FERRARI JUNIOR NICCOLO MACCAGNANI SET TO RACE IN FIA FORMULA 3 IN 2027
Niccolò Maccagnani is set to take an important step in his career next season. Competing in Italian Formula 4 this season, the young Italian driver will directly join the Formula 3 championship in 2027 with Trident as a 16-year-old. The Ferrari driver will not go through the FREC stage, a major step in the development of a driver in the junior single-seater categories. A choice that may come as a surprise, although we have already seen some drivers in the past skip FREC, such as Arvid Lindblad.
A direct move to F3
In the traditional junior single-seater pathway, Formula 4 is normally followed by a season in Formula Regional (EuroCup-3 or FREC) before reaching F3. Maccagnani will nevertheless skip this stage.
The Italian will move directly from Italian F4 to Formula 3 in 2027. An important step, as the category represents one of the final stages before Formula 1 and brings together the best talents every year.
Born in August 2010, Maccagnani only made his single-seater racing debut at the end of 2025, joining Pinnacle Motorsport for the final two rounds of F4 South East Asia. He finished on the podium in all three races of his debut weekend, then won all three in the season-ending round to climb to fourth in the overall standings.
He closed the year with a one-off Italian F4 appearance in the season finale, where his best finish was 15th, before ending 2025 as runner-up in the Middle East-based Formula Trophy. 2026 is therefore his first full season of single-seater racing. By the time he lines up for the opening round of F3, he will have been a racing driver for barely eighteen months.
Thousands of kilometres accumulated in testing
For several years, Maccagnani has benefited from a particularly extensive testing programme. The Italian has completed numerous test days behind the wheel of different cars between race weekends.
He already has significant experience in Formula 2, behind the wheel of a single-seater that belongs to him and which he has been driving for several years during private tests.
This mileage accumulated outside race weekends is an essential part of his preparation. A move through Formula Regional allows drivers to gradually get used to more powerful single-seaters, while Maccagnani has already been able to drive significantly faster cars during his numerous tests.
The direct move to Formula 3 nevertheless remains a major challenge, but it will not be a completely new experience for him thanks to his numerous private tests.
Sixth in Italian F4 at the halfway mark
The gamble is being taken while his F4 season is still very much a work in progress. Maccagnani goes into the summer break sixth in the Italian F4 standings on 166 points, 122 behind leader Luka Sammalisto and behind Prema teammates as well, with three of the seven rounds still to run.
The form has been spiky rather than dominant. At Misano he crossed the line first in the opening race, only for a ten-second penalty for starting his engine early to drop him to fourth, though he did take a win later in the weekend. Vallelunga brought him nothing at all. Monza was worse: ninth in his qualifying group, a clutch problem on the reconnaissance lap that forced a pit-lane start, a recovery to 13th, then a ten-second penalty that left him 24th.
Mugello, the last round before the break, was his strongest weekend of the year: victory in race one, second in race two and third in the Final, worth 78 points. The championship resumes at Imola in early September.
Trident for the big step
For this new step, Maccagnani will join Trident for the 2027 Formula 3 season. The Italian team will field an interesting trio, with Maccagnani alongside Kean Nakamura-Berta and Sebastian Wheldon, who are fighting for the FREC title this season.
An environment that will allow the Italian to learn alongside very good drivers, at one of the best teams on the grid.
The comparison will therefore be interesting: unlike his two future teammates, Maccagnani will arrive in F3 without having completed a full season in Formula Regional.
The gap in racing mileage is wide. Nakamura-Berta won the 2025 Italian F4 title with 342 points, nine wins, nine poles and seventeen podiums before stepping up to Formula Regional, the same season in which Maccagnani’s Italian F4 career consisted of a single weekend.
His extensive testing programme, his experience already gained behind the wheel of a Formula 2 car and his support from the Ferrari Driver Academy allow the Italian driver to take this gamble next season.
In 2027, the Italian will have to turn the experience accumulated during private testing into performances during race weekends. This is what will make his first season in F3 interesting to follow.
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