2024 Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup

2024 Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup

Formula 3 Cup winner:
Benjámin Berta
Formula 3 Trophy winner:
Marcel Tobler
Formula Light Cup winner:
Emir Tanju

Previous

2023

Next

2025

The 2024 Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup was the 43rd Austria Formula 3 Cup season and the sixth season since Drexler-Automotive took over the title sponsoring of the series.

The 2024 season was held over eight race weekends across Europe. It began in April at Vallelunga Circuit and concluded in October at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The series continued its cooperation with the F2000 Italian Formula Trophy, with the two series sharing grids and race slots for multiple rounds.

Benjámin Berta, driving for Franz Wöss Racing, won his second Formula 3 Cup title with a race to spare, while Jo Zeller Racing driver Marcel Tobler defended his Formula 3 Trophy at the penultimate race weekend of the season. Viola Formula Racing's Emir Tanju clinched the Formula Light Cup at the final race of the season.

Benjámin Berta (top) and Marcel Tobler (middle) became back-to-back champions in the F3 Cup and the F3 Trophy. Emir Tanju (bottom) took the Formula Light Cup title.

Teams and drivers

Teams and drivers competed in either Formula 3 or the Formula Light Cup. Formula 3 entries were divided between the Cup class and the Trophy class.

Formula 3 Cup entries

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Engine	Rounds
Franz Wöss Racing	1	Benjámin Berta	Dallara F320	Mercedes	All
	19	Cian Carey	Dallara F320	Mercedes	8
	20	Stig Larsen	Dallara F320	Mercedes HWA	1–3, 5–6, 8
	32	Victor Smialek	Dallara F316	Mercedes HWA	All
Viola Formula Racing	2	Laurence Balestrini	Dallara F317	Volkswagen	6, 8
Puresport	5	Giorgio Venica	Dallara F308	Power Engine	3
	8	Dino Rasero	Dallara F320	Mercedes HWA	1, 3, 6, 8
	12	Christof Ledermann	Dallara F309	Power Engine	1
			Tatuus F3 T-318	Alfa Romeo	2–3, 6, 8
	14	Andrea Benalli	Dallara F317	Mercedes HWA	1–3, 6, 8
	33	Ahmad Shaheen Al Muhannadi	Dallara F312	Volkswagen	1–3, 6, 8
Facondini Racing	41	Franco Cimarelli	Dallara F312	VW	3, 8
Jo Zeller Racing	11	Kurt Böhlen	Dallara F316	Mercedes HWA	4–7
	44	Sandro Zeller	Dallara F316	Mercedes HWA	All
	56	Thomas Zeltner	Dallara F314	Mercedes	6
	717	Stephan Glaser	Dallara F314	Mercedes	7
Bellspeed	27	Patrick Bellezza	Dallara F300	Fiat Novamotor	8
Team Automobile Tricolore	46	Riccardo Perego	Dallara F317	Volkswagen	1–3, 6, 8
JMT Racing Klub	65	Roman Roubícek	Dallara F320	Mercedes HWA	2–8
TVS Motorsport	69	Enzo Stentella	Dallara F302	BMW	1–3, 6, 8
Racing in Italy	75	Mei Shibi	Dallara F308	Volkswagen	1–3, 6, 8
GT2 Motorsport	98	Vaclav Safar	Dallara F320	Volkswagen	7
G Motorsport	131	Francesco Galli	Dallara F320	Volkswagen	1–3, 5–8
Magyar Racing Team	146	János Magyar	Tatuus N.T07	Honda	2, 7–8
ASU NV Racing	212	Paolo Brajnik	Dallara F320	Volkswagen	6
Source:

