Did anyone else notice that the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA got underway last weekend at the Malaysian Sepang International Circuit? The five round series takes place between December 2019 and February 2020 and, like the Castrol Toyota Racing Series, offers drivers ‘winter’ competition and the opportunity to gain more Super Licence points.
Whereas a year ago the series had the potential to lure drivers away from the Castrol Toyota Racing Series, this appears to have filtered away with both categories now having a place in the ‘winter’ calendar of racing.
While the Toyota Racing Series offers the overall winner 10 Super Licence points, the Asia series has 18-points, a distinct difference. This doesn’t appear to have had an impact on decisions by drivers to come to New Zealand with an expected full grid of 20-cars being announced for the five consecutive rounds taking place from 17-19 January 2020.
F3 Asia is only in its third season while the TRS has been underway since 2005 and has a solid historical reputation. Arguably the jewel-in-the-crown for TRS is its calendar. No other series offers so much testing and racing in such a short amount of time with five race meeting in five consecutive weekends.
Sixteen drivers competed in the opening round of F3 Asia including former Toyota Racing Series drivers Tommy Smith (14th in 2019 TRS) and Colombian racer, Tatiana Calderon who competed in the 2013 Toyota Racing Series with ETEC Motorsport finishing 12th overall.
Other notable drivers competing at the opening round included the winner of the inaugural W Series and Williams F1 development driver Jamie Chadwick of Great Britain. Australian Red Bull Junior Team driver Jack Doohan, and Pietro Fittipaldi of Brazil, an Audi DTM regular, Haas F1 test driver and grandson of two-time F1 world champion Emerson. 2018 series runner-up and current FIA F3 Championship driver Jake Hughes and newly-crowned Asian Formula Renault Series Pro champion Joey Alders of The Netherlands.
Alders took his maiden series victory at the opening race and went on to win race two and finish on the podium in the final race three won by Doohan.
F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA Drivers’ Classification after Round 1
| Pos | # | Name | Nat | Team | Points |
| 1 | 23 | Joey ALDERS | NED | BlackArts Racing | 65 |
| 2 | 7 | Jack DOOHAN | AUS | Pinnacle Motorsport | 47 |
| 3 | 3 | Nikita MAZEPIN | RUS | Hitech Grand Prix | 40 |
| 4 | 17 | Devlin DEFRANCESCO | CAN | Absolute Racing | 35 |
| 5 | 5 | Daniel CAO | CHN | Absolute Racing | 31 |
| 6 | 4 | YU Kuai | CHN | Zen Motorsport | 22 |
| 7 | 33 | Yu KANAMARU | GBR | BlackArts Racing | 18 |
| 8 | 2 | Jake HUGHES | GBR | Hitech Grand Prix | 14 |
| 8 | 25 | Tatiana CALDERÓN | COL | Seven GP | 14 |
| 9 | 15 | Jamie CHADWICK | GBR | Absolute Racing | 11 |
| 10 | 16 | Tommy SMITH | AUS | Absolute Racing | 2 |
| 11 | 21 | Pietro FITTIPALDI | BRA | Pinnacle Motorsport | 0 |
| 11 | 10 | Alessio DELEDDA | ITA | Hitech Grand Prix | 0 |
| 11 | 44 | Paul WONG (M) | HKG | Zen Motorsport | 0 |
| 11 | 9 | Thomas LUEDI (M) | HKG | BlackArts Racing | 0 |
2020 F3 ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP CERTIFIED BY FIA PROVISIONAL CALENDAR
| Date | Venue | Event |
| December 14-15 | Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia | Round 1 (Races 1-3) |
| January 10-11 | Dubai Autodrome, UAE | Round 2 (Races 4-6) |
| January 17-18 | Yas Marina Circuit, UAE | Round 3 (Races 7-9) |
| February 14-15 | Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia | Round 4 (Races 10-12) |
| February 22-23 | Buriram International Circuit, Thailand | Round 5 (Races 13-15) |
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