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Category: F3
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Kush Maini eager to begin Indian campaign in F3
Rotterdam, 17 March 2022: Young Indian racer Kush Maini has signed with MP Motorsport for his debut season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, release said on Feb 22. Joining the Dutch outfit for FIA F3 will allow the 21-year-old from Bengaluru to showcase his talent during Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends.
Maini supported by JK Racing lines up with MP after competing in the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA last year as well as finishing second in the British F3 Championship in 2020, and will now be able to prove his worth at the FIA F3 level. At MP, the Indian driver will team up with Alexander Smolyar from Russia and Caio Collet from Brazil. Kush Maini is the younger brother of former FIA F2 and F3 driver Arjun Maini, who has since competed in the ELMS and the DTM.
“I’m excited to join MP Motorsport for my first year in FIA F3”, said Maini. “In 2021, MP proved to be race winners and in the final standings they were the only FIA F3 team to have two rookies finish in the top-ten. This shows their ability to coach rookie drivers on their way to immediately performing well in the series. I can’t wait to get going for pre-season testing and the first round at Bahrain,” the Bengaluru racer said earlier in February.
“I’m pleased to welcome Kush to our FIA F3 team”, said MPMotorsport team principal Sander Dorsman.
“In the past few years, Kush has proved himself extremely well at regional F3 levels, now it’s time for him to step up to FIA F3. I’m sure he will mix well with Alex and Caio, and we will do our best to help him shine during each of the nine race weekends coming up in the championship.”
After a karting career that kicked off in 2011 with the Indian national title at Rotax Micromax level, followed by accomplishments such as second in the 2013 WSK Euro Series at 60 Mini level, fourth in the 2014 CIK-FIA World KF Junior Championship and fourth in the 2015 KF Junior WSK Champions Cup, Maini debuted in single-seaters in 2016, taking his first podium in the Italian F4 Championship. Subsequently dovetailing Italian F4 with selected ADAC F4 rounds took him to eighth in the 2017 Italian series. In 2018 and 2020, Maini raced to third and then second in British F3, while taking sixth in the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup. In 2021, the Indian youngster combined the Asian F3 championship with an LMP2 drive in the FIA World Endurance Championship. -
Clement Novalak tops timesheets on Day 2: F3 test
Jerez, 13 May 2021: Clément Novalak put Trident at the top of the timesheet for the second day in a row at Jerez, finishing as the fastest man overall in the final test before the end of the season.
Beating out ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti and Charouz Racing System’s Enzo Fittipaldi, Novalak broke the Formula 3 track record in Jerez, setting 1:28.677.
MORNING
The sun was shining on the final morning of pre-season testing, providing ideal conditions for a Qualifying simulation around the Circuito de Jerez. Carrying over their form from Day 1, Trident took their now customary place at the top of the order, with Novalak leading teammate Jack Doohan.
Lapping at 1:28.677, Novalak was the first driver to post a sub-1m 29s time in Jerez, breaking the previous F3 track record of 1:29.041, which had been set in cooler conditions by Doohan at the post-season test in October last year.
Novalak retained his place at the top of the order, but Doohan began to drop down, falling to fourth by the end of the morning. Vesti was the first to overtake him, with the Mercedes prodigy breaking the 1m 28s barrier as well, running 0.258s off Novalak.
Also splitting the Trident duo was Fittipaldi, whose tour of 1:29.060 proved enough for P3. MP Motorsport and Alpine Academy duo Victor Martins and Caio Collet took fifth and sixth ahead of Hitech Grand Prix’s Red Bull junior Jak Crawford.
ART duo Alex Smolyar and Juan Manuel Correa took eight and ninth, while Carlin Buzz racer Jonny Edgar completed the top 10.
Iwasa topped the afternoon session with a time of 1:29.884 AFTERNOON
The majority of the field were focused on race runs and data gathering as they headed out for the final afternoon of testing before the end of the season. Hitech’s Ayumu Iwasa leapt to the top of the leaderboard within the opening half an hour.
Setting 1:29.884 in the opening stages, the Hitech racer remained on top for the duration and was the only driver to break the 1m 30s barrier in the afternoon.
Clambering into second and third was PREMA duo Dennis Hauger and Olli Caldwell, who were 0.179s and 0.335s off the leading pace.
Iwasa’s Hitech teammates Crawford and Stanek completed the top five ahead of Edgar and Calan Williams.
Lorenzo Colombo made the top 10 for the first time in Jerez, beating out the quickest man from Day 1, Doohan. The final PREMA of Arthur Leclerc completed the top 10, ahead of Pierre-Louis Chovet, who ran an impressive 56 laps in the final stint.
