After his first season in 2024 with AIX Racing, Joshua Dufek made his return to the FIA F3 Championship for 2025 with Hitech TGR. Unfortunately for the Austrian driver, the first 4 rounds of this year left him empty-handed. With no points under his name, Dufek left Formula 3 and Hitech just before the Spanish GP. Here is where Jesse Carrasquedo stepped up and took the Austrian’s place. As a result, Carrasquedo made his F3 debut at the mid-season mark.
Joshua Dufek had a hard second season. His best result in the short 4 rounds he competed in came from the Australian GP, where he finished 11th in the Feature Race. Dufek never managed to gain any points, which affected his standing in the championship. Meanwhile, Jesse Carrasquedo finished the Barcelona Feature Race in P22, but after a time penalty, he got demoted to P25.
Back for 2025 in Melbourne
Dufek’s switch to Hitech TGR came with hopes of improvement and victories for his F3 2025 season. His first practice session on Australian soil was certainly encouraging, with a P7 finish. Yet, some problems started to arise since Qualifying. The Austrian could not bring himself and his car further than P13, just one position away from claiming pole for the reverse-grid Sprint Race.
Speaking of the Sprint Race, Joshua Dufek struggled right from the start. He was involved in a collision with Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp. His bad luck did not end there, however. The Stewarts handed the Hitech driver a 10-second time penalty, resulting in his P18 finish.
The Feature Race gave him some hope. Dufek’s best result of the 2025 season came after he kept improving and finished the race in P11.
The start of a bad luck streak in Bahrain
The second round of the F3 2025 season furthered Dufek’s disappointment. The Austrian started off the weekend with a P13 result in Free Practice at the Sakhir circuit. While the Qualifying remained quite uneventful for Joshua Dufek, he managed to improve and take P12. This result meant he would get to start the Sprint Race in pole position.
After a strong start from Dufek, he quickly got demoted to P2 when Freddie Slater overtook him in lap 3. The pressure to reclaim the lost position became too much as the other drivers behind them started challenging Dufek. A couple of mistakes later, and an unfortunate collision caused by Ivan Domingues forced the Austrian to take his first DNF of 2025. Nevertheless, the Feature put more salt on Dufek’s wounds. He crossed the checkered flag with a P22.
The Imola GP did not bring many changes
While other drivers seemed to find their footing already, 2 rounds done of the F3 2025 season, Joshua Dufek’s frustrations grew. The return to Europe was not as favourable as the Austrian may have hoped for. The transition from bad to worse became palpable ever since FP, when Dufek finished second-to-last. Furthermore, he could not find the pace needed in Qualifying, where he ended up in P19.
The Hitech driver had a good recovery during the Sprint Race. Dufek’s P14 showed a slight improvement. Yet, still no points on the board. The Imola GP Feature Race was just the same as the Sprint, with not enough overtakes in order to join the top 10. The Austrian finished in P15.
Monaco GP added to the misfortunes
The streets of Monte Carlo were not of much help for Dufek’s 2025 F3 season in terms of points. While the P17 in Free Practice almost matched his P16 in Qualifying, Dufek just grew more frustrated. The Austrian could improve during the races, as he showed during the Sprint, where he finished 14th. But his recoveries were not good enough. He needed to fight for points, and his grid positions were not helping him do that.
Moreover, Sunday’s Feature saw Dufek cross the line in P12 after the most chaotic race so far this season. This initial result did not last for long, since Dufek received his second 10-second time penalty in the span of 4 GPs.
However, his poor performance and results were not taken lightly by Hitech TGR. After his teammate Martinius Stenshorne won the Monaco Sprint, the team decided to replace Dufek with Jesse Carrasquedo. The Mexican was given two rounds to prove he deserves a permanent spot.
The sudden replacement for the Spanish GP
As soon as his announcement was made public, Jesse Carrasquedo expressed his utmost excitement for joining Hitech TGR. Carrasquedo brought a lot of important single-seater experience to the team. He started his journey in Spanish F4, quickly following it up with FRECA, Eurocup-3, and both the Italian and Spanish F4 series. Last year, he drove in Eurocup-3, Formula Regional Europe and Formula Regional Middle East.
His debut Free Practice saw him in second-to-last. However, seeing as this switch came so suddenly, it was no surprise. The Barcelona Qualifying had him improve slightly, claiming P27 for his first F3 race. Following some DNFs, Carrasquedo managed to bring his new Hitech car to the checkered flag for a P24 finish. Yet, his debut Feature race of the 2025 F3 season already helped Jesse Carrasquedo prove himself. With a P22 result and 5 places gained throughout the race, the Mexican is on the right track.
Hitech TGR seem to be happy with Carrasquedo, as he managed to handle the pressure and gain valuable experience. It will surely be exciting to see how Jesse Carrasquedo performs at the end of June when the sixth round of the FIA F3 Championship will take place. The Austrian GP is set to take place at the Red Bull Ring, a circuit known for being one of the shortest on the calendar. With issues of traffic and possible DRS trains, Carrasquedo will have to learn quickly.