Formula 3 Trophy entries

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Engine	Rounds
Jo Zeller Racing	2	Urs Rüttimann	Dallara F306	VW Spiess	2–3, 8
	3	Marcel Tobler	Dallara F308	Mercedes HWA	2–3, 5, 7
Team Hoffmann Racing	4	Roman Hoffmann	Dallara F317	Toyota	2
		Robert Rowe	Dallara F320	VW Spiess	5–7
	10	Luca Iannacone	Dallara F308	Fiat FTP	2–4
	22	André Petropoulos	Dallara F316	Opel Spiess	2, 4–7
Facondini Racing	6	Enrico Milani	Dallara F308	Fiat FTP	1, 3
	88	Francesco Solfaroli	Dallara F317	Toyota	1, 3, 8
	96	Oliver Kratsch	Dallara F308	Toyota	1–3
Speed Center Team	7	Christian Zeller	Dallara F305	Opel Spiess	5
	13	Philipp Todtenhaupt	Dallara F317	Toyota	5
	199	Thomas Zeltner	Dallara F314	Toyota	5
Giordano Motorsport	9	Giovanni Giordano	Dallara F308	Fiat FTP	1–3, 6, 8
Neri Motorsport	10	Luca Iannacone	Dallara F308	Fiat FTP	6–7
ASD Living KC	21	Umberto Vaglio	Dallara F308	Toyota	3, 6, 8
Derva Corse ASD	24	Marco de Toffol	Dallara F308	Fiat FTP	1–3, 6
Bellspeed	27	Patrick Bellezza	Dallara F300	Fiat Novamotor	3, 6
Franz Wöss Racing		Sedin Mujagic	Dallara F305	Opel Spiess	4–5, 7
BMG Racing	28	Giorgio Berto	Dallara F308	Fiat FTP	1, 8
Team Automobile Tricolore	39	Edoardo Bonanomi	Dallara F312	Mercedes HWA	1–3, 6, 8
Nannini Racing	42	Davide Pedetti	Dallara F317	Toyota	1–3
	43	Giancarlo Pedetti	Dallara F317	Toyota	1–3, 6, 8
Emotion Motorsport	83	Daniele Radrizzani	Dallara F317	Toyota	2–3, 8
Privateer	911	Nikolay Taykev	Dallara F308	Opel Spiess	7
Source:

Formula Light Cup entries

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Engine	Rounds
Alpha Team Racing	3	Giancarlo de Virgilis	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3, 8
Speed Motor	7	Karim Sartori	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	1–3, 6, 8
Speed Center Team	8	Dennis Hübl	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	5
	88	Karl Todtenhaupt	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	5
Scuderia Cirelli	16	Sara Fruncillo	Tatuus F4-T014	Abarth	6
	17	Tony di Giulio	Tatuus F4-T014	Abarth	1, 3
GTM Motorsport	18	Domenico Terron	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	6
Morel Auto Racing	23	Tristan Morel	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	2
Neri Motorsport		Bruno Mottez	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3
	94	Arthur Fouche	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	6
Viola Formula Racing	25	Valentin Andreiux	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	1–3, 8
	26	Emir Tanju	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	1–3, 6, 8
	67	Alessandro Zucco	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	6, 8
Privateer	31	Sarene Ziffel	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	5
Privateer	33	Andreas Stamann	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	5
ASD Ruote Scoperte M.	34	Sergio Conti	Tatuus F4-T014	Abarth	2–3, 6, 8
	79	Fabio Turchetto	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3, 8
Derva Corse ASD	40	Andrea Cavigioli	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3, 6
	95	Stefano Noal	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3, 6
Conrad Racing Sport	68	Hartmut Bertsch	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	5
Team HARS	71	Luca Guolo	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3
STAC	91	Jérémy Clavaud	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	3, 6, 8
Team Perodi	92	Romano Cataldo	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	1, 3, 6, 8
Team Hoffmann Racing	122	Dr. Norbert Groer	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	2, 4–8
	123	Diego Romanini	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	4
Franz Wöss Racing	125	Robert Siska	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	2, 6, 8
Privateer	163	Falk Schwarze	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	4, 7
Source:

Race calendar

The championship changed three of its locations compared to 2023. Vallelunga and Monza returned to the calendar after a one-year absence, while the series also returned to the Lausitzring after last racing there in 2018. The rounds at Spa and the Hungaroring left the calendar, as well as the second round at Mugello.

R.	RN	Circuit	Date	Support bill	Map of circuit locations
1	1	Vallelunga Circuit, Campagnano di Roma	21 April	TCR World Tour TCR Europe Touring Car Series	Mugello Imola Vallelunga Spielberg Lausitzring Hockenheim Brno Monza
	2
2	1	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	18 May	Rundstreckentrophy Eurocup-3
	2		19 May
3	1	Imola Circuit, Imola	1 June	Italian GT Championship Porsche Carrera Cup Italia
	2		2 June
4	1	Lausitzring, Klettwitz	29 June	Porsche Club Historic Challenge P9 Challenge
	2
5	1	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	27 July	Porsche Club Historic Challenge
	2
6	1	Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero	24 August	Euro 4 Championship Italian GT Championship
	2		25 August
7	1	Brno Circuit, Brno	7 September	TCR Europe Touring Car Series TCR Eastern Europe
	2		8 September
8	1	Monza Circuit, Monza	5 October	Italian GT Championship Porsche Carrera Cup Italia
	2		6 October