The field will now depart Spain with just over a month to work on the cars before the second round of the season at Le Castellet, on June 25-27.
2021 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – JEREZ TEST, DAY 2, MORNING SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Clément Novalak Trident 1:28.677 29 2 Frederik Vesti ART Grand Prix 1:28.935 35 3 Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:29.060 25 4 Jack Doohan Trident 1:29.061 35 5 Victor Martins MP Motorsport 1:29.144 44 6 Caio Collet MP Motorsport 1:29.193 46 7 Jak Crawford Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.196 39 8 Alexander Smolyar ART Grand Prix 1:29.207 30 9 Juan Manuel Correa ART Grand Prix 1:29.215 29 10 Jonny Edgar Carlin Buzz Racing 1:29.219 35 11 Ayumu Iwasa Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.223 35 12 David Schumacher Trident 1:29.258 28 13 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:29.333 43 14 Roman Stanek Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.339 38 15 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1:29.392 17 16 Lorenzo Colombo Campos Racing 1:29.542 35 17 Kaylen Frederick Carlin Buzz Racing 1:29.586 36 18 Pierre Louis Chovet Jenzer Motorsport 1:29.619 25 19 Oliver Rasmussen HWA RACELAB 1:29.658 43 20 Rafael Villagomez HWA RACELAB 1:29.662 42 21 Ido Choen Charouz Racing System 1:29.697 33 22 Amaury Cordeel Campos Racing 1:29.743 32 23 Reshad de Gerus Charouz Racing System 1:29.959 23 24 Dennis Hauger PREMA Racing 1:30.226 31 25 Olli Caldwell PREMA Racing 1:30.273 31 26 Filip Ugran Jenzer Motorsport 1:30.404 31 27 Arthur Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:30.594 31 28 Tijmen Van der Helm MP Motorsport 1:30.629 46 29 László Tóth Campos Racing 1:31.144 15 2021 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – JEREZ TEST, DAY 2, AFTERNOON SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS Ayumu Iwasa Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.884 35 Dennis Hauger PREMA Racing 1:30.063 39 Olli Caldwell PREMA Racing 1:30.218 36 Jak Crawford Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.265 38 Roman Stanek Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.520 29 Jonny Edgar Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.632 32 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1:30.724 22 Lorenzo Colombo Campos Racing 1:30.920 35 Jack Doohan Trident 1:30.947 33 Arthur Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:30.974 38 Pierre Louis Chovet Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.220 56 Amaury Cordeel Campos Racing 1:31.280 34 Oliver Rasmussen HWA RACELAB 1:31.325 37 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:31.391 37 Ido Cohen Carlin Buzz Racing 1:31.438 34 Rafael Villagomez HWA RACELAB 1:31.663 36 Kaylen Frederick Carlin Buzz Racing 1:31.736 33 Filip Ugran Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.822 53 László Tóth Campos Racing 1:31.978 23 Clément Novalak Trident 1:32.545 51 Frederik Vesti ART Grand Prix 1:32.625 49 Alexander Smolyar ART Grand Prix 1:32.674 47 David Schumacher Trident 1:32.759 25 Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:32.868 50 Caio Collet MP Motorsport 1:32.965 51 Juan Manuel Correa ART Grand Prix 1:33.002 48 Victor Martins MP Motorsport 1:33.055 48 Reshad de Gerus Charouz Racing System 1:33.308 47 Tijmen Van der Helm MP Motorsport 1:33.462 47 -
Jack Doohan tops Day 1 test at Jerez
Jerez, 12, May 2021: Trident’s Jack Doohan carried over his form from the opening round of the season, leading both the morning and the afternoon stint on the opening day of testing in Jerez.
It was the Trident racer’s morning tour that finished at the top of the timesheets, with a time of 1:29.625 enough to beat out teammate Clement Novalak and ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti.
MORNING
Making the trip from the Northeast of Spain to the Southwest, the F3 field followed up the opening round of the campaign in Barcelona with a two-day test in Jerez two days later, giving them a chance to build on what they’d learned.
Heading out at the first opportunity under the Spanish sun, MP Motorsport were amongst the busiest in the opening half an hour, with Tijmen Van der Helm the first man to top the leaderboard, before Caio Collet got the fast laps underway, setting the standard at 1:31.304. The Alpine junior continued in a similar vein throughout the session, eventually finishing in P8.
Juan Manuel Correa scored his first point in F3 during Race 2 at Barcelona and followed this up with a table-topping time on the opening morning in Jerez, setting a 1:30.754 to beat out ART Grand Prix teammate Vesti. Though Correa later dropped down the order and out of the top 10, Vesti was able to take P3 at the chequered flag.
