Written by Vyas Ponnuri and Sophie Harvey
Welcome to Feeder Series weekly round-up, your weekly series bringing you the best of driver announcements from the world of Formula 2, Formula 3, as well as F1 Academy. With a wild card already announced, DIVEBOMB brings you all the news from the past week….
Shi Wei to join F1 Academy as a wildcard driver in China
To kick off another exhilarating season of F1 Academy, Shi Wei will join forces with series newcomers Hitech GP as a wildcard driver.
Also known as Tie Dou, she will make her epic debut at Shanghai International Circuit in March.
Having made her single-seater debut in F4 China, Wei made her mark as the second woman to join the series. She instantly stood her ground, taking multiple point-scoring finishes and winning the best rookie award.
She has also driven in the China Endurance Championship and the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86 cup.
In reaction to the announcement, the Chinese driver said:
“It’s an incredible honour to receive the Wild Card for F1 ACADEMY, giving me the opportunity to compete and learn alongside top drivers on a larger stage, making a dream that once seemed out of reach come true,” she reminisced.
“Hopefully, I can inspire the young generation and raise greater attention to motorsport and the development of the automotive industry."
Santiago Ramos joins Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2025 Formula 3 season
Dutch outfit Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) completed their Formula Three driver line-up for 2025, signing Santiago Ramos alongside Théophile Naël and the recently-announced Ivan Domingues.
The Mexican driver returns to the series after a solid debut season with Trident, having secured a podium in the Monza sprint to end his campaign in 2024. Ramos eventually ended his campaign on 44 points, finishing 16th in the F3 standings.
While points finishes were sparse for the rookie, Ramos was able to finish in the top ten eight times, including four in the last five races of the year. This signalled the step forward he had taken, after learning the ropes for the first half of the season.
Ramos’ pace was visible in flashes across the year, signified by his Monza podium, as well as being the forefront of a Trident 1-2-3 in qualifying at Imola this year.
The Trident driver moves house to VAR, a team that found themselves on the up in 2024 thanks to Noel León’s excellent form across the season.
With León moving to PREMA for 2025, the Dutch outfit will be banking on the 20-year-old’s capabilities and a year of experience under his belt to spearhead their upcoming campaign.
“I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be joining Van Amersfoort Racing for the upcoming FIA
Formula 3 season,” Ramos expressed.
"After showing some strong pace last year, I’m confident that with VAR’s support and expertise, we’re set for an incredible season. I can’t wait to get back in the car and fight for great results together!”
There’s certainly plenty of expectations for the man hailing from Guadalajara, the same location as former Red Bull racer Sergio Pérez, and Ramos will certainly be looking to emulate a man who considers himself a national hero after a famous F1 career.
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