The 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship was the eleventh season of the third-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also second season under the moniker of FIA Formula 3 Championship, a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seat open-wheel formula racing cars. The championship featured drivers competing in 3.4-litre Formula 3 racing cars which conformed to the technical regulations, or formula, of the championship. It ran in support of the Formula 1 World Championship and its sister series, Formula 2, serving as the third tier of formula racing in the FIA Global Pathway.
Oscar Piastri won the title at the Mugello round, which is the final round of the season. Prema Racing became the Teams' Champion for the second season in the row having won the title at the Monza round.
Entries
The following teams and drivers were under contract to compete in the 2020 championship. As the championship was a spec series, all teams competed with an identical Dallara F3 2019 chassis and a bespoke tyre compound developed by Pirelli. Each car was powered by a naturally-aspirated V6 engine developed by Mecachrome.
In detail
Marcus Armstrong, Jehan Daruvala and reigning champion Robert Shwartzman all left Prema Racing and the championship to graduate to Formula 2. Logan Sargeant switched from Carlin Buzz Racing to join Prema alongside reigning Formula Regional European and Formula Renault Eurocup champions Frederik Vesti and Renault-backed Oscar Piastri.
Leonardo Pulcini, Jüri Vips and Ye Yifei all left Hitech Grand Prix, with Pulcini and Vips moving to the International GT Open and Super Formula series respectively. Hitech hired Red Bull junior drivers Liam Lawson, who switched from MP Motorsport, and reigning Italian F4 champion Dennis Hauger. They were joined by Renault junior Max Fewtrell, who left ART Grand Prix.
ART Grand Prix fielded an all-new lineup as David Beckmann left for Trident and Christian Lundgaard graduated to the team's Formula 2 outfit. The seats were taken by reigning ADAC Formula 4 champion Théo Pourchaire, Formula Renault Eurocup graduate Aleksandr Smolyar, and Sebastián Fernández, who moved from Campos Racing.
Trident Racing initially retained Devlin DeFrancesco for 2020 but he was replaced with David Beckmann shortly before the championship began. Niko Kari left the team for Charouz Racing System and Pedro Piquet graduated to Formula 2. Their seats were taken by Lirim Zendeli, who joined the team from Charouz, and Formula Regional European graduate Olli Caldwell.
HWA Racelab retained Jake Hughes while Bent Viscaal and Keyvan Andres left the team, with Viscaal switching to MP Motorsport. Formula Regional European runner-up and Ferrari Driver Academy member Enzo Fittipaldi joined the team, as did Asian F3 runner-up and Red Bull junior Jack Doohan.
MP Motorsport retained Richard Verschoor and signed Euroformula Open graduate Lukas Dunner alongside Bent Viscaal. Simo Laaksonen left the team.
Yuki Tsunoda and Andreas Estner left Jenzer Motorsport, with Tsunoda graduating to Formula 2. They were replaced by Euroformula Open driver Calan Williams and reigning Formula 4 UAE champion Matteo Nannini. Federico Malvestiti, who raced for Jenzer at the fourth round of the 2019 season as a replacement driver, joined the team full-time.
Raoul Hyman and Fabio Scherer left Charouz Racing System, with Scherer joining the DTM series. They were replaced by reigning Toyota Racing Series champion Igor Fraga and Formula Regional European graduate David Schumacher. Despite initially hiring Niko Kari for 2020, Charouz Racing System replaced him with Formula 4 graduate Roman Staněk shortly before the season opener.
Felipe Drugovich and Teppei Natori left Carlin Buzz Racing to compete in Formula 2 and Super Formula Lights respectively. Their seats were filled by Euroformula Open graduate Cameron Das and BRDC British Formula 3 champions Enaam Ahmed and Clément Novalak.
Alex Peroni and Alessio Deledda were retained by Campos Racing. Sebastián Fernández was replaced with Formula Regional European graduate Sophia Flörsch.
Midseason changes
The first mid-season change came for the fourth round at Silverstone, when Enaam Ahmed left Carlin Buzz Racing. He was replaced by McLaren Automotive sportscar driver Ben Barnicoat. Barnicoat was recalled by McLaren before the sixth round in Barcelona and former Hitech Grand Prix driver Leonardo Pulcini stood in for him.