Mattia Colnaghi: A New yet Familiar Face into the F3 Grid

Mattia Colnaghi - The newest addition to the Formula 3 grid. (18th January, 2026)

I am sure that Mattia Colnaghi is no unfamiliar name, the back to back champion; Spanish F4 champion and Eurocup-3 champion, will be racing with MP motorsport and is ready to take on the challenges in the upcoming F3 season. The 17-year old will be racing in F3 alongside teammates, Alessandro Giusti and Tuuka Taponen, determined to maximize performance and embark on what lies ahead.

The Italian-Argentine driver has announced ahead of the season opener that he will be racing under the Argentinian flag. Colnaghi has been racing with the Italian flag up until the end of 2025, however this will soon change as he is racing with an Argentinian license in the 2026 season. With Franco Colapinto in Formula 1 and Nicolas Varrone in Formula 2, Colnaghi will be joining the ladder in Formula 3, and as he described it as a “great honour” and a “great privilege for [him] to represent a nation like Argentina”. 

Source: MP motorsport

With the FIA Formula 3 post-season testing across Jerez, Barcelona, and Imola, Colnaghi got a taste of what it is like driving a Formula 3 car. For the past 2 years, he has driven Tatuus cars, which differs from the Dallara cars used in Formula 3. The Tatuus cars are less aerodynamic, and therefore are more suitable for entry-level drivers (Arroyo, 2024). 

As Colnaghi mentioned, “F4 is just not a very aero heavy car, so it’s a very different driving style, you don’t really focus much on the minimum speed, it’s more all about the braking and acceleration. Whereas the Eurocup was good [preparation] for high speed corners, because it has a lot of aero.” In addition, he also spoke about the tire and braking differences between the series, “The main thing that I found different in F3 were the tires and the braking. F3 has a much nicer braking system I would say, and also the tires [used in F3] are Pirelli, which on the single lap do offer a lot more grip, but at the same time do drop off a lot more during the race compared to the Hankook.”

Source: Red Bull

Even though there are a lot of transformations and developments to adapt to, Colnaghi has found himself in a quite steady condition during the FIA Formula 3 post-season testing, and even dominating day 2 of Imola testing. During Day 1 of Jerez, MP had a successful testing, with all three drivers finishing in the top 6 during both the morning and afternoon session. The rookie found himself making a good start in F3, ending with P3 and P6 respectively during the sessions (FIA F3, 2025). 

Fast forward to day 2 of Imola, Colnaghi found himself with good pace and in fine form. During the morning session, he was ahead of both his teammates with a 1:31.824, over three-tenths clear of his teammate Taponen in P2, and Giusti being in P4. With Slater being 0.002s behind and Benavides 0.008s behind, Colnaghi positioned himself on top of the leaderboard for Imola’s Day 2 morning session. In the afternoon, it ended with Benavides on top, however it was Colnaghi who finished with the fastest time across segments of both days of the Imola post-season test (FIA F3, 2025). “I think it’s [confidence for the upcoming season, post-topping Imola] hard to say, because obviously it’s always a test at the end of the day. The car was very good, the team did a really good job, but we’ve also been trying a lot of things during the winter testing as everyone does to try and improve for the next season.” 

The audacious rising star has also spoken about his viewpoints towards stepping up into Formula 3, “It’s [racing in the Spanish F4 and Eurocup-3 championship] been very good results wise, but it’s also been really good learning wise. As I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’ve learnt a lot from them, so it’s going to be good to carry that to Formula 3, having the confidence to know I can win and also having the knowledge of prior mistakes that I have made.” His ambition and humbleness will certainly assist him in overcoming obstacles and performing to his best ability. 

Source: FIA Formula 3

As we dive into Formula Regional, Colnaghi expressed his love and contentment for driving in Macau. In 2024, he made his Formula Regional debut, and though it wasn’t the best results wise, he stated that it was the reason he strived to be better in 2025, which resulted with an impressive result of 4th. 

“For me [Macau Guia Circuit] is the best race track ever, and also the best event. I really enjoyed both years, even if 2024 wasn’t great results wise, I still really enjoyed that week. Which is why I pushed so much to get a spot there [in 2025], and hopefully also next year… In regards to the Formula Regional, obviously Macau is a very unique track, so it’s hard to say how the actual car feels like. But it’s a lot less aero heavy than the Eurocup, so what I’ve been used to the whole year [2025]. And it’s also quite prompt to rear locking…[the car is] also quite good for racing because there’s not much dirty air, quite fast down the straight even without having an engine like the F3 car does (V6). So it has its strong points and its weak points.”

Source: Mattia Colnaghi Instagram

As Colnaghi steps into the next chapter, he is definitely a name you wouldn't overlook. With a driven attitude and staying humble (#stayhumble) as his motto, we wrapped up our conversation with a message from him delivered to young karters and aspiring motorsport drivers. “Someone that wants to start racing; Maybe they think it’s too late or that they’ll never make it, don’t think that because it’s never too late. If I were to [have] thought that 4 years ago, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And someone that started racing; definitely never give up, expect the unexpected in motorsport.”

Other sources:

Behind the wheel: Breaking down each junior series car on the FIA ladder. (2023, September 18). Feeder Series. https://feederseries.net/2023/09/18/behind-the-wheel-breaking-down-each-junior-series-car/

Fia Formula3. (2025, October 7). Giusti revels in “productive” Day 1 for MP Motorsport in Jerez. FIAFormula3® - the Official F3® Website; Fia Formula3. https://www.fiaformula3.com/Latest/7FIdegoOZmVL9OromgnHk9/giusti-revels-in-productive-day-1-for-mp-motorsport-in-jerez

Fia Formula3. (2025, October 22). Colnaghi ends Imola post-season testing on top for MP Motorsport. FIAFormula3® - the Official F3® Website; Fia Formula3. https://www.fiaformula3.com/Latest/5nR0yFhoDkeR74Osqn0ihY/colnaghi-ends-imola-post-season-testing-on-top-for-mp-motorsport