Armstrong to make a surprise return to F3 next week

Well isn’t this a surprise! Kiwi IndyCar Rookie of the Year Marcus Armstrong will compete for MP Motorsport in next week’s F3 Macau Grand Prix, his third outing at the event.

The 23-year-old features among a 27-strong for the famed race and will race alongside full-time MP Motorsport drivers Franco Colapinto and Mari Boya.

Several of Armstrong’s former Formula 2 rivals will also feature in the race, including Richard Verschoor, who won the last edition run with F3 cars pre-Covid in 2019, and two-time winner Dan Ticktum.

Inaugural Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship winner Charlie Wurz also joins Jenzer Motorsport, and 2023 New Zealand Grand Prix winner Laurens van Hoepen competes for Art Grand Prix.

Two spots on the grid are still to be confirmed, including a spare seat at Rodin-Carlin.

It will be the Kiwi’s third Macau Grand Prix, his first coming in 2018, where he finished eighth in the older-generation F3 car. He achieved the same result in 2019 in the newer-spec.

The race covers 15 laps of the iconic 6.12km street circuit, with cars reaching up to 275km/h at the end of the straight on the track deemed as one of the most technical in the world. The winner is awarded the FIA Formula 3 World Cup.

Previous Macau Grand Prix winners include Formula 1 legends Ayrton Senna (1983), Michael Schumacher (1990), David Coulthard (1991) and Ralf Schumacher (1995).

The race is one of only two national Grand Prix events that are not a part of the Formula 1 World Championship, with the other being the New Zealand Grand Prix.

The first qualifying session for the race begins at 8.15 pm on Thursday, November 16, followed by Qualifying 2 at 8.05 pm on Friday, a 10-lap qualifying race at 8.50 pm on Saturday, and the Macau Grand Prix itself on Sunday, November 19, at 8.30 pm.