Hitech GP have announced their driver line-up for the 2019 FIA F3 World Cup at Macau’s Guia Circuit in China, set to take place on 14 – 17 November. Finishing 2nd in the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship and securing the 2019 FIA Asian Formula 3 Championship trophy, the team hope to further their success in the Suncity Group 66th Macau World Cup next month.
The Silverstone outfit will field a 3-car line up in the FIA F3 category, featuring Renault Academy Driver Max Fewtrell, Red Bull Junior Drivers Jüri Vips and Yuki Tsunoda – who is also part of the Honda Young Driver programme.
Newly homologated as an FIA Grade II track, the Guia Circuit is recognized as one of the most challenging circuits in the world, with hill-climbing, twisty corners and long straights, all in a single lap. The new Dallara F3 2019 chassis will be used for the first time, which has meant upgrades have been made around the 3.8 mile Guia Circuit, due to higher predicted speeds. This is due to the power-weight ratio of the new FIA F3 car that will race in Macau. The circuit will be increasing the buffer zone at the Lisboa bend and additional impact foam and new safety crash barriers at various points around the circuit.
Yuki Tsunoda
After securing the Japanese F4 title in 2018, Tsunoda was handed a place by the Red Bull Junior Team and the Honda Formula Dream Project to drive in the 2019 FIA F3 Championship. Tsunoda claimed a 9th place finish overall.
Yuki started out on that road back in 2016 when he made his debut at the Suzuka round of the Japanese F4 championship and in total in that series he won 10 races, finished on the podium 18 times, with 12 pole positions and five fastest laps. In the 2018 season of that championship alone he won seven times in taking the title by 14 points.
Jüri Vips
Jüri Vips secured 4th place in the 2019 FIA F3 Championship overall, following several wins and podium finishes. After a successful season in European F3 in 2018, Vips claimed 2nd place in the Rookie Championship and 4th in the drivers’ standings. Vips made his single-seater debut in 2016 in the Italian F4 claiming the Rookie title, followed by a strong campaign in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. He won the ADAC Formula 4 championship a year later in 2017. The subsequent year saw him graduate to the FIA F3 European Championship, clinching second place in the Rookie championship, and fourth in the overall standings.
Max Fewtrell
Max entered a third successive season with the Renault Sport Academy in 2019, which he joined through virtue of winning the British F4 Championship in 2016. The Briton claimed his second championship victory in 2018 after sealing the Formula Renault Eurocup at the final round in Barcelona. That added to his impressive rookie outing in 2017, when he picked up the rookie title after finishing 6th overall. Max won six times in 2018; at Circuit Paul Ricard, Silverstone, Austria and a memorable hat-trick across Nürburgring and Hockenheim, which meant he had one hand on the championship trophy heading into the season finale. In 2019, Max stepped up to the FIA F3 Championship, finishing 10th overall.
