Category: F3

Piquet sets the pace; Jehan Daruvala 11th: F3 Free Practice

Barcelona, 10 May 2019: Pedro Piquet roared around the track to steal the fastest time right at the death during a trouble-free first FIA Formula 3 free practice session in Barcelona, Spain. The Trident driver set 1:33.255 at the chequered flag to put him ahead of Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips and PREMA’s Robert Shwartzman.

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, also of Prema Racing was 11th fastest among the 30 drivers on the maiden F3 session.

Leonardo Pulcini who had set the pace during pre-season testing on the Spanish track laid down an early gauntlet with a time of 1:35.794, in the 17 degree morning heat. He was soon toppled by Alex Peroni though who was closing in on the 1m 35s mark.

There was no love lost between an extremely competitive pack: David Beckmann was held up by Fabio Scherer in his attempts to climb up the leaderboard and the German clipped the back of the Sauber Junior Team by Charouz driver in an unsuccessful overtake move. With Beckmann back in the pits for a front wing change, Christian Lundgaard made no mistake in his bid for P1 and broke the 1m 35s barrier.

PREMA’s Jehan Daruvala briefly nabbed P1, before Shwartzman set the time to beat and dipped under 1m 34s for the first time. Behind the leader, Marcus Armstrong, Simo Laaksonen and Beckmann were battling to make up the top three before Jake Hughes reminded everyone of his lap speed to take P2. The British driver narrowly missed out on top spot in the final sector.

Shwartzman appeared unmovable from his perch as the clock ticked down. It wasn’t until the final moments that the Russian was knocked down the order, as Piquet and Vips flew around the track to snatch first and second, with just 0.009s between them. Piquet’s time of 1:33.255 was enough to seal P1 and he was followed by Vips, Shwartzman, Niko Kari, Hughes, Logan Sargeant, Armstrong, Laaksonen, Beckmann and Ye Yifei.

Having enjoyed their first taste of an F3 race weekend, the drivers and teams will look to continue their early competitiveness in qualifying at 5.50pm local time.

2019 FIA Formula 3 Round 1 – Free Practice classification

	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPTIME	LAPS
1	Pedro Piquet	Trident	1:33.255	15
2	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	1:33.264	19
3	Robert Shwartzman	PREMA Racing	1:33.510	14
4	Niko Kari	Trident	1:33.519	15
5	Jake Hughes	HWA RACELAB	1:33.766	17
6	Logan Sargeant	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:33.923	15
7	Marcus Armstrong	PREMA Racing	1:33.923	14
8	Simo Laaksonen	MP Motorsport	1:33.938	16
9	David Beckmann	ART Grand Prix	1:34.059	15
10	Ye Yifei	Hitech Grand Prix	1:34.144	20
11	Jehan Daruvala	PREMA Racing	1:34.211	15
12	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	1:34.237	15
13	Devlin DeFrancesco	Trident	1:34.301	16
14	Bent Viscaal	HWA RACELAB	1:34.321	17
15	Max Fewtrell	ART Grand Prix	1:34.301	16
16	Felipe Drugovich	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:34.475	15
17	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	1:34.608	16
18	Keyvan Andres	HWA RACELAB	1:34.755	15
19	Lirim Zendeli	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:34.860	19
20	Teppei Natori	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:34.877	17
21	Alex Peroni	Campos Racing	1:35.038	17
22	Liam Lawson	MP Motorsport	1:35.053	13
23	Sebastian Fernandez	Campos Racing	1:35.139	7
24	Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix	1:35.192	19
25	Andreas Estner	Jenzer Motorsport	1:35.219	21
26	Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport	1:35.573	16
27	Raoul Hyman	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:35.725	16
28	Artem Petrov	Jenzer Motorsport	1:35.814	18
29	Fabio Scherer	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:36.140	15
30	Alessio Deledda	Campos Racing	1.36.241	16

May 10, 2019

Jehan Daruvala ends Budapest testing as third fastest: F3

Budapest, 18 April 2019: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala came third for Prema Racing while his teammate Robert Shwartzman was fastest on Day 2 of the Final FIA Formula 3 pre-season tests in Budapest, Hungary. Shwartzman, the rampant Russian, set the best time in the morning session, lapping the circuit in 1:30.746. This time was the best of Budapest testing overall. ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard was second fastest and Jehan Daruvala completed the top 3, less than a tenth (0.081) of a second behind.

