Josh Dufek replaces Hugh Barter at Campos for the final round of the FIA F3 season at Monza.

The Swiss driver is stepping up from the Formula Regional European Championship, where he sits ninth in the standings.

The 18-year-old scored a best finish of fourth place at the Hungaroring and delivered double points finishes at the Hungarian track and Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya.

He said ahead of his FIA F3 debut: “I’m extremely thrilled and thankful to both Campos Racing and PPM to have been given this opportunity and can’t wait to work closely with the new team to learn as much as I can,” said Dufek. 

“As I’ve only competed in FRECA up until now, it’ll be a bit of a jump into cold water but after a long summer break, I really couldn’t be more excited to hit the track, and it’ll be nice to experience some more speed and power from the F3 machine.”

Dufek will join Christian Mansell and Pepe Marti in the Spanish team as they sit third in the Teams’ Championship, just six points ahead of Hitech.

The 18-year-old began racing in cars in Spanish F4, delivering seven podiums on his way to fourth in the standings.

Dufek stayed in F4 for the following year, undertaking a duel German and Italian F4 season, taking 10 podiums and one victory.

Last season yielded more podiums for Campos’ new recruit, driving to a trio of podiums during his debut year in FRECA.

Team Principal Adrián Campos Jr added: “I would like to warmly welcome Josh at Campos Racing because we have closely followed his racing career. 

“This said, it is such a shame that Hugh wasn’t able to complete the full-season because he was making very remarkable progress. 

“We would like to wish him the very best for the future in motorsports. We will support Josh with all our strength and our goal will be to give him a competitive car to make a successful debut in the ultra-competitive FIA F3 championship.”

Image: Formula Motorsport Ltd – Source Formula3.com