Race results

R.	RN	Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	F3 Cup winner	F3 Trophy winner	Formula Light Cup winner
1	1	Vallelunga Circuit	Francesco Galli	Francesco Galli	Francesco Galli	Francesco Solfaroli	Emir Tanju
	2			Francesco Galli	Francesco Galli	Francesco Solfaroli	Emir Tanju
2	1	Red Bull Ring	Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Francesco Galli	Marcel Tobler	Valentin Andreiux
	2			Benjámin Berta	Sandro Zeller	Marcel Tobler	Karim Sartori
3	1	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	Benjámin Berta	Francesco Galli	Benjámin Berta	Marcel Tobler	Karim Sartori
	2			Francesco Galli	Sandro Zeller	Francesco Solfaroli	Emir Tanju
4	1	Lausitzring	Benjámin Berta	Sandro Zeller	Benjámin Berta	André Petropoulos	Falk Schwarze
	2			Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	André Petropoulos	Falk Schwarze
5	1	Hockenheimring	Sandro Zeller	Sandro Zeller	Sandro Zeller	Marcel Tobler	Sarene Ziffel
	2			Benjámin Berta	Victor Smialek	Marcel Tobler	Sarene Ziffel
6	1	Mugello Circuit	Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Sandro Zeller	Edoardo Bonanomi	Jérémy Clavaud
	2			Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Edoardo Bonanomi	Jérémy Clavaud
7	1	Brno Circuit	Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	André Petropoulos	Dr. Norbert Groer
	2			Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Marcel Tobler	Dr. Norbert Groer
8	1	Monza Circuit	Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Benjámin Berta	Urs Rüttimann	Valentin Andreiux
	2			Benjámin Berta	Francesco Galli	Edoardo Bonanomi	Valentin Andreiux

Season report

First half

The season opened at Vallelunga with G Motorsport's Francesco Galli on pole position. He had to contend with Franz Wöss Racing's Benjámin Berta all race, but held on to take the win. Race two saw a repeat of the fight for the win, with Galli victorious again. Jo Zeller Racing's Sandro Zeller was third in race one and looked set to repeat that feat before colliding with Team Automobile Tricolore's Riccardo Perego in race two while battling for third. The F3 Trophy saw a double win for Facondini Racing's Francesco Solfaroli, while the Light Cup witnessed the opening exchange of blows in a season-long fight between Viola Formula's Emir Tanju and Speed Motor's Karim Sartori, with the Turk winning twice.

The Red Bull Ring hosted round two, and this time Berta took pole position. Still, Galli was the man to beat in the races as he overtook Berta right at the start and took his third win in a row. This streak came to a halt in race two when Galli slid off track and had to retire. This left Berta and Zeller fighting for the win, with Berta coming home first, but with a time penalty that handed Zeller the win. Berta's teammate Victor Smialek was third. Jo Zeller Racing's Marcel Tobler made his first appearance of the season in the F3 Trophy and took two wins right away, while wins in the Light Cup were shared between Viola Formula's Valentin Andreiux and Sartori. Tanju was second twice, thereby retaining his points lead.

Round three at Imola also began with Berta on pole position. Galli had superior race pace but once again made a mistake that forced him into retirement, leaving Berta to take his first win of the season as well as the championship lead, ahead of Zeller and Smialek. The Swiss then went one place better in race two, keeping his lead from pole position and fending off Galli and Berta all race. In the F3 Trophy, joint championship leaders Solfaroli and Tobler met each other on track for the first time. Both took a win and a second place, remaining equal on points. The picture in the Light Cup was similar, with leaders Tanju and Sartori also sharing the wins, further distancing themselves from the rest of the field.

Only eleven cars travelled to the Lausitzring, where Berta took another pole position. Galli was not among the attendees, so the fight for both races was between Berta and Zeller. Race one saw a close fight, while race two was dominated from pole - Berta was the winner both times. Smialek took two third places, thereby overtaking Galli in the standings. Both F3 Trophy leaders were absent too, leaving Team Hoffmann Racing’s André Petropoulos to take two wins and instantly move into second place in the standings. The same was seen in the Formula Light Cup, with Tanju and Sartori not joining the grid, allowing privateer entrant Falk Schwarze to take a double win on his debut in the championship.

