Phot: Dom Gibbons / Getty Images
Campos Racing has announced the injured Ernesto Rivera will miss this weekend’s FIA Formula 3 season opener in Melbourne, with Patrick Heuzenroeder taking his place.
It is the second time that Heuzenroeder has stood in for Rivera, having done so in the pre-season test at Barcelona on February 10-12.
The 20-year-old Australian will be making his F3 debut on home soil, but already has experience of racing third-tier single-seaters having spent the last two weekends racing in Eurocup-3’s winter series with Campos. He sits 10th in the standings, with one more round to go in mid-March.
“I’m very excited to be given this opportunity to make my debut in FIA F3 at my home grand prix,” said Heuzenroeder. “It will be a steep learning curve but I am looking forward to it and can’t wait to get on track! Thank you to my supporters and family for this opportunity.”
Through the rest of this year he will also be racing for Campos, as he part of its line-up in the main Eurocup-3 championship. In 2025 he was GB3 runner-up and fourth in Formula Regional Oceania, winning a race in both.
Rivera was racing in the latter series a month ago when he had a crash at Highlands Motorsport Park. It led to him missing the season’s final two races with back pain, and has ruled him out of action since once he was diagnosed with a vertebra injury.
The 17-year-old Mexican came 11th in the FRegional Oceania standings with two podiums and a pole, and raced for Campos last year in Eurocup-3 when it still used FRegional-based chassis. He was fourth in the championship with three wins, four other podiums and two poles. Rivera has been a Red Bull junior since September 2024.
Written by Jacob Awcock and Ida Wood