Jonny Edgar and Calan Williams were the first drivers to break the 1m 30s barrier, doing so within seconds of each other, but it was the Carlin Buzz driver who went quickest, lapping at 1:29.991. The duo had fallen to fourth and seventh by the end of the session.
Setting the fastest time at the post-season tests in Jerez last October, Doohan put himself back at the top of the order with the quickest of the morning runs, lapping at 1:29.625, ahead of Trident teammate Novalak.
Alex Smolyar completed the top five ahead of Ayumu Iwasa. Pierre-Louis Chovet and Jak Crawford took the final two top 10 spots, finishing ninth and 10th.
AFTERNOON
Current Championship leader, Dennis Hauger, flexed his muscles at the start of the afternoon session, setting the pace at 1:31.405 ahead of Doohan and his PREMA teammate, Arthur Leclerc.
There was plenty of time to still be found around Jerez though, and Roman Stanek was the first to find it, overtaking the PREMA with a tour of 1:31.332, before his teammate, Iwasa leapt above him with the first sub-1m 31s time of the afternoon.
But it was the familiar name of Doohan who ended the session on top, following up his successful morning stint with the quickest time of the afternoon as well, lapping at 1:30.605 to drop Iwasa to P2.
Novalak finished second fastest on Day 1 of testing in Jerez. A Getty Images photo It was an all-Red Bull academy top four as Jak Crawford claimed third ahead of Hauger, with Doohan’s teammate, Novalak, completing the top five. Edgar ensured that all of the Red Bull Juniors had a spot in the top 10, as he took P6 ahead of Leclerc and Collet.
Stanek had dropped to P9 by the time the session concluded, while Amaury Cordeel took the final place in the top 10.
2021 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – JEREZ TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION**
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Jack Doohan Trident 1:29.625 18 2 Clément Novalak Trident 1:29.676 13 3 Frederik Vesti ART Grand Prix 1:29.700 28 4 Jonny Edgar Carlin Buzz Racing 1:29.911 31 5 Alexander Smolyar ART Grand Prix 1:29.927 28 6 Ayumu Iwasa Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.944 29 7 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1:29.967 23 8 Caio Collet MP Motorsport 1:30.044 26 9 Pierre Louis Chovet Jenzer Motorsport 1:30.064 29 10 Jak Crawford Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.097 30 11 Oliver Rasmussen HWA RACELAB 1:30.181 30 12 Kaylen Frederick Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.228 32 13 Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:30.324 25 14 David Schumacher Trident 1:30.429 13 15 Ido Cohen Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.438 30 16 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:30.511 21 17 Juan Manuel Correa ART Grand Prix 1:30.551 29 18 Arthur Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:30.604 32 19 Olli Caldwell PREMA Racing 1:30.664 33 20 Rafael Villagomez HWA RACELAB 1:30.762 29 21 Roman Stanek Hitech Grand Prix 1:31.090 30 22 Tijmen van der Helm MP Motorsport 1:31.192 26 23 Filip Ugran Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.203 28 24 Amaury Cordeel Campos Racing 1:31.554 32 25 Reshad de Gerus Charouz Racing System 1:31.704 22 26 Lorenzo Colombo Campos Racing 1:31.788 29 27 László Tóth Campos Racing 1:32.044 37 28 Victor Martins MP Motorsport 1:32.153 11 29 Dennis Hauger PREMA Racing 1:32.383 25 2021 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – JEREZ TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION**
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Jack Doohan Trident 1:30.605 22 2 Ayumu Iwasa Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.616 25 3 Jak Crawford Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.665 30 4 Dennis Hauger PREMA Racing 1:30.720 29 5 Clément Novalak Trident 1:30.781 29 6 Jonny Edgar Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.795 46 7 Arthur Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:30.867 30 8 Caio Collet MP Motorsport 1:30.882 38 9 Roman Stanek Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.919 29 10 Amaury Cordeel Campos Racing 1:30.956 27 11 Alexander Smoylar ART Grand Prix 1:30.958 36 12 Juan Manuel Correa ART Grand Prix 1:30.996 36 13 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.049 41 14 Olli Caldwell PREMA Racing 1:31.094 30 15 Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:31.192 24 16 David Schumacher Trident 1:31.196 25 17 Kaylen Frederick Carlin Buzz Racing 1:31.198 34 18 Frederik Vesti ART Grand Prix 1:31.205 36 19 Lorenzo Colombo Campos Racing 1:31.315 31 20 Victor Martins MP Motorsport 1:31.463 46 21 Ido Cohen Carlin Buzz Racing 1:31.560 47 22 Oliver Rasmussen HWA RACELAB 1:31.620 57 23 Pierre Louis Chovet Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.741 37 24 Rafael Villagomez HWA RACELAB 1:31.823 56 25 Reshad de Gerus Charouz Racing System 1:31.907 35 26 Tijmen van der Helm MP Motorsport 1:32.184 28 27 Filip Ugran Jenzer Motorsport 1:32.210 41 28 László Tóth Campos Racing 1:32.550 42 29 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:33.421 55 - Logan Sargeant (Charouz Racing System) did not take part in today’s sessions due to previous commitments
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Olli Caldwell takes his first F3 win: Race 2
Barcelona, 9 May 2021: Olli Caldwell benefitted from not one, but two, front row crashes to take his first ever victory in Formula 3, winning out over Victor Martins in Race 2. The PREMA Racing ace picked up the pieces as first, David Schumacher and Enzo Fittipaldi, and then, Matteo Nannini and Dennis Hauger, collided in front of him from the lead.
