Photo: Motopark
Fernando Barrichello will make his FIA Formula 3 Championship debut with AIX Racing in next weekend’s season finale at Monza, ahead of a full campaign in 2026 with the team.
The 19-year-old Brazilian already has plenty of experience at the F3 level, as he in his second year of racing for Motopark in Euroformula, and will be replacing James Hedley in AIX’s #26 car at Monza.
Hedley is currently 26th in the standings, and has driven in 10 races so far this year. He claimed a breakthrough fourth place finish last time out at the Hungaroring in the sprint race.
“Extremely grateful for this opportunity – so much hard work has gone into reaching this moment. I’m excited to join AIX Racing and fight for big things,” said Barrichello.
The Brazilian is the team’s second signing for 2026. Its first was Yevan David, who has been Barrichello’s team-mate in Euroformula since the 2024 season finale.
Barrichello came third in the standings as a rookie, taking one win, four other podiums and a fastest lap. His sophomore campaign has so far featured a victory and two other podiums, and he currently sits fifth in the points while David is second.
“Super excited to welcome Fernando to our team from Monza onwards,” AIX’s F3 team manager Kenny Kirwan said.
“We will be throwing him into the deep end a little, however the experience will prove invaluable for his preparations for the upcoming 2026 campaign. I believe that we can develop Fernando even further and we look forward to his valuable team contribution and shared future success.”
Most of Barrichello’s car racing experience prior to Euroformula was in Formula 4, in which he spent two years. Wins in his home championship were the highlight, while he only scored once in Spanish F4 and did not even finish in the top 20 of a race during a part-time F4 United Arab Emirates campaign.
In 2023 he appeared on the Porsche Endurance Challenge Brasil grid with his older brother Eduardo and father Rubens.
Eduardo was 2020 USF2000 runner-up, made the podium in the Formula Regional European Championship and has since become a Stock Car Brasil star, while Rubens was 2002 and 2004 Formula 1 world championship runner-up and is a two-time Stock Car Brasil champion.
Pedro Clerot, a fellow Brazilian, has confirmed that he will be stepping up to FIA F3 next year for a full-time campaign but has not stated which team he has signed with.
The 18-year-old is the 2022 Brazilian F4 champion, a Spanish F4 race-winner and has become a FREC race-winner too in his second season there this year.