Road to 100: Memories of the Champions

Race 100 in FIA Formula 3 history is fast approaching and who better to ask about the action over the years than the drivers that can call themselves FIA F3 Champions?So, from 2019 all the way through to 2023, we asked our Champions about their favourite moments from their time in F3, from title-deciding moments to their best races in the Championship.Up first, our inaugural winner, Robert Shwartzman, 2019 FIA F3 Drivers’ Champion.Robert Shwartzman – 2019 Drivers’ Champion with PREMA RacingShwartzman put together a hugely impressive season to become F3's first Drivers' Champion“The top one is going to be winning the title in the final round. It was the most challenging moment of my career and also one of the best because the pressure was crazy in that race. “Before Qualifying I didn’t sleep properly for at least a couple of nights before, barely sleeping and I was really tired, so I was surprised by the level of performance. It was like something special happened. I also had my dad there so everything was just perfect that day.“At that point in the year, you’re about to achieve something like that's a dream, it’s still not there yet so not certain and anything can happen. So, at that point, there can be doubts creeping in, what ifs in your head, what if this happens or what if that happens? So there can be negative thoughts along with the positive ones, but you’re always thinking about what might happen. That pressure is unavoidable, it’s impossible not to have it.“Winning the F3 title helped a lot, any title win does but especially Formula 3. It definitely showed the F1 and F2 paddock that if you manage to win it means you’re one of the best drivers in that category, so you’re at the top of the list for teams to make a decision.“From that moment, I moved up to F2 with PREMA. The discussions were quite simple, plan was to keep winning after making the jump from F3 to F2. The season wasn’t the smoothest like it had been in F3, but we still had some nice moments and good results.“I still watch races sometimes; I don’t follow every race but if I’m at the track I’m watching F3 and F2 as well. It’s a good reminder of where I came from. It’s good to see the new guys coming through and how they race and what’s going on there. So, I still watch both Championships.”READ MORE: Road to 100: Shwartzman and PREMA become F3’s first ChampionsOscar Piastri – 2020 Drivers’ Champion with PREMA RacingIn a nail-biting finale, Piastri triumphed at Mugello to win the 2020 title“My favourite memory is definitely winning the Championship, it’s just a really good memory. I can remember the weekend pretty much perfectly, winning my first race in Austria too was a very nice way to kick things off but there is not really any better feeling than winning a Championship. “The night before I was pretty nervous. I think going into the final race Logan and I were level on points, and I was starting 11th and he was starting like third or fourth. To be honest I kind of accepted that there was a big chance I wasn't going to win the Championship. I had some good fortune, or some bad fortune for Logan and then had a good race and managed to win from there. I had been very nervous the night before but the night after I was just extremely happy. We all went back to PREMA because it was not far from there and had dinner with all the team, so that a very cool way to cap off. “I think in terms of who I am now it didn't change a massive amount, but I think as a driver it definitely added a lot. I think it was difficult me for quite a few reasons on track, a lot of adversity at different points and I think the way I tried to handle it, I definitely learned a lot about myself and came out of the other side of some things pretty happy with how I reacted, some things needed to be worked on but really learned a lot about that. You can always say you learned more in the hard times than in the good times, even if I still did win.“Even for what it meant for my career, it was my second Championship in a row, created quite a bit of hype going into F2 and expectation of if I could win three in a row, but being able to say that I won three Championships in a row without that middle one would have definitely not had the same effect or impact of getting me into Formula 1.” READ MORE: Road to 100: Piastri wins a nail-biter as PREMA make it two in a rowDennis Hauger – 2021 Drivers’ Champion with PREMA RacingHauger put the pieces together for the 2021 Drivers' crown“I would say the Red Bull Ring in 2021 is a good memory. I went from P12 to P1 which was quite a nice race and quite a fun one. I guess also my first win in F3, in Barcelona was actually a pretty good memory. I came from the Sprint Race fighting for the win but crashing then then having a bit of a redemption on Sunday, getting the win and that was my first win of the season that year which was a good way to start it. "Race two - it's always quite crazy around the Red Bull Ring. I didn't have the best start