When the FIA Formula 3 Championship season gets underway in Austria early next month alongside the world’s best in Formula 1, there will be four Australians competing in the category’s 2020 campaign.

 

Jack Doohan, Oscar Piastri, Alex Peroni and Calan Williams will be representing the nation in the FIA’s third tier of open wheel racing, with each driver looking to progress up the ranks and one day make it to the top like Daniel Riccardo or Mark Webber.

 

All four drivers started out in karting before taking up different journeys to reach this pivotal point in their careers, and remarkably they have rarely crossed paths. 

 

Peroni and Piastri raced against each other in the Formula 3 Renault Eurocup in 2018, while Piastri also raced alongside Doohan early on in their careers, before the latter moved to the UK to race in Formula 4. 

 

Based to in Western Australia, Williams took a different path after completing a number of years in Formula Ford and then moving to the UK to race in Euroformula Open F3 Championship.

 

In order to chase their dream, all four have spent the better part of the previous three to four years living in Europe and dedicating their lives to perfecting their race craft – all with the aim of one day achieving the goal of racing in Formula 1. 

 

Living abroad can often have its difficulties, but for these four young stars, who have already become accustomed to life on the road and away from family, it’s just part of the territory that comes with wanting to be a professional driver. 

 

During a chat with motorsport.org.au, the four revealed the challenges of their chosen lifestyles.  

 

Like many individuals, they were required to stay home during the COVID-19 lockdown period and spent the time competing in a variety of online races via the simulator, with Piastri recording a stand out fifth place in the virtual Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

 

The FIA Formula 3 Championship begins at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 4-5 July.