No sooner had the thirty cars hit the track on Day 2 of Testing in Budapest, were they having to return to the pits. Andreas Estner had stopped at Turn 9 resulting in a red flag just minutes into the session. The drivers swiftly got back out there and Jüri Vips wasted no time in setting the early pace with 1:32.002.

The familiar sight of Leonardo Pulcini leading the pack was spotted half an hour into the session, when the cars dipped under 1m32s. With this achieved, PREMA Racing, Carlin Buzz Racing, Campos Racing, Jenzer Motorsport and ART Grand Prix all switched to new slick tyres, perhaps signifying a Qualifying simulation.

The best time from Day One of testing yesterday was beaten by the rapid Robert Shwartzman. Yuki Tsunoda, David Beckmann and Jake Hughes were all jostling for second position, but no one had been able to improve on the speed of the Russian from PREMA, before a Red Flag halfway through the session forced the cars back into the pitlane, due to Alex Peroni stopping on Turn 10.

The 1m31s barrier was broken for the first time in this year’s F3 Budapest Testing when they restarted, as Christian Lundgaard flew round the track to set a best time of 1:30.940. Not to be outdone, Shwartzman reclaimed the top spot when we entered the final hour, beating Lundgaard’s lap by 0.194s.

The Ferrari Academy driver continued to lead the way for the final hour and couldn’t be knocked off top spot. The 19-year-old was only separated by his PREMA teammates Jehan Daruvala and Marcus Armstrong in third and fourth by the second placed Lundgaard. The rest of the top ten was completed by Tsunoda, Beckmann, Hughes, Raoul Hyman, Liam Lawson and Max Fewtrell.

Yuki Tsunoda was the sole driver back out on track when testing restarted in the afternoon and set the bar at 1:32.177, ahead of the other cars returning onto the Hungaroring circuit, with temperatures hitting 18 degrees.

There were successive red flags after Sebastian Fernandez stopped at the pit lane entry and Pulcini stopped at Turn 2. Following this, Jenzer continued to dominate the afternoon and had their trio of drivers in the front three. Tsunoda led teammates Artem Petrov and Andreas Estner, while many of the teams focused on their lap count. There was little shakeup in the order prior to a red flag when Jüri Vips stopped at Turn 11.

With less than 15 minutes remaining, Felipe Drugovich and Shwartzman broke into the top 3, propping up frontman Tsunoda. Petrov, Hughes, Vips, Pedro Piquet, Hyman, Bent Viscaal and Niko Kari then made up the rest of the top ten.

This concluded the final FIA Formula 3 pre-season tests and the drivers and the teams will now look ahead to the first race weekend of the season, in Barcelona, Spain, on 10-12 May 2019.

FIA Formula 3 Budapest Test – Day 2 Morning Session

	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPTIME	LAPS
1	Robert Shwartzman	PREMA Racing	1:30.746	37
2	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	1:30.940	53
3	Jehan Daruvala	PREMA Racing	1:31.021	27
4	Marcus Armstrong	PREMA Racing	1:31.122	27
5	Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport	1:31.146	39
6	David Beckmann	ART Grand Prix	1:31.184	55
7	Jake Hughes	HWA RACELAB	1:31.207	54
8	Raoul Hyman	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:31.213	37
9	Liam Lawson	MP Motorsport	1:31.273	53
10	Max Fewtrell	ART Grand Prix	1:31.291	58
11	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	1:31.347	48
12	Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix	1:31.384	47
13	Fabio Scherer	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:31.442	54
14	Sebastian Fernandez	Campos Racing	1:31.442	36
15	Niko Kari	Trident	1:31.467	41
16	Lirim Zendeli	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:31.501	48
17	Pedro Piquet	Trident	1:31.503	32
18	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	1:31.508	51
19	Alexander Peroni	Campos Racing	1:31.530	46
20	Simo Laaksonen	MP Motorsport	1:31.604	51
21	Ye Yifei	Hitech Grand Prix	1:31.670	48
22	Artem Petrov	Jenzer Motorsport	1:31.692	37
23	Felipe Drugovich	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:31.704	41
24	Logan Sargeant	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:31.785	33
25	Andreas Estner	Jenzer Motorsport	1:31.964	27
26	Devlin DeFrancesco	Trident	1:32.106	44
27	Bent Viscaal	HWA RACELAB	1:32.146	52
28	Teppei Natori	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:32.415	34
29	Keyvan Andres	HWA RACELAB	1:32.549	45
30	Alessio Deledda	Campos Racing	1:33.320	44