The two crashes came in a similar place within a matter of laps, with all four finishing outside of the points. Having seen the chaos unfold in front of him, Martins opted not to challenge Caldwell too strongly and calmly crossed the line behind the Briton.
ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti was the third beneficiary, taking his fifth podium in F3, ahead of Trident’s Clement Novalak, who was up from P11.
Juan Manuel Correa scored points in F3 for the first time, making up five places from P15 to finish 10th. The most impressive climb of the day came from Caldwell’s PREMA teammate, Arthur Leclerc, who magnificently rose to 12th from P28, having suffered a puncture at the end of Race 1.
AS IT HAPPENED
With the temperature rising to 42 degrees ahead of Race 2, the field were in for a sweltering afternoon of action under the Spanish sun. The heat didn’t stop Fittipaldi from pulling away coolly, as Nannini eased forward to put pressure on Schumacher for P2. After a hairy start, the Trident racer was afforded some breathing space as Martins gave Nannini a scare from fourth.
Behind them, minor contact between Novalak and Alex Smolyar resulted in a puncture for the Race 1 winner. Losing control of his ART as a result, Smolyar collected the back of Logan Sargeant and sent them both curtailing into the gravel trap. Both drivers clambered out of their cars unharmed, but a Safety Car was required to clear up the debris.
Fittipaldi made a second clean getaway of the afternoon when action eventually resumed on Lap 5, as the top five all held onto their positions.
Martins was swallowed up by PREMA duo Hauger and Caldwell when DRS was enabled. Meanwhile, the third PREMA of Arthur Leclerc was up to 22nd from P28, having suffered a puncture in Race 1.
Schumacher had remained within DRS range of Fittipaldi at the front and was harrying the rear wing of the Charouz. His hard work paid off on Lap 12 with a late scamper at the end of Turn 1, the German spotting a gap and swerving down the inside.
The Trident had taken the lead, but couldn’t build any form of a gap, as Fittipaldi searched for an opening that would allow him to get back ahead. The Charouz pulled back alongside side him heading into Turn 1, but the duo got too close and came to blows, with Schumacher skidding into the barriers and out of the race.
Nannini was gifted the lead from third, while Fittipaldi fell down the order, before retiring during the subsequent Safety Car period. The HWA RACELAB driver was confident on the brakes when racing resumed, holding off the PREMA of Hauger superbly.
Remarkably, history repeated itself with two laps to go as Nannini and Hauger came together in the same place as the previous leaders. The duo remained on track but plummeted to the back of the field, handing the lead to Caldwell, who scurried ahead.
Martins briefly looked down the side of the PREMA from P2, but opted to air on the side of caution, allowing Caldwell to cross the line unchallenged for his first win in the third tier.
Race 1 podium finisher Caio Collet completed the top five ahead of Novalak and Vesti. Red Bull junior quartet Jonny Edgar, Ayumu Iwasa, Jack Doohan and Jak Crawford took the next four positions, with Correa completing the top 10.
KEY QUOTE – OLLI CALDWELL (PREMA RACING)
“That was a crazy race, I think the reverse grids are really showing that it is going to crazy this year, which means that it will be good to be consistent.
“I am really happy with that. I had to hang on at the end with the tyres, but it was definitely a good result with all of the carnage that happened.
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Dennis Hauger scores 2nd win for Prema Racing: F3
Barcelona, 9 May 2021: Dennis Hauger scored PREMA Racing’s second win of the weekend in Race 3 with a controlled lights-to-flag victory over Trident’s Jack Doohan and HWA RACELAB’s Matteo Nannini at Barcelona.
