A DECADE

OF RACING

In 2016, Hitech fielded a three-car team in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship that included a young 16-year-old by the name of George Russell. He was a Mercedes Junior Team driver, and the F1 powerhouse had entrusted his development to Hitech for the team’s debut season. The Racing Steps Foundation and Force India F1 Team had done the same with its own bright stars, Ben Barnicoat and Nikita Mazepin. The stakes were high.

The opening campaign was a great success, demonstrating that Hitech had all the right ingredients to be a key player in the sport. Taking four wins, 13 podiums and three pole positions, the team finished as runner-up in the Championship.

To seal a sensational year, Hitech went on to take pole position on its first visit to the historic Macau Grand Prix.

The team was ambitious and set its sights on its first corporate development target – an R&D capability. Hitech Technologies was created to provide technology and support services to Hitech and to other race teams.

In 2017, Hitech raised the stakes with a four-car entry for its second full season of FIA Formula 3 European, determined to build on its success and continue attracting the best young talent from around the world. Its line-up included Jake Hughes, a BRDC F4 prodigy, and Italian F4 title winner, Ralf Aron.

The series introduced a new aero kit that season, which was a lot for a young Hitech to get to grips with. After a more challenging start to the campaign, it was soon back to fighting at the front of the field, the additional data from having four drivers ensuring the team was continuously developing.

Hitech notched up a win, 13 podiums and three pole positions, finishing fourth overall in the Teams’ Championship.

Hitech Technologies was taking off and the team expanded into new premises. With an eye to what’s next, an appreciation of the role that the correct guidance and training could play in optimising driver inputs led to the creation of Hitech Performance, a new division focused on simulation and human science.

2018 saw the merger of F3 and GB3. We understood that a preparation season was going to be key to success in the new FIA Formula 3 Championship running on the F1 platform.

Rather than expanding to match the five cars entered by other teams, Hitech focused on learning how to operate within the new-for-2019 Regulations, which included a trackside personnel limitation and mandated three-car entry.

Among its line-up, Ecurie Bull Frog protégé Álex Palou, one of three drivers new to the team and to the category, yet they brought further wins, podiums, and pole positions to add to Hitech’s F3 European tally.

Consolidating its success at the entry level of the single-seater pathway, Hitech entered the new F3 Asian Championship and claimed both the driver and team titles in its maiden season.

Steadily gaining respect with key single-seater stakeholders, in 2019 Hitech was awarded an entry in the all-new FIA Formula 3 Championship that would run alongside the prestigious Formula 1 Championship for eight events. It ended the new series’ debut season as Vice-Champions in both the Teams’ and Drivers’ Standings.

We swept the board in our second season of Asian Formula 3, claiming the Teams’ title after four poles, four wins and 14 podiums.

Hitech was selected by the new W Championship to handle operations for the championships’ maiden season, including preparation, freight, logistics and general trackside support. We also supplied race engineers and pit crew for each of the 18 cars.

Soon after, the FIA, governing body of world motorsport, chose Hitech to operate 20 cars in the Formula 4 category of the new Motorsport Games, the inaugural edition of which was held at Vallelunga in November 2019.

2020 brought a maiden entry in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and we concluded a successful debut with fourth place in the Teams’ and Drivers’ standings, its line-up of Luca Ghiotto and Nikita Mazepin bringing them to within three points of third place.

In FIA F3, we finished fourth in the teams’ standings with three wins and a pole for Liam Lawson.

A new domestic UK F3 series beckoned, established following unprecedented demand due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kush Maini fought for the title until the closing race, taking the runner-up honours in the eight-round series. Teammate Reece Ushijima secured a race win in his maiden season, after making the step up from karts to car racing.

Over in Asian F3, we finished fourth in the series and Nikita Mazepin took third place in the Drivers’ Standings.

2021 was another competitive year for Hitech on the upper rungs of the single-seater ladder. We finished the F2 season in fourth place, with Liam Lawson and Jüri Vips contesting what was then an eight-round series.

In F3, Red Bull Junior Jak Crawford was among the drivers who helped the team to sixth in the Championship.

British F3 rebranded to GB3 mid-season and Hitech were its inaugural Vice-Champions, claiming three wins and nine podiums.

Further podiums in Asian F3 saw us finish second in the Teams’ Standings, while Roy Nissany achieved fifth in the Drivers’ battle.

In 2022, Marcus Armstrong and Jüri Vips secured F2 wins and podiums and the team finished fifth in a hotly contested season.

Isack Hadjar was just starting to make a name for himself in FIA Formula 3, with three wins, two podiums, a pole and two fastest laps.

In Asian F3, now rebranded as the Formula Regional Asian Championship, a record six-driver line-up that included Isack Hadjar, Gabriele Minì, Leonardo Fornaroli and Joshua Dufek, helped us to second place in the Teams’ Championship with five wins, five podiums and two poles.