FIA Formula 3 Budapest Test – Day 2 Afternoon Session

	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPTIME	LAPS
1	Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport	1:32.177	50
2	Felipe Drugovich	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:32.382	49
3	Robert Shwartzman	PREMA Racing	1:32.464	53
4	Artem Petrov	Jenzer Motorsport	1:32.520	48
5	Jake Hughes	HWA RACELAB	1:32.547	27
6	Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix	1:32.733	32
7	Pedro Piquet	Trident	1:32.733	57
8	Raoul Hyman	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:32.800	42
9	Bent Viscaal	HWA RACELAB	1:32.880	45
10	Niko Kari	Trident	1:32.905	56
11	Andreas Estner	Jenzer Motorsport	1:32.939	48
12	Jehan Daruvala	PREMA Racing	1:33.006	49
13	Keyvan Andres	HWA RACELAB	1:33.017	46
14	Liam Lawson	MP Motorsport	1:33.114	36
15	Marcus Armstrong	PREMA Racing	1:33.123	50
16	Simo Laaksonen	MP Motorsport	1:33.195	39
17	Alexander Peroni	Campos Racing	1:33.212	41
18	Teppei Natori	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:33.455	48
19	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	1:33.827	35
20	Lirim Zendeli	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:33.849	56
21	Devlin DeFrancesco	Trident	1:33.925	44
22	David Beckmann	ART Grand Prix	1:33.950	41
23	Sebastian Fernandez	Campos Racing	1:33.983	43
24	Ye Yifei	Hitech Grand Prix	1:33.990	37
25	Max Fewtrell	ART Grand Prix	1:34.085	37
26	Logan Sargeant	Carlin Buzz Racing	1:34.193	46
27	Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix	1:34.227	32
28	Fabio Scherer	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	1:34.299	55
29	Alessio Deledda	Campos Racing	1:34.311	23
30	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	1:34.424	40

April 18, 2019

FIA Formula 3 hits the track at Le Castellet

Le Castellet, 19 March 2019: The first official pre-season test of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship will commence on Wednesday at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. After a successful shakedown at Magny-Cours last month, the ten teams will trial the thirty F3 2019 cars for the very first time for two days at Le Castellet.

The only Indian racing in Formula 3 and the best bet from India for the next driver into Formula One from the country, Jehan Daruvala, is with Prema Racing team. Jehan stepped up to the new FIA F3 championship this year with Prema Racing, and the new F3 car will be considerably faster than the car Jehan raced in 2017-2018, with a completely new Dallara chassis mated to a 3400cc Mecachrome engine, capable of touching 300 km/hr. The car will also incorporate the halo, a safety mechanism to enhance driver protection which was introduced in F1 last year.

Jehan has been signed up by Prema Racing, one of the most successful Junior Racing Teams ever. Prema has won 6 drivers & team titles, in 7 years of the F3 European Championship’s existence, Mick Schumacher being the current champion. F1 racers – Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi have all raced with Prema on their way to F1.

Following a draw that took place ahead of the Shakedown, ART Grand Prix were lucky to pick numbers 1, 2 and 3. They will work this week with their 2019 line-up made of multiple GP3 race winner David Beckmann, and Renault Sport Academy’s protégés Max Fewtrell (2018 Eurocup Formula Renault Champion) and Christian Lundgaard. MP Motorsport drew numbers 4, 5 and 6 and recently confirmed newly crowned Toyota Racing Series Champion Liam Lawson and Richard Verschoor, alongside Simo Laaksonen.

Sauber Junior Team by Charouz inherited numbers 7, 8 and 9 and will line up reigning ADAC F4 Champion Lirim Zendeli, Fabio Scherer and F3 Asia Champion Raoul Hyman whilst HWA RACELAB are joined by Bent Viscaal, Jake Hughes and Keyvan Andres who will sport numbers 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

Jenzer Motorsport have confirmed two drivers so far: Honda protégé Yuki Tsunoda, and Artem Petrov who will race under numbers 14 and 15. They will be joined in France by Andreas Estner who will test for the Swiss outfit for the next two days. Trident are ready to tackle the season with Devlin DeFrancesco., Pedro Piquet and Niko Kari who will run with numbers 17, 18 and 19.

