Dufek, for the most part, was not alone in his struggles. His teammates Nikita Bedrin and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak similarly struggled throughout the season, with the 2024 Budapest F3 round being the notable exception.
Despite a delayed, rainy, disrupted qualifying session, AIX Racing enjoyed strong performances from all three of their drivers. Unfortunately, despite the AIX Racing drivers locking out the top three midway through the race, they could not hold on to these positions. They ultimately dropped off and were unable to improve Luke Browning’s crash at Turn 11 brought out the red flag. However, despite the early end to the session, Dufek found himself in P6, ahead of his teammates and in his best qualifying position in F3.
Unfortunately, he could not keep this position. He was relegated to the back of the grid after his car was found to be below the minimum required weight. This was in contravention of the technical regulations. While AIX Racing would claim its first double podium during the sprint race, with Bedrin finishing first, and Inthraphuvasak 1.560 seconds behind in second place, Dufek could not make his way up the grid. He finished the sprint race P22, 17.716 seconds behind his teammate Bedrin. His luck would remain the same during Sunday’s race where he again finished P22.
Dufek’s luck would not improve until Monza.
Dufek earns first F2 point in Monza
Dufek enjoyed a strong qualifying session during the 2024 Monza F3 round, finishing fourth in Qualifying Group A with a time of 1:38.704. However, a four-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly, saw him start Saturday’s sprint race P10. This, unfortunately, would not be the worst of Dufek’s luck that weekend. Issues with his car forced him to retire on Lap 13 of the sprint race.
The feature race, however, proved better for the Swiss-Austrian driver. After starting P7, Dufek managed a strong performance, and though he struggled against his opponents, he managed a P10 finish, after Prema Racing’s Gabriele Minì was disqualified.
Though Dufek only earned a single point in Monza, his performance would have been a welcome relief after the difficult 2024 F3 season.
Dufek switches to Hitech TGR for 2025
Despite the many disappointments of 2024, Dufek will have another opportunity to show his talent in F3. In December 2024, Hitech TGR, formerly known as Hitech Pulse-Eight, announced that Dufek would join their lineup, alongside Martinius Stenshorn and Gerrard Xie. Dufek had previously competed with the team in the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship and the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship, where he finished 18th and sixth respectively.
While speaking on the team’s decision to welcome Dufek back into their ranks, team manager Paul Bellringer stated that he expected the “familiar environment” to benefit the young driver. He said the team was pleased with Dufek’s performance in the end-of-season tests.
“We’re very happy to welcome Joshua back to Hitech after he was part of the team’s Formula Regional Asian campaign in 2022.”
“He knows Hitech well and that familiar environment will be of benefit to him as he embarks on his second full season in Formula 3. He drove for us in the end of season tests in October and we were very pleased with his performances.”
Bellringer also expressed his belief that Dufek would help the team make a strong bid for the championship titles.
“Together with Martinius Stenshorne and Gerrard Xie I think we can make another strong bid for both championship titles.”