Second half

The second half of the season began at Hockenheimring with a different pole sitter in Zeller. Berta initially got past him, but Zeller kept close to him to retake the lead and win the race. Smialek took third, before taking his maiden win ahead of returnee Galli and Jo Zeller Racing’s Kurt Böhlen in race two after Berta was hit with a 30-second penalty that dropped him to fourth. Tobler returned to the F3 Trophy and took two wins and the championship lead as Solfaroli was still absent. Petropoulos took a podium to reduce his distance to Solfaroli. The Formula Light Cup saw another double by a privateer debutant, with Sarene Ziffel sweeping the weekend as Tanju and Sartori missed another round.

Round six at Mugello brought the F2000 entries back to the field, with 39 cars entered. Berta won pole position once again, but collided with Galli a few laps into the first race and retired. Zeller was left to take the win ahead of Smialek and ASU NV’s one-off entry Paolo Brajnik. In the second race, Galli stalled at the start, with Berta taking the lead and the win ahead of Zeller and Smialek. Team Automobile Tricolore’s Eduardo Bonanomi took both F3 Trophy wins as Petropoulos was the only front-runner competing, taking one sixth place. Tanju and Sartori returned to the Formula Light Cup, but the winner of both races was STAC’s Jérémy Clavaud. Still, Sartori was able to overtake Tanju in the standings.

The penultimate round at Brno Circuit saw Berta take another pole position, which he then turned into a controlled lights-to-flag victory, with Smialek and Zeller making up the F3 Cup podium behind him. Race two began with Smialek taking the lead, before Berta retook it and reestablished the competitive picture seen in the first race. The top three finished the race in the same order, handing Berta a 28-point lead. Wins in the F3 Trophy were shared by Petropoulos and Tobler, with the former taking second in the standings and the latter crowned class champion. Team Hoffmann’s Dr. Norbert Groer was the sole entry in the Formula Light Cup and took two wins, each only worth half points.

Berta took his third pole position in a row for the season finale at Monza. After a delayed start to race one, Berta managed two restarts to take his seventh win of the season ahead of Smialek and Zeller, crowning him the champion in the process. Race two began with Smialek in the lead, but a bad mid-race restart saw him fall to fourth behind eventual winner Galli, Berta and Zeller. The top two drivers in the F3 Trophy were absent, leaving Jo Zeller Racing’s Urs Rüttimann and Bonanomi to finish the season with a win each. Andreiux won both races in the Formula Light Cup, but Tanju was able to claim the class title by just four points after Sartori was forced to retire from the final race.

Berta’s second championship in a row saw him notch up seven wins and 14 podiums in 16 races. At the start of the year, however, the fastest driver of the field was Galli, who began the season with three wins in a row. A double non-score then set him back considerably, and when he did not contest two of the rounds outside Italy, he was removed from contention. That left Zeller as Berta’s closest competitor, but he was no match for the Hungarian, just like in 2023. The F3 Trophy was once again characterized by high entry fluctuation, with Tobler repeating his 2023 feat of dominating the weekends he contested, while the Formula Light Cup saw a title battle closely fought across five of the eight rounds, with very little drivers traveling to Germany and Czechia.

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded per class. If less than three cars entered in a class, half points were awarded for the race.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

* - half points awarded as less than three cars entered the race

Formula 3 Cup standings

Pos Driver VLL RBR IMO LAU HOC MUG BRN MNZ Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 Benjámin Berta 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 1 2 4 Ret 1 1 1 1 2 310 2 Sandro Zeller 3 10 3 1 2 1 2 2 1 7 1 2 3 3 3 3 269 3 Victor Smialek 9 4 4 3 3 5 3 3 3 1 2 3 2 2 2 4 235 4 Francesco Galli 1 1 1 Ret Ret 2 6 2 11 6 WD WD 4 1 164 5 Stig Larsen 8 7 5 6 6 7 4 5 7 4 Ret 7 88 6 Riccardo Perego 4 3 9 5 4 4 9 8 Ret Ret 69 7 Kurt Böhlen 4 4 Ret 3 10 7 4 5 68 8 Andrea Benalli 5 5 11 4 5 6 8 10 Ret 6 63 9 Roman Roubícek 12 9 10 13 5 5 5 6 5 Ret Ret 7 9 13 59 10 Enzo Stentella 7 6 10 12 12 14 4 5 8 Ret 41 11 Dino Rasero 6 9 8 9 6 9 6 15 34 12 Ahmad Shaheen Al Muhannadi 11 11 6 8 7 8 Ret DNS 7 10 29 13 János Magyar Ret 7 6 6 13 9 24 14 Vaclav Safar 5 4 22 15 Paolo Brajnik 3 DNS 15 16 Franco Cimarelli 13 DNS 5 8 14 17 Cian Carey 14 5 10 18 Mei Shibi 12 12 7 10 9 10 WD WD DSQ WD 10 19 Christof Ledermann 10 8 8 11 Ret 12 13 13 11 12 9 20 Stephan Glaser 7 Ret 6 21 Laurence Balestrini 14 11 10 11 1 22 Giorgio Venica 11 11 0 23 Thomas Zeltner 12 12 0 24 Patrick Bellezza 12 14 0 Pos Driver R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Pts VLL RBR IMO LAU HOC MUG BRN MNZ