It was a clean sweep for the team in GB3 with seven wins, nineteen podiums and five poles. Luke Browning dominates to help Hitech secure the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships, alongside Bryce Aron and Cian Shields. Browning comes to the attention of F1 teams, securing the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

Our debut season in the F4 British Championship was a great success. Alex Dunne secured the Drivers’ title and Hitech were crowned Vice-Champions in the Teams’ title after 13 wins – 11 of which were for Alex Dunne – nine podiums and 11 pole positions. Alex’s win tally set a record that would prevail for two seasons.

Expanding our F4 campaign into the UAE edition, we notched up two wins and four podiums with Alex Dunne, Luke Browning and Oliver Gray.

2023 was a competitive but inconsistent season of F2 for Jak Crawford and Isack Hadjar as they stepped up to the penultimate rung on the single-seater ladder, but there were three wins and four podiums along the way.

It was a fiercely competitive season in FIA F3, but Gabriele Minì, Luke Browning, and Sebastián Montoya brought home victories, podiums and a pole for the team.

The 70th Macau Grand Prix was one for our history books! Luke Browning reigned supreme in his first-ever entry in the historic event, dominating an incident-filled race from lights to flag. Isack Hadjar finished seventh, while an impressive weekend for Alex Dunne, who had made the step up from Hitech’s GB3 squad, ended with a heart-breaking retirement following a collision. Saturday’s Qualifying saw Browning and Dunne secure a double podium and lock out the front row for Sunday’s race. Hadjar took ninth.

In GB3, Alex Dunne challenged for the top honours all season long and was ultimately crowned Vice-Champion, helping the team to fourth in the Teams’ championship.

A record five drivers competed in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship. Sebastián Montoya and Daniel Mavlyutov contended the full season, while Gabriele Minì, Luke Browning and Jak Crawford completed a handful of races to gain further development experience.

For a second consecutive season, Hitech were right in the F4 British Championship title fight. A stellar campaign saw seven wins, 25 podiums, four poles and 10 fastest laps, earning us the Vice-Champion prize. Will Macintyre ended the season as the runner-up in the Drivers’ standings, while James Piszcyk, Gabriel Stilp and Kanato Le also finished in the season’s top 10.

More podiums and points on the Middle East stage in Formula 4 UAE with Arvid Lindblad, James Piszcyk and Kanato Le, and Will Macintyre in the Rookies’ Standings.

2024 was one of Hitech’s most competitive seasons to date across the breadth of the championships we contend. By the halfway stage we had already achieved a remarkable run of success, our silverware tally reaching 58 trophies in 53 races.

Our F2 campaign got off to an incredible start, Paul Aron heading into our home race at Silverstone with an 11-point lead, having notched up seven podiums in as many rounds, and nine consecutive points finishes. A tougher second half of the season in this incredibly competitive championship saw him drop to third but he remained in the fight for the title until the very last race of the season. Amaury Cordeel scored points in seven of the rounds, results that were crucial to keeping Hitech in the fight for the Teams’ Championship throughout.

In FIA Formula 3, Luke Browning concluded a stellar season by clinching third place in the Drivers’ Standings. It was an exceptional and close-fought campaign that went right down to the wire. Hitech were in Teams’ title contention throughout, Luke’s two wins, podium and consistent points finishes supported by the results of team-mate Martinius Stenshorne, but we ended the season fifth overall.

In GB3 Championship we became the first team in history to record seven consecutive race wins in the series. The team finished the season as Vice-Champions, while all three drivers – Tymek Kucharzyk, Will Macintyre and Gerrard Xie were in the hunt for the title at one stage. Tymek secured the highest Hitech driver placing with third.

Deagen Fairclough clinched the ROKiT British F4 Championship in the penultimate round with a 222.5-point lead after dominating the 2024 season. The 18-year-old made British F4 history in his second season in the series, equalling the reigning record holder’s tally of 11 race wins with five races in hand, and surpassing it with three more appearances on the top step of the podium, bringing his impressive haul of victories to 14. Reza Seewooruthun had an auspicious debut season to finish third in the Drivers’ Standings.

There’s so much to be excited about in Hitech’s tenth full season of racing.

2025 sees us contesting six series. On the F1 platform, FIA Formula 2, FIA Formula 3, and F1 Academy. In national series, GB3 and British F4. We have also made our debut in another Formula 4-level championship, Formula Winter Series.

No less than four of our 2024 drivers have taken a step up the single-seater ladder with Hitech, fantastic news for them personally and a testament to our commitment to nurturing the next generation of young drivers.

In FIA Formula 3 and GB3 Championship, we have brand-new next-generation cars to look forward to.

We’ll be charting more Hitech10 history here as it happens.