Recovering from a sluggish getaway when the lights went out, Hauger was assured out in front and crossed the line with a near 4s gap over Doohan for his first win in Formula 3. The Trident racer getting over a difficult start of his own to take a first podium at this level.
At one stage, Matteo Nannini appeared to be Hauger’s most likely challenger, but the Italian couldn’t sustain the pace and fell back behind Doohan.
AS IT HAPPENED
Lining up from pole, Hauger was desperate to make amends after colliding with Nannini in a battle for the lead in Race 2 on Saturday. His start was far from ideal though, the PREMA struggled off the line and found himself in a four-wide battle for the lead heading down to Turn 1.
Nannini, Victor Martins and Doohan all pulled up alongside him, but the PREMA began to respond, benefitting from the lengthy 600m run-up to the first corner and breaking daringly late to drag himself narrowly ahead.
Of the four drivers, Doohan was the one to luck out, falling from second to fourth as Nannini snatched P2 ahead of Martins. Hauger began to pull away as Doohan dusted himself off and got back ahead of the Frenchman for the final spot on the podium.
Doohan looked to have rediscovered the pace that secured him second in Qualifying, quickly pulling into DRS range of Nannini, before picking off the HWA ace at the first corner.
Race 2 winner Olli Caldwell pulled off a DRS-fuelled move over Martins for fourth, stealing the racing line at Turn 1 and making the most of the MP man’s heavily worn tyres.
The top three remained unchanged at the line, but there was a late shuffle further down in the top 10. Logan Sargeant and Clement Novalak began a battle for sixth, but the Charouz Racing System driver was struggling for grip and lost out to the Trident, before falling all the way to ninth, with Frederik Vesti and Caio Collet also clambering ahead of the American.
With less than a lap to go, there wasn’t enough time for Roman Stanek to get ahead of Sargeant as well, with the Hitech racer too busy defending the final points’ place from Alex Smolyar.
KEY QUOTE – DENNIS HAUGER (PREMA RACING)
“Really happy with Race 3, we finally got the win in the end, and it was in the race that gives you the most points. We got back in the Championship and I am really happy with that. I have to keep the momentum going in Round 2 at Paul Ricard, but I will enjoy this moment now.”
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Smolyar takes victory from Novalak in frenetic season’s 1st race
Barcelona, 8 May 2021: Alex Smolyar sealed an impressive first victory in Formula 3 for ART Grand Prix, scampering ahead of Jonny Edgar in the early stages before managing out the remainder of Race 1 to finish ahead of Trident’s Clément Novalak and MP Motorsport’s Caio Collet.
After a convincing opening stint, Smolyar was spared a late encounter with Novalak as the race ended under Safety Car conditions, following a spin from Oliver Rasmussen. The Trident had risen from fourth and begun to close the gap to P1, but wouldn’t get the chance to have a go at him.
MP rookie Collet briefly dropped off the podium but recovered to seal a rostrum on his first start in F3, ahead of 2020 title challenger Logan Sargeant.
Despite dropping down to P5 at the flag, 17-year-old Edgar did at least come away with plenty of points on his debut, finishing ahead of PREMA’s Olli Caldwell.
AS IT HAPPENED
Lining up on reverse grid pole, Edgar’s first F3 race start was delayed by an issue for his teammate, Ido Cohen, who had struggled to a stop on the formation lap. The Israeli was pleased to get his Carlin going, albeit from the pitlane, as the grid were forced into a second formation lap, shortening the action from 22 laps to 21.
The additional formation lap meant Edgar had plenty of time to think about his start, and he made no mistake when the five lights did eventually go green, thundering off into the distance with a great getaway.
Smolyar brushed off a challenge from Collet to hold onto P2, as Novalak and Logan Sargeant tussled their way through to fourth and fifth.
Having kept his cool at the start, Smolyar was picking up the pace and fast catching the race leader, Edgar. The polesitter had spoken about tyre management in the leadup to his debut, saying that he wouldn’t fight an overtake if it meant destroying his Pirellis, and that bore out on Lap 4, as Smolyar glided past with the aid of DRS.
Further down the order, Smolyar’s teammate Frederik Vesti was struggling to keep Caldwell at bay. The PREMA had dropped back at the start, but recovered to go on the charge, picking off Vesti and David Schumacher for P6 within a matter of laps.
An all-rookie battle was emerging for P2 between Edgar and Collet, but the duo’s clash took them away from the racing line and allowed the more experienced Novalak to sneak in between them, after Collet skewed ever so slightly onto the marble.
Having briefly managed to hold off Novalak, Edgar eventually succumbed to the Frenchman, who clinically swