After a mixed 2024 Formula Regional Middle East and European Championship, Théophile Naël is set to make his FIA Formula 3 debut when the 2025 F3 season opens in Australia. The 2023 F4 champion will race with Van Amersfoort Racing, alongside Santiago Ramos who joins from Trident, and fellow rookie Ivan Rodrigues.
Naël hoping to “create something” with new team
After three years with Saintéloc Racing, Naël switch to Van Amersfoort marks the beginning of a new chapter of this racing career. This is the first time that the French driver will compete with a team other than the one with which he entered single-seater racing. While speaking to the media, including Pit Debrief, Naël described his move to the Dutch team as “something new”.
“Yeah, I’ve been working with another team since three years. So that’s something new for me.”
The French driver hopes to be able to “create something” with his new team. However, he understands that, as a rookie, he will need to start “from zero, from nothing.” To achieve this, Naël has focused on getting to know his team and familiarising himself with their ways.
“But yeah, I’m trying to know each other very well in the team.”
“Many things to discover” about 2025 F3 car
In addition to adjusting to a new team, Naël will also have to adjust to a new car, as F3 has introduced a new engine package and the Dallara F3 2025 chassis for 2025. As a rookie, Naël’s experience with the car used in previous years is limited, and though he has done some testing with it, most notably in the post-season tests, he does not view this experience as significant.
“Yeah, so first of all, for me, well, I just did some testing last year, post-season test with the F3. So I had a few experiences with the car, but still was no experience.”
Naël did not comment on whether he believes that the introduction of the new car will put rookies such as himself on more equal footing with experienced drivers such as his teammate Ramos. Instead, he stated that while he and the Van Amersfoort team had prepared well for the start of the season, they still had “many things to discover” about the new car.
“So this year for me, something new, something to discover, the team, the championship also. And yeah, we have many things to discover. So we prepared well for the start of the season.”
“But yeah, let’s see how it goes,” he concluded.
2025 Formula Regional Middle East Championship helped Naël’s preparation for F3 debut season
In addition to his work with Van Amersfoort Racing, Naël has also engaged in some individual preparation for the 2025 F3 season. Over the winter break, he competed in three rounds of the 2024 Formula Regional Middle East Championship with his old team Saintéloc Racing Despite missing two of the five rounds, the French driver finished seventh in the championship with an impressive 125 points and three podium finishes.
While speaking to the media, Naël described the experience as beneficial for his F3 preparation. He explained that it had been important for him to drive during the winter break as he had been able to work on his physical conditioning while maintaining his driving skills.
“Yeah, it helped me a lot to do still some races, some starts, also to manage some tired days. And as well, in terms of physical in the past, it was very important for me to keep driving during the winter.”
