The 16-year-old Maciej Gladysz won the victory and third place in the races of the first round of the Spanish Winter Championship, at the track in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, making his debut behind the wheel of a Formula 3 car. In the 2025 season, Maciej Gladysz is once again competing in the colors of Bruk-Bet.
A dream debut in a new category
Less than two months after a serious injury to both hands, the MP Motorsport team driver returned to the track and made his debut in a category new to him.
In a challenging international field of 26 competitors, the young Tarnów resident finished the qualifying sessions in third and first place, respectively.
In the first main race, the Pole finished third. In the second, he dropped to third place after the start, but spectacularly returned to the lead and reached for the victory.
The ward of the Orlen Motorsport Academy was also ninth in the so-called sprint, for which the top eight started in reverse order of the results from the first qualification.
With points won in all three races, after the first of three rounds of the Spanish Winter Championship, the 16-year-old is second overall, just four points from the leader.
The next competition will take place in two weeks in Portimao, Portugal. In May, Gladysz will in turn make his debut in the Eurocup 3 series, consisting of eight rounds.
“This is a dream debut in a new category for me, although until recently my start in Jerez was under a big question mark, ” says Maciej Gladysz. – Switching from a Formula 4 car to a 270-horsepower F3 car is a big challenge, which was made even more difficult by my winter injury. I broke both my arms during testing in December and spent six weeks in a cast after two surgeries, so getting back on track was not easy.
On Saturday I was satisfied with the podium, but I felt unsatisfied. The lack of testing and the opportunity to conduct test starts cost me a lot in the first meters of all three races, but in the last race I was able to get back in the lead and reach for the dream victory. It was a successful debut and great preparation for the Eurocup 3 series season starting in May. The level of competition in Jerez was very high and overtaking was very difficult, so it will certainly be a very challenging season. Many thanks to my team, MP Motorsport, my family, partners and fans, as well as the doctors who made it possible for me to compete at all. I’m looking forward to racing in Portimao.”
