HOUSTON – American Formula 1 hopeful Jak Crawford is set for his second full season in the FIA Formula 3 championship after joining the PREMA Racing team for the series that competes on seven Grand Prix weekends.
Crawford, who will turn 17 on May 2, returns to the category as part of his program for the Red Bull Junior team, following in the footsteps of current Formula 1 champion and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen – a former Junior Team driver.
Crawford’s 2021 F3 campaign saw the Texas native soak in a full season of new tracks as he took on the unique challenge that the three-race weekend formats presented. Having a season of racing as part of the Formula 1 events under his belt, Crawford delivered in the second half of the year could provide the foundation for a breakout season in 2022.
Any rust from the off-season layoff will quickly be shaken off, with Crawford making his debut in the Formula Regional Asian Championship, with a hectic 15-race schedule over the course of five-consecutive weekends – all in the United Arab Emirates. The championship will give Crawford a strong start to the season as he looks to build on the opportunity to race with the powerhouse PREMA squad.
Crawford will drive for Abu Dabhi Racing PREMA when the series begins this Friday with a three-race weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Action then shifts to the Dubai Autodrome, which hosts races on three-straight weekends. The championship returns to Yas Marina Circuit for the concluding round five on Feb. 17-20. The series will carry FIA Super License points for the top finishers. Each of the three-race weekends will have the top-10 finishers from race one reversed for race two.
“I’m very excited to be joining PREMA for a second season of FIA F3 as well as contesting the Formula Regional Asian Championship with them,” Crawford said. “I am very much looking forward to building on what I learned last year in my rookie season, and hoping to emulate the success that other drivers have had with the team in the past. FIA F3 will be the main focus for me this year and I am eager to get the season underway.”
The FIA F3 campaign begins March 17-19 in Sakhir, Bahrain.
Crawford ran the full Formula 3 season last year. The youngest driver in the series, he placed second in the opening race of the Spa Francorchamps weekend, and also scored points in all three races at Zandvoort. He kept pushing, ending the year with a pass on the final lap of the season to take fifth at Russia’s Sochi circuit.