F4 champion Mawson graduates to European F3

Mawson, 20, has spent the last three years in F4-level championships, starting with French F4 in 2014.

He finished fourth there before joining the Germany-based ADAC F4 series, taking third behind Marvin Dienst and last year's top European F3 rookie Joel Eriksson.

Mawson opted to continue in the series for another season, and ended up clinching the 2016 title, beating closest rival Mick Schumacher by 52 points.

He contested the Indian MRF Challenge series over the winter, tying on points with champion Harrison Newey but losing out to the Briton on countback.

Having tested with the Dutch team during the off-season, Mawson has now become the third driver in VAR's 2017 European F3 line-up alongside David Beckmann and Pedro Piquet.

"This will be my third year with Van Amersfoort Racing and I’m really excited about the adventure of moving into Formula 3 with them," said Mawson.

"To win the championship last year with them and the team at PODIUM [Mawson's personal sponsor] was a real dream come true, that was our aim at the start of the year and we achieved everything that we set out to do.

"Now, it’s the next big step in my career. It’s a very big step from Formula 4 to Formula 3 but one that I’m really looking forward to.

"I’ve tested a couple of times late last year and felt right at home. I’ll be aiming to make the most of every opportunity in 2017 and beyond."

VAR team principal Frits van Amersfoort commented: "In the past two seasons, and especially with his title-winning campaign last year, Joey has clearly demonstrated his abilities and I am convinced that, given the right support, he has what it takes to do well in Formula 3.

"In making the transition from Formula 4 to Formula 3 together with us, he is following in the footsteps of other drivers who made the same step in the past. We believe in long-term relationships and therefore, we are delighted to have Joey continue with us."

With Kami Laliberte opting to remain in VAR's F4 set-up for another season, Newey is expected to complete the team's four-strong F3 squad.

2017 European F3 line-up so far:

Team	Driver
Prema	Callum Ilott  Guan Yu Zhou  Mick Schumacher  Maximilian Gunther
HitechGP	Ralf Aron  Nikita Mazepin  Jake Hughes  Tadasuke Makino
Carlin	Lando Norris  Jehan Daruvala  Ferdinand Habsburg
Van Amersfoort Racing	David Beckmann  Pedro Piquet  Joey Mawson  Harrison Newey
Motopark	Joel Eriksson  Keyvan Andres Soori  Marino Sato