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † — Did not finish, but classified

Formula 3 Trophy standings

Pos	Driver	VLL		RBR		IMO		LAU		HOC		MUG		BRN		MNZ		Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Marcel Tobler			1	1	1	2			1	1			2	1			186
2	André Petropoulos			Ret	3			1	1	Ret	2	Ret	6	1	2			134
3	Francesco Solfaroli	1	1			2	1									3	2	126
4	Edoardo Bonanomi	5	3	Ret	8	NC	NC					1	1			2	1	122
5	Luca Iannacone			DNS	9	Ret	Ret	2	2			5	4	4	3			87
6	Urs Rüttimann			2	2	5	3									1	Ret	86
7	Robert Rowe									2	5	Ret	2	3	4			73
8	Giancarlo Pedetti	Ret	7	4	10	7	7					2	5			4	Ret	71
9	Giovanni Giordano	3	8	Ret	6	3	5					4	Ret			DNS	DNS	64
10	Davide Pedetti	2	2	Ret	4	Ret	9											50
11	Oliver Kratsch	Ret	4	3	7	4	8											49
12	Sedin Mujagic							3	3	5	7†			WD	WD			46
13	Umberto Vaglio					6	6					3	3			DNS	WD	46
14	Enrico Milani	4	6			8	4											36
15	Thomas Zeltner									3	4							27
17	Daniele Radrizzani			Ret	DNS											5	3	25
17	Philipp Todtenhaupt									4	6							20
18	Marco de Toffol	Ret	5	Ret	5							WD	WD					20
19	Christian Zeller									NC	3							15
20	Giorgio Berto	Ret	9													DNS	4	14
—	Roman Hoffmann			WD	WD													0
—	Patrick Bellezza					WD	WD					WD	WD					0
—	Nikolay Taykev													WD	WD			0
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Pts
		VLL		RBR		IMO		LAU		HOC		MUG		BRN		MNZ

Formula Light Cup standings

Pos	Driver	VLL		RBR		IMO		LAU		HOC		MUG		BRN		MNZ		Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Emir Tanju	1	1	2	2	2	1					4	Ret			4	3	168
2	Karim Sartori	2	3	3	1	1	2					3	2			3	Ret	164
3	Dr. Norbert Groer			5	4			3	3	3	3	9	6	1*	1*	6	DNS	125
4	Valentin Andreiux	Ret	2	1	6	Ret	3									1	1	116
5	Jérémy Clavaud					5	5					1	1			DNS	Ret	70
6	Alessandro Zucco											2	3			2	2	69
=7	Falk Schwarze							1	1					WD	WD			50
=7	Sarene Ziffel									1	1							50
9	Fabio Turchetto					3	4									5	4	49
10	Romano Cataldo	Ret	4			WD	WD					7	4			Ret	5	40
11	Robert Siska			6	5							10	7			7	6	39
=12	Diego Romanini							2	2									36
=12	Dennis Hübl									2	2							36
14	Stefano Noal					4	6					5	Ret					30
15	Tristan Morel			4	3													27
16	Sergio Conti			7	7	9	11					11	8			9	7	27
17	Karl Todtenhaupt									4	4							24
18	Andrea Cavigioli					Ret	7					8	5					20
19	Giancarlo de Virgilis					8	10									8	8	13
20	Luca Guolo					6	8											12
21	Arthur Fouche											6	Ret					8
22	Bruno Mottez					7	9											8
23	Sara Fruncillo											12	9					2
—	Tony di Giulio	Ret	Ret			WD	WD											0
—	Andreas Stamann									WD	WD							0
—	Hartmut Bertsch									WD	WD							0
—	Domenico Terron											WD	WD					0
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Pts
		VLL		RBR		IMO		LAU		HOC		MUG		BRN		MNZ

External links

• Website of the AFR Cups [German]