With the final round of the 2025 FIA F3 Championship now over, Hitech TGR’s Gerrard Xie has officially completed his rookie Formula 3 campaign. Although one could argue that it was a challenging season for Xie, with just one point scored, it was undoubtedly a valuable learning experience for him.
After enjoying significant success in Chinese F4 to clinch the championship in 2022, the 19 year-old transitioned into the European racing scene the following year. In the last two years, the Chinese driver has competed in several championships such as Euroformula Open, Formula Regional Oceania, GB3 and Eurocup-3.
For his rookie F3 season, the Chinese driver joined Hitech TGR after a campaign with the team in GB3, alongside fellow full-time driver Martinius Stenshorne and several other drivers who piloted the third car throughout the year. Xie concluded his rookie season 29th in the championship, with a single point to his name. Speaking exclusively to Pit Debrief back in June, Xie reflected on competing in Europe against a large pool of talent, the thrill of racing alongside Formula 1 weekends, and learning from his teammates.
Racing against experienced drivers in Europe
Unlike many drivers who moved to Europe early to pursue their karting careers, Xie spent most of his time racing in Asia before completing his final year in karts in Europe. He then spent his debut year in single-seaters racing back in Asia, before making a full-time move to Europe to compete against drivers who had grown up racing together on those very tracks.
For Xie, F3 was a big step forward. At the time, Xie reflected on his rookie campaign, noting that competing against such a competitive grid was a completely new experience for him. While the results haven’t always reflected his learning and growth, he emphasised how much he’s learned and embraced it as a very positive step in his career.
“I think it’s always a good thing to race with a lot of strong drivers. Because I usually [haven’t raced in] like a competitive championship. And this year, champion of F3 is like a whole new experience for me.”
“So yeah, I think it’s great. And learning is great so far. So it shows on results, but I think it’s really positive.”
Maintaining motivation through struggles
In a 30-car Formula 3 grid, qualifying as high as possible is crucial to maximising a driver’s chance of scoring points throughout a weekend. While the Chinese driver has managed that on occasion, it hasn’t always come together for him. In F3, he claimed that qualifying is the most important session of the weekend.
When Xie spoke to Pit Debrief, he admitted to struggling in qualifying, often unable to put a lap together. However, just a few rounds later in Budapest, he delivered his best qualifying performance in 2025, securing himself second-row start in fourth. Acknowledging that once the minor mistakes are ironed out, Xie believes he and the team would be in a much stronger position.
“Well, I think this championship, the most critical part is qualifying. And I never really put a lap in this season, to be honest. Most of the qualifying laps I’ve done, I matched some corners and then I made some mistakes in some corners. So yeah, I just need to put in the lap in qualifying and I think we’ll be in a good place.”
Adapting to F3 from GB3 and Chinese F4
The step up from Chinese F4 to European single-seaters required a significant amount of learning and adapting for Xie. When Pit Debrief asked whether he had to adjust his driving style to get to grips with the F3 car, he explained: “Yeah, I think the approach is pretty much the same. Just to adapt to the track as quick as possible. That’s what I usually lack of.”
The steep and fast-paced nature of F3 was a big challenge to Xie. He noted that the limited practice time in F3, compared to other championships, have emphasised the importance of maximising every valuable moment on track.
“Because before other championships, you have probably two days of testing before you go into qualifying. You have a lot of laps, but in F3, you only have 45 minutes and probably three push laps to adapt to the car and the track. So it’s quite a lot different than what I used to.”
“I’m trying my best to learn as much as possible in that three laps.”
Melbourne and Monaco are crowd favourites
Reflecting on the first half of the season, Xie highlighted the season-opener in Melbourne and Monaco as particular favourites he’d enjoyed. The Chinese driver particularly enjoyed Melbourne’s races as the track’s characteristics allowed for great overtaking. He further stressed the importance of adapting the car to each track, expressing confidence that this approach would’ve hopefully make them competitive.
“I think Melbourne and Monaco is one of the best tracks, I would say. Especially for qualifying, Melbourne for the race. Which is a lot of overtaking opportunity for Melbourne.”
“It’s quite unique to race in this championship and follow Formula 1 to race in this track. Which is always great. And then for the rest of the season, I think I’ve been driven on all of the tracks. So I just need to adapt the car to the track and we’ll be quite good.”
Reflecting on the chaos that unfolded during the Melbourne Feature Race, Xie noted how fortunate they were to get a race in, especially when F2 didn’t manage to run in the torrential rainfall.
Xie said: “Yeah, it was quite lucky for F3. Because the standing water is not that big. So yeah, it was quite okay to race with at the start. But on the last few laps, it’s just falling down the rain and it doesn’t race anymore.”
Racing alongside Formula 1
He had briefly touched upon the opportunity of racing alongside Formula 1, as he noted how he enjoys getting the chance to compete on the same tracks. Travelling to Melbourne and Bahrain was a surreal experience for Xie, particularly as it was his first time in those countries. Competing in Formula 3 has given the Chinese driver the chance of experience new places and opportunities throughout the year.
“Yeah, especially the first two races like Melbourne and Bahrain. Because I’ve never been in the country before. And because of Formula 1 and Formula 3, I can follow them to this country.”
“And yeah, it’s always a new experience for me.”
Learning and advice from teammates
In his rookie F3 season, Xie partnered several experienced drivers in 2025, most notably Martinius Stenshorne, who was in his second season this year. He acknowledged his teammates’ strengths, but particularly drew to Stenshorne and Joshua Dufek’s experience.
“Yeah, I think because my teammates are quite strong, especially Martinius [Stenshorne]. And even Joshua [Dufek] left one race ago, but he’s still a very solid driver. Or even Jesse [Carrasquedo Jr.] now, he has some strong points as well.”
While no driver is perfect, each has their own strengths and standout qualities. The 19 year-old highlighted how Stenshorne and Dufek’s ability to quickly adapt to track conditions remains a weakness of his. However, Xie emphasised that consistency and the ability to adapt rapidly are key to performing well in such a fast-paced and competitive championship like Formula 3.
“So everyone has different strong points, I would say. I think the key thing is to be very consistent and adapt to the track quickly. Especially, they can do it quicker in the second year.”
“Especially Martinius and Josh [Dufek], they can adapt to the grip changes a lot quicker than I do. So I think that’s a bit of an advantage, I would say.”