Racing with numbers 20, 21 and 22, Hitech Grand Prix have completed their 2019 line-up with Leonardo Pulcini, Red Bull Junior Jüri Vips and Ye Yifei. Campos Racing will field Alex Peroni, Alessio Deledda and Sebastian Fernandez in cars 23, 24 and 25 for 2019.

Marcus Armstrong from the Ferrari Driver Academy, Jehan Daruvala and Robert Shwartzman (also an FDA member) will grace PREMA Racing’s line-up with numbers 26. 27 and 28. Finally, Buzz Carlin Racing drew numbers 29, 30 and 31 to give to Teppei Natori, Felipe Drugovich and Logan Sargeant.

The drivers will run on Pirelli’s Medium compounds. For each driver, six sets of tyres will be made available over the course of the two days.

The pitlane will open at 09:00 on Wednesday morning, and will run until 12:00 before breaking for two hours. The session will restart at 14:00 before ending at 17:00. Thursday’s session will break for just one hour, with the afternoon running taking place from 13:00 to 16:00.

FIA Formula 3 Championship – Le Castellet Test Session: Drivers’ Entry List

Team	#	Driver	License
ART Grand Prix	1	David Beckmann	DEU
	2	Max Fewtrell	GBR
	3	Christian Lundgaard	DNK
MP Motorsport	4	Liam Lawson	NZL
	5	Simo Laaksonen	FIN
	6	Richard Verschoor	NLD
Sauber Junior Team by Charouz	7	Lirim Zendeli	DEU
	8	Fabio Scherer	CHE
	9	Raoul Hyman	GBR
HWA RACELAB	10	Bent Viscaal	NLD
	11	Jake Hughes	GBR
	12	Keyvan Andres	IRN
Jenzer Motorsport	14	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN
	15	Artem Pertov	RUS
	16	Andreas Estner	DEU
Trident	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	CAN
	18	Pedro Piquet	BRA
	19	Niko Kari	FIN
Hitech Grand Prix	20	Leonardo Pulcini	ITA
	21	Juri Vips	EST
	22	Ye Yifei	FRA
Campos Racing	23	Alexander Peroni	AUS
	24	Alessio Deledda	ITA
	25	Sebastian Fernandez	ESP
PREMA Racing	26	Marcus Armstrong	NZL
	27	Jehan Daruvala	IND
	28	Robert Schwartzman	RUS
Carlin Buzz Racing	29	Teppei Natori	JPN
	30	Felipe Drugovich	BRA
	31	Logan Sargeant	USA

March 19, 2019

Jehan Daruvala gets the taste of 2019 F3 car at Shakedown in Magny-Cours

Daruvala teammate Marcus Armstrong begins the session on Wednesday. An FIA F3 image

Magny-Cours, 20 Feb 2019: Top Indian racer Jehan Daruvala of Prema Racing will be taking part in the F3 again and he got the first taste of the 2019 car on Wednesday as the FIA Formula 3 teams laid their hands on the brand new F3 2019 car at a shakedown on the Magny-Cours circuit in France. Only one car per team was used, with the main effort on learning how to operate the new machine.

The conditions were sunny, but with cold temperatures as the pitlane opened. PREMA Racing were first to hit the track at 9am local time with Marcus Armstrong behind the wheel, closely followed by Carlin Buzz Racing’s Logan Sargeant.

Within the opening ten minutes, all cars had successfully completed their installation laps. At the end of the four hour session, ART Grand Prix topped the rest of the pack with the highest number of laps achieved (46). A total of 328 laps had been covered by all ten cars on Pirelli Soft tyres.

Everyone enjoyed a one hour break before getting back to business. Although Fabio Scherer remained on duty at the wheel of his Sauber Junior Team by Charouz car, new faces joined the session in the other nine teams. In fact, a total of 23 drivers got their first taste of the F3 2019 today.

At the chequered flag, the teams completed a total of 307 laps – with PREMA Racing ending the three hour session with the most laps covered (39). This resulted in 635 laps achieved today and totalled 2,801 kilometres of running.

The FIA Formula 3 paddock will gather next at Circuit Paul Ricard in France on March 20-21 for the first official pre-season test session.

FIA Formula 3 Technical Director Didier Perrin commented: “I am very pleased with how the shakedown went today. The feedback from the teams has been positive, and more importantly, the feedback from the drivers seems to show that the car is well-balanced and that it seems to be delivering some good downforce level and that it is pleasant to drive.”

