Vans Amersfoort Racing has announced that Rafael Villagomez will retain his seat for the 2023 Formula 3 season.
Twenty-old-year-old driver Rafael Villagomez will join Tommy Smith racing for Vans Amersfoort Racing in the 2023 Formula 3 season. This will be Villagomez’s second season with the team and his third overall in F3. He is the 16th driver to be announced for the 2023 season.
The 2021/22 Season
Villagomez made his Formula 3 debut in 2021 with HWA Racelab after finishing sixth in the 2020 French F4 Championship. Partnered alongside Oliver Rasmussen and Matteo Nannini, Villagomez finished the season in 29th after scoring no points. Crucially, he finished behind both teammates with Nannini taking victory during the second race of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Villagomez then switched to Vans Amersfoort Racing for the 2022 season. Despite scoring a ninth-place finish during the Sprint Race at the Italian Grand Prix, he would fail to score points after that, finishing the season in 25th with just two points.
In September, Villagomez took part in the 2022 Formula 3 post-season test for Vans Amersfoort as well as the Formula 2 post-season test in November.
Villagomez 🤜🤛 VAR
The Mexican star and the Dutch squad are sticking together for another year in Formula 3 ✨#F3 #RoadToF1 pic.twitter.com/UJCA3qdgPE
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) January 6, 2023
Following the announcement, Villagomez stated:
“Both myself and the team have grown a lot last year and it’s great to be able to continue working together in 2023. I have used the winter period to fully prepare myself physically, and I am really excited to be already racing in January in FRMEC. It feels like this is the best approach to get fully ready for the season and I can’t wait for it to finally kick off again!”
Rob Niessink (CEO of VAR) added:
‘’It is great to continue working with Rafael this upcoming season. Rafael is very dedicated to his goals, which makes him an absolute pleasure to work with. Having a driver in the team for multiple seasons has clear benefits. Due to the intense contact, you grow stronger as a team, which ultimately is key for performing well on track. Our crew is very committed to support Rafael in progressing both on- and off the circuit and all are fully dedicated to book strong results this season!”
2023 Driver Lineup
As Villagomez stated above, he will also be participating in the Formula Middle Eastern Championship with Vans Amersfoort Racing. The season is set to commence in mid-January and will host five races. With Villagomez getting the chance to warm himself up before the Formula 3 season kicks off in March, can he work his way up the field to finally score some decent points?
- ART Grand Prix: Gregoire Saucy & Nikola Tsolov & Kaylen Frederick
- Campos Racing: Christian Mansell & TBD & TBD
- Carlin Racing: Hunter Yeany & TBD & TBD
- Hitech Grand Prix: Gabriele Mini & TBD & TBD
- MP Motorsport: Mari Boya & Jonny Edgar & TBD
- PREMA Powertrain: Paul Aron, Dino Beganovic & Zak O’Sullivan
- Trident Racing: Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Goethe & Leonardo Fornaroli
- Vans Amersfoort Racing: Tommy Smith & Rafael Villagomez & TBD
