Oliver Goethe has insisted that the chance to drive in F2 "overrules" his slim hope of becoming F3 champion.
The German will take the place of new Williams F1 driver Franco Colapinto at MP Motorsport for the remaining F2 rounds, meaning he will miss the final F3 event at Monza this weekend.
He was seventh in the standings, the lowest-placed driver that could have mathematically won the title, trailing leader Leonardo Fornaroli by 35 points with a maximum of 39 available.
Even still, F3 has seen some unexpected and out-of-the-blue results both this year and throughout its history, meaning that even though these title hopes were slender, miracles can still happen.
But realistic of his chances and weighing up the benefit of four weekends of F2 competition to get a head start for what he hopes is a full-time drive in 2025, Goethe told Autosport: “Of course, I am technically fighting for the championship in F3 but the chances of that happening were extremely slim and even though I was still fighting for a top three or a top five finish in F3, for me, this is definitely worth it and overrules that.
“My goal is to do F2 next year and this definitely gives me experience going into that season.”
Having expected to be in his F3 seat until learning of the F2 opportunity on Wednesday, Goethe conceded he hasn’t turned an F2 wheel in the sim in preparation.
“The main focus is to learn as much as possible going into next year," he said, cautious of the task ahead.
"But don’t get me wrong, I’m going to be trying to get the best results possible at the same time.
“So the key thing is learning and everything else is sort of a bonus.
“I’ll be doing everything to get the results but points is a good, realistic target for the next few rounds. Monza is a track I know, so I feel comfortable with the track, it’s just more about getting used to the car.”
The 19-year-old former Euroformula Open champion, like Colapinto, falls under the Bullet Sports Management umbrella and described it as “surreal” and “unexpected” to see his friend in an F1 seat at this stage in his career.
Looking back at the title battle he has now left, Goethe conceded to having “bias” when tipping a former team-mate to take the crown.
“It’s super-tight in the championship and anything can really happen. Qualifying is usually quite chaotic and especially in Monza, a lot of the time, there are unexpected results.
“For me, I was team-mates with (Leonardo) Fornaroli last year and he’s a great driver. He’s good mentally and I think he might take it.
“But it’s super-tight and it could be any of the top four, to be honest.
“There’s still fifth and sixth that can get it, but I think it will be one of the top four. I know Arvid (Lindblad) is also very quick - I’ve done sim work with him as a Red Bull Junior.
“They’re all very quick but, at the end of the day, it’s about who maximises qualifying the most and keeps their head in this high-pressure circumstance.
“I don’t know, but I’ll say Fornaroli out of bias!”