Complete entry list

David Beckmann	ART Grand Prix
Maximilian Fewtrell	ART Grand Prix
Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix
Sebastian Fernandez	Campos Racing
Alex Peroni	Campos Racing
Alessio Deledda	Campos Racing
Logan Sargeant	Carlin Buzz Racing
Felipe Drugovich	Carlin Buzz Racing
Fabio Scherer	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix
Jüri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix
Keyvan Andres	HWA RACELAB
Bent Viscaal	HWA RACE LAB
Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport
Artem Petrov	Jenzer Motorsport
Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport
Simo Laaksonen	MP Motorsport
Marcus Armstrong	PREMA Racing
Jehan Daruvala	PREMA Racing
Robert Schwartzman	PREMA Racing
Niko Kari	Trident
Pedro Piquet	Trident
Devlin DeFrancesco	Trident

February 20, 2019

The F3 2019 car specs
The F3 2019 car specs

DESIGN CRITERIA
- Aerodynamics optimized to facilitate overtaking. Very low ride height sensitivity and wide range of suspension set up possibilities.
- Cost effectiveness
- Compliant to FIA F3 2019 safety rules.
- Static tests
- Crash tests
- Anti intrusion panels
- Steel Halo
- Wheel tether cables
TECHNOLOGY
- Compromise between performance and cost effectiveness wherever possible.
- Extensive use of composite materials
- Sequential gearbox
- Electro-hydraulic gear shift system
- All in one ECU- GCU – Data logger equipment
- High speed data acquisition system but no telemetry
DRS
- F1 type Virtual Safety Car system
- CHASSIS AND BODYWORK
- Chassis designed by Dallara Automobili
- Carbon Monocoque complying to FIA F3 2019 Safety standards
- Front and rear wing made out of carbon composite material
ENGINE
- Bespoke Mecachrome 6 cylinder 3.4 litres naturally aspirated 380 HP @ 8000 rpm
- Fly by wire throttle system
GEARBOX
- Bespoke six-gear longitudinal gearbox designed by Hewland
- Magneti Marelli electro-hydraulic command via paddle shift from steering wheel
TYRES
- Pirelli tyres
- Three specific compounds developed for GP3 to provide the most suitable compound for every circuit
PERFORMANCE
- A top speed of 300 km/h
- Lateral acceleration up to +/- 2.6 G
- Maximum braking deceleration -1.9 G
- Acceleration 0 – 100 km/h: 3.0 seconds
- Acceleration 0 – 200km/h: 7.7 seconds.
November 22, 2018
F3: Mick Schumacher, a gifted young man!

Mick Schumacher in action. A Mercedes AMG Motorsport image

For more than four years, now, Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing has been a motor racer and in two of these years he raced in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

The young driver visited India a couple of years back and raced at the Madras Motor Sports Club Track (MMRT) Chennai, and instantly became a cynosure of all eyes. Over 70 journalists descended at the track and tried to catch a glimpse of the man, who sports the famous name, Schumacher. He did not disappoint them with a couple of good races, but it was just a beginning. Within two years, the rookie proved that he has is on his way up.

The experiences he gathered in his two F3 seasons turned the previously inexperienced rookie into a top driver who won eight 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship rounds and proved to be invincible, in the end. Therefore, even a difficult start into his second F3 season couldn’t prevent him from securing the title.

For Mick Schumacher the season didn’t start as he had hoped it would. He set the fastest lap times on two of the official days of testing prior to the season but in the first qualifying session of the season kick-off at Pau, Southern France, he hit the crash barriers. “I was the clearly fastest in the free practice session and then, my suspension broke in the incident,” said the frustrated German who scored just four points in the first race meeting of the season, in the end. Afterwards, he slowly worked his way up by finishing third to secure one podium each at the Hungaroring and Zandvoort. The next race venue was Spa-Francorchamp’s legendary Ardennes Rollercoaster. And just at this particularly challenging circuit the Prema driver clinched the first pole position in his FIA Formula 3 European Championship career. And although he wasn’t able to make perfect use of this pole by winning the race he made it to the top step on the following day and celebrated his first FIA F3 European Championship race win. On the way to this win the thrilled the crowds with a great overtaking manoeuvre for the lead. “The weekend at Spa definitely was my season highlight,” the German reveals beaming. “There I could see that all my hard work paid off.”

