Written by Trisha Lynnette, Sophie Harvey and Vyas Ponnuri
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. DIVEBOMB brings you all the news you need to know from this week, with pre-season testing looming in the background….
Nicola Marinangeli joins AIX Racing as their second driver in Formula 3
Born in Italy, 21-year-old Nicola Marinagelli has been announced as the second driver for AIX Racing. He will be racing alongside teammate Javier Sagrera.
Marinangelli began his career in the 2018 Italian F4 Championship where he placed 43rd. The following year he took part again in the Italian F4 but also took on a new challenge as he competed in the Formula 4 UAE Championship. He placed 29th overall in the Italian F4 and placed 11th overall in the F4 UAE Championship.
In 2020 he drove in FRECA, Formula Renault Eurocup and Formula 4 UAE, placing 17th, 21st and fifth respectively. The following year he participated in FRECA and placed 30th overall. He also participated in the F3 Asian Championship and placed 21st .
During 2022, Marinagelli continued racing in FRECA. However he did race in a few other series such as Euroformula Open Championship, Formula Regional Asian Championship and Ferrari Challenge Europe, Trofeo Pirelli.
In FRECA, Marinangelli placed 37th, following up with 12th in the Euroformula Open. He placed 24th at the Formula Region Asian Championship, and ninth in the Ferrari Challenge Europe.
In 2023, Marinagelli switched to GT racing, participating in the International GT Open and GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, silver - placing 6th in both series.
The following year, the 21-year-old Italian participated in the Asian Le Mans Series GT, where he placed 30th. He also took part in the International GT Open Pro where he competed with the likes of Rubens Barrichello and placed 3rd overall.
He started out in single-seater racing and has won many accolades and podiums. His incredible wins in his GT career is what makes him the perfect candidate for this seat.
“Such a great honour for me to join the FIA Formula 3 grid with AIX Racing this year.
It will be an interesting challenge for me, considering the two years racing in GT3.
Couldn’t be more motivated for this experience. Let’s see what this year brings to us “ said Marinagelli.
Nina Gademan joins PREMA Racing for 2025
Having caught the paddock’s attention during her wildcard debut in Zandvoort, Nina Gademan has been announced as the final driver in the PREMA Racing puzzle. Representing Alpine F1 team alongside the Italian outfit, she joins sophomore’s Tina Hausmann and Doriane Pin.
The 21-year-old Dutchwoman made her single-seater debut only last year, progressing rapidly amongst an ultra-competitive British F4 grid. She scored her first rookie podium at Thruxton, having won the FIA Motorsport Games Karting Slalom Cup in the years prior.
In response to the news, Gademan said: "It’s an amazing opportunity to race full-time with PREMA after driving at the F1 Academy race at Zandvoort as their wild card. We showed great potential so I can’t wait for this season to start with such a successful team!"
PREMA Racing Team Principal Rene Rosin also shared his excitement, even describing Gademan as a “leading competitor” in F1 Academy. He mentioned: "We were really impressed by Nina in her first outing with our team at Zandvoort, and we are happy to welcome her for the full 2025 season […] we feel we are already on the same page in terms of preparation."
The pressure is certainly on for Gademan, but how will she fare? The 2025 F1 Academy grid is certainly shaping up to be something spectacular.
Victor Martins completes ART Grand Prix’s Line-up for 2025
A move in the works for longer, and a done deal for longer than anticipated, Victor Martins continues with ART Grand Prix into his third Formula Two season. The Frenchman started his F2 journey with his home team back in 2023, joining as the reigning Formula 3 champion.
The 23-year-old first joined Formula 2 alongside Théo Pourchaire, putting in a Rookie Of The Year-worthy performance to aid ART’s charge to their maiden F2 constructors’ title, sweeping the silverware for the year alongside Pourchaire’s title-winning 2023 season.
Martins’ ability to maximise the performance of the car on his day was visible at Silverstone, when he defied a five-second penalty for overtaking off the track, to win from a chasing Zane Maloney. Martins had also taken pole on the day, his third of the season.
Apart from his Silverstone win, Martins appeared on the podium at eight more races all season, finishing a lofty fifth in the standings in his debut season. A strong performance earned him a spot with the French team for the second year running, partnering Williams juniors Zak O’Sullivan and later Luke Browning for the year.
While Martins began 2024 slow, scoring his first points only in round 3 at Albert Park, his season picked up momentum following a sprint win at Barcelona. Returning to a track he won at the year prior, Martins picked up fifth in the feature race, before tyre management at Hungary fetched him two runner-up finishes.
More podium appearances at Monza and Baku lifted Martins well into the top ten, and despite a slow start, the Frenchman solidified his spot, finishing seventh in the F2 standings in 2024, enough to continue with ART for a third year in F2, this time joined by sophomore racer Ritomo Miyata.
“I’m very excited to continue the adventure with ART Grand Prix in 2025. We share a common goal: doing everything we can to win the title. I’m surrounded by the best people to achieve my ultimate dream—Formula 1,” an excited Martins spoke of his re-signing with ART.
Rafael Villagómez rounds out 2025 F2 grid, signing up with VAR
The Formula 2 grid was complete just a few hours after Martins linked up with ART, with Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) continuing with Rafael Villagómez continuing at the Dutch outfit for a second year running. He joins full-time rookie John Bennett, who leapt up from GB3 to join Formula 2 for the final two weekends in 2024.
The Mexican racer had a debut season with little to note, featuring a highest finishing position of seventh at Melbourne, and scoring three further lower points finishes all year. He would finish 24th in the standings, with a final tally of 13 points to his name.
Villagómez first joined VAR back in the Euroformula Open in 2021, and has since raced for them in F3, on his way to joining their F2 squad in 2024. 2025 will mark his fourth year in association with the team, as he embarks on the new challenge of joining forces with rookie Bennett.
“I’m extremely excited to stay and carry on in Formula 2 with VAR,” Villagómez expressed. Important year for myself and the team. Towards the end of the year things started shape up better so I’m looking forward to carry on. A lot of work has been done over the winter so I’m looking forward to start testing and Barcelona.”
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