Josh Mason has confirmed that he will return to the BRDC British F3 Championship in 2019 with Lanan Racing.



The 16-year-old won the final race of the season at Silverstone, and made strong progress during his first season in single-seaters and only his third year of racing after a short karting career.



He steadily improved his pace in the five rounds he entered with the Lanan team and was significantly closer to the midfield runners come the end of the season, as demonstrated by a strong seventh-place finish at Donington Park in the penultimate weekend of the year.



His win at Silverstone came in exceptional circumstances, but silverware was a just reward for his progress in his first season, and he’s continued that form with a strong campaign in the MRF Challenge series in the Middle East, where he’s registered several top-10 finishes.



“It’s going to be good working with the same team I drove for in the 2018 season, and I think the team and I can excel for the upcoming season,” Mason commented.



“I have learnt so much in my first year of British F3. I improved through the season but when I missed a couple of rounds because of my education, I almost had to start again when I returned at Spa. But I had a great team to work with for this year and without them I wouldn’t be where I am now. However there still is a bit more learning which I need to do for the 2019 season, but I think I can do better in the 2019 British F3 season.”

Lanan Racing Team Principal Graham Johnson commented: “We’re really pleased to be working with Josh again in 2019. He developed a lot with our programme last year, and we saw big progress towards the end of the year once he was able to get in the car regularly. If he develops at a similar rate in the new season, he should be capable of delivering some strong results.”

Season flashback

Mason was one of the most inexperienced drivers to take to the grid this year, but developed well over the course of the season. Here's our full Q&A with the young Brit, who will be back for more in 2019:

How much did you learn in your first season of car racing?

“I have learnt so much in my first year of British F3. I improved through the season but when I missed a couple of rounds because of my education, I almost had to start again when I returned at Spa. But I had a great team to work with for this year and without them I wouldn’t be where I am now. However there still is a bit more learning which I need to do for the 2019 season, but I think I can do better in the 2019 British F3 season.”

What was your highlight of the year?

My highlight of this year was winning my first race of British F3 at Silverstone for the last race of the year but also going wheel to wheel down towards Eau Rouge with Arvin Esmaeili. That’s in my highlights for this year because it was the best racing I did in the season but also I like the fact how close and intense it was to do and also to come back to British F3 and pull off that move on Arvin, it was satisfying.

How has the winter gone so far?

For this winter I have done lots of sim and physical training. Actually, two days after winning the last race I was straight back in the gym and preparing myself for MRF Challenge but also for the 2019 season. I do have some testing before the season is going to begin but I am concentrating on MRF for now.

Are you looking forward to your F3 return in 2019?

"It's going to be good working with the same team I drove for in the 2018 season and I think the team and I can excel for the upcoming season."