This race should turn out to mark the turning point in his 2018 season. Since then, Mick Schumacher regularly was among the front runners. In the following 10 races he failed just twice to make it to the podium and finished fifth in these two races. Furthermore, he celebrated five consecutive race wins and even won all the three rounds of the Nürburgring race meeting. Thanks to these successes, the 19-year old also took the championship lead – to defend throughout the rest of the season. “I think that my self-esteem had to be re-invigorated, following my poor start into the season,” Schumacher admits. “And it goes without saying that successes such as podiums and wins were helpful on the way to doing so. I generally learned a lot, this year. I matured both as racing driver and as character. This season also shaped me, in a way. I understand the collaboration with the team even better than I already did prior to this season. I learned quite a lot when it comes to driving and how to deal with pressure. Furthermore I know even better what I do need to be successful.”

On the track, Schumacher convinced with clever moves. It seems as if he has got what it takes to well assess the risks he can take in different situations. And the fact that these assessments can result in spectacular manoeuvres such as the one at Spa-Francorchamps demonstrates his racing intelligence.

Outside of his racing car Schumacher shuns the public and doesn’t like to take centre stage. “It goes without saying that I like the huge backing and support of the fans. But on the race weekends I try to ignore this as far as possible to be able to fully focus on the racing,” he says. But although he’d prefer to do without public appearances he copes with this kind of duties in slick style and with aplomb. In the paddock he also proves to be a kind and well-behaved young man who just pursues his passion: motor racing. Therefore, his motto comes as no surprise: “Have fun and do what you like wholeheartedly. People often seem to forget the fun. But I think that you should do everything you do with passion and put your heart and soul into your efforts.”

October 15, 2018
Kush Maini secures an impressive third position in the BRDC British F3 Driver’s Championship

A proud moment for Kush Maini.

Silverstone, 15 October 2018: BRDC British F3 Series rookie, Kush Maini weathered the literal storm at the Silverstone race circuit over the weekend to complete his season in third position in the championship. Debuting at the BRDC F3 Championship this season, Kush secured the third spot with a total of 366 points that consisted of eight podiums, including a win at Rockingham.

In the last race for the season, the JK Racing-supported driver from Bengaluru could manage only 15^th during the weekend’s qualifying session due to set up related issues, but showed great race craft during the weekend’s first race to make up five places and eventually finish 10^th.

Due to extremely poor weather conditions, Sunday saw limited running with Race 2 being halted after two laps behind the safety car and Race 3 called off due to poor visibility.

With the weekend adding 20 points to his standings, Kush closed his season third behind Linus Lundqvist who finished as Championship Winner and Nicolai Kjaergaard who took second place in the Championship, both of whom had prior experience racing in the UK.

The 2018 season was a season of firsts for Kush who displayed tremendous pace and consistently finished on the podium during the season which commenced on March 31 at Oulton Park and ended on October 14 at Silverstone Circuit, after eight triple header events for a total of 24 races. This year’s Championship saw 25 drivers from 14 countries take part in the races, with Kush finishing as the top Indian driver in the standings.

Speaking on his season Kush said: “I’m happy to have finished third in the championship and also especially happy about my performances during the first half of the season which were a little stronger compared to the latter. I am grateful for a strong debut season and look forward to a strong 2019 season backed by the generous support of my partners, family and well-wishers.”

Kush now heads into the off-season where he will evaluate his plans for 2019.

October 15, 2018

New FIA Formula 3 European Champion crowned: Mick Schumacher has done it!

Mick Schumacher in action. A Mercedes AMG Motorsport image

Mick Schumacher secures the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship title on the final weekend at Hockenheim

On the way to winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Mick registered 7 pole positions, 8 wins and 13 podiums
At Spielberg, Mick secured the 500th victory for a car powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine
Mick Schumacher: “It’s a slightly unreal feeling – I’m absolutely delighted.”
Toto Wolff: “Congratulations to Mick on winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship title. Attention was focused on the youngster right from the start, and he was under a lot of pressure.”

Hockenheim: We now know the destination of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship winner’s trophy for 2018. Second place in the second race on the final weekend of the campaign at Hockenheim was enough for Mick Schumacher to claim his first title in a junior formula series. At the end of his second season as a member of the PREMA Theodore Racing squad, driving a car powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine, the 19-year-old German became the new champion with a points tally of 347.

“It’s a slightly unreal feeling – I’m absolutely delighted,” said Mick. “I still can’t quite believe it. All I can say is thank you to everyone in the team for your support during this incredible season.”

Mick was undoubtedly the standout driver of the second half of the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. His first win of the campaign came as late as the 15th round contested on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps rollercoaster in the Belgian Ardennes, a circuit on which he had driven a demo lap in the 1994 Benetton B194 Formula 1 championship-winning car the year before.

After his maiden victory in the racing series at Spa, he then went on to win at least one race on each of the subsequent weekends, including Silverstone, Misano, the Nürburgring and Spielberg. The impressive statistics behind this late surge to the top are eight wins in twelve races, five of them in a row. In the context of the race weekend at the Nürburgring, Mick also put in a number of demo laps at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM race taxi.

“Congratulations to Mick on winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship title,” said Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff. “Attention was focused on the youngster right from the start, and he was under a lot of pressure. It’s not easy coping with all that, especially if the season does not get off to the best of starts, as in this case. His performance in the second half of the season was therefore all the more impressive. He has shown that he has what it takes and that he can become one of the greats in our sport. We are also obviously delighted that he registered a 500th race win for Mercedes in F3 and that he secured the title in a Mercedes-powered car.”

There was another small milestone for Mercedes power in the Saturday race on the penultimate race weekend at Spielberg when Mick secured victory number 500 for the brand. This grand total includes wins in the German, British and Australian championships, the EuroSeries, the FIA European Championship, the Formula 3 Grand Prix in Macau and the F3 Masters in Zandvoort.

The first Formula 3 engine (M271) from Mercedes-AMG was developed from the production engine of the C-class and E-class. It made its race debut on the inaugural weekend of the German Formula 3 Championship in 2002 at Hockenheim. The M271 was replaced at the start of the 2014 season by its successor, the F3 414 with four cylinders, a maximum two litres of displacement and direct fuel injection.

This title win puts Mick in among a select band of racers. Previous winners of the F3 title in cars powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine include Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Paul Di Resta and Daniel Juncadella.

European Formula 3 champions powered by Mercedes

Season	Series	Driver
2004	F3ES	Jamie Green
2005	F3ES	Lewis Hamilton
2006	F3ES	Paul Di Resta
2007	F3ES	Romain Grosjean
2008	F3ES	Nico Hülkenberg
2009	F3ES	Jules Bianchi
2011	F3ES	Roberto Merhi
2012	F3ES	Daniel Juncadella
2013	F3EC	Raffaele Marciello
2014	F3EC	Esteban Ocon
2015	F3EC	Felix Rosenqvist
2016	F3EC	Lance Stroll
2018	F3EC	Mick Schumacher

Below are ten interesting facts, figures and milestones about Mercedes power in Formula 3:

1st victory: Markus Winkelhock at the Nürburgring in the 2002 German Formula 3 Championship
7 Macau victories: On seven occasions (2004 – 2006, 2011, 2013 – 2015), victory in the prestigious Macau Grand Prix on the Guia street circuit has gone to the driver of a Mercedes-powered car.
14 of the Mercedes-powered winners subsequently switched to the DTM.
25 of the Mercedes-powered winners later made the step up to Formula 1.
29 winning teams: That’s the number of teams who won at least one race with a Formula 3 engine supplied by Mercedes-AMG.
33 wins: Felix Rosenqvist is the driver who has prevailed on most occasions in a car powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine. He is followed by James Winslow (23), Raffaele Marciello (21) and Lewis Hamilton (18).
100th victory: Nico Hülkenberg in the Formula 3 Euro Series at the Norisring in 2007.
122 different winners: That’s the number of drivers who have won at least one Formula 3 race with Mercedes power.
132 wins: Prema Theodore Racing were responsible for more of the 500 Formula 3 wins than any other team. ASM are second on 86 and Mücke Motorsport third on 52.
250th victory: Mitch Evans in the Australian Formula 3 at Wakefield in 2010.

October 14, 2018

Mick Schumacher puts the Italian team on Victory mode at Misano

Mick Schumacher on way to his victory at Misano on Saturday. An FIA image

Event: 07 Misano
Session: Race 1
Track: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli / I
Pole position: Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing)
Race winner: Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing)
Weather: overcast, 31.4 °C

After his victories at Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing) also confirmed his current good shape at the 4.226 kilometres long Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The German, who is racing for the only Italian team in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, won the 19th race of the season from the two rookie drivers Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Theodore Racing) and Robert Shvartzman (PREMA Theodore Racing). In the drivers’ standings, Daniel Ticktum (Motopark) remains in the lead, the Brit took the chequered flag at Misano in sixth place.

Once the red lights on the start line gantry went out, Mick Schumacher took the lead. Marcus Armstrong claimed second place from Robert Shvartzman and Guanyu Zhou (PREMA Theodore Racing), who had to defend his position from a charging Daniel Ticktum in the first corners. Soon after that, Zhou had pulled a slight gap and went on to put Shvartman under pressure in the battle for third. However, the young Russian successfully defended his position from the experienced Russian.

Out in front, Schumacher maintained his margin at around 1.5 seconds throughout the race and eventually crossed the finish line as the winner, just over two seconds ahead of his teammate Armstrong. Shvartzman secured the final podium slot. Thus, drivers of the PREMA Theodore Racing team locked out the podium in the squad’s home race.

Having overtaken his teammate Daniel Ticktum around the halfway point of the race, Jüri Vips (Motopark) finished fifth. The Brit brought sixth place home, just ahead of Ralf Aron (PREMA Theodore Racing) and Alex Palou (Hitech Bullfrog GP). Jehan Daruvala (Carlin) and Jonathan Aberdein (Motopark) rounded out the top ten.

Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing): “The potential has always been there, but initially, we weren’t able to make full use of it. Since Spa-Francorchamps, however, things have been going pretty well and I am happy that I am now also able to show what I can achieve in the races. Today, I was able to pull a gap at the start and on the first lap and then I tried to manage it.”

Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Theodore Racing): “Mick was really good on the opening lap and was able to pull a gap straight away. After that, I was no longer in a position to still put him under pressure, although I had actually planned it. I think that the PREMA Theodore Racing team is so strong here at Misano as both the team and we as the drivers have a lot of experience at this track.”

Robert Shvartzman (PREMA Theodore Racing): “I had a close fight with my teammate Guanyu Zhou, we were certainly fighting side by side for five laps. It was a nice and a fair battle, in which I finally got a little more room to breathe after he had made a mistake.”

August 25, 2018
Mick Schumacher wins second F3 pole: Misano

Mick Schumacher takes Misano F3 pole on Saturday. An FIA photo

Event: 07 Misano
Session: Qualifying 1
Track: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli / I
Pole position: Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing)
Weather: overcast, 29.2 °C

At the 4.226 kilometres long Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing, 1m27.934s) claimed his second FIA Formula 3 European Championship pole position. The German was 19 thousandths of a second faster than Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Theodore Racing, 1m27.953s), his closest rival in the classification. Guanyu Zhou (PREMA Theodore Racing, 1m27.992s) was third from Robert Shvartzman (PREMA Theodore Racing, 1m28.015s). Daniel Ticktum (Motopark, 1m28.020s), the FIA Formula 3 European Championship points’ leader, ended up fifth, only 86 thousandths of a second down on pace-setter Schumacher.

The young drivers staged an exciting qualifying in the first-ever visit of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship to Misano in Italy with positions changing throughout the session. Only just before the end, Mick Schumacher moved up into first place with Marcus Armstrong, Guanyu Zhou and Robert Shvartzman following in second to fourth position. Thus, drivers of the PREMA Theodore Racing team, the only Italian team in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, locked out the first four places.

Daniel Ticktum, who posted one fastest time of the day during the official pre-season test at the same venue, ended up fifth in qualifying. Behind Jehan Daruvala (Carlin, 1m28.067s) in sixth place, Jüri Vips (Motopark, 1m28.172s) followed in seventh position. Back in April, the Estonian was the second driver to post a fastest time of the day in the official pre-season test at Misano. Jonathan Aberdein (Motopark, 1m28.177s), Ralf Aron (PREMA Theodore Racing, 1m28.224s) and Sacha Fenestraz (Carlin, 1m28.254s) rounded out the top ten. In the process, the Frenchman was only 0.32 seconds down on Schumacher’s fastest time. In total, the lap times of the first 19 drivers were within 0.8 seconds. Classified 19th, Nikita Troitckii (Carlin, 1m28.682s) came within 0.748 seconds of Schumacher’s time.

Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing): “This afternoon’s free practice didn’t go as we had expected it to, we had some minor set-up issues. After that, we tried to improve as well as we could. Now I am happy with our progress and the result from qualifying. We will try to make the best out of this pole position in the first race. Of course, my preference would be to win. However, the important thing for me is to score some points no matter what in order to close up to the frontrunners in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings.”

August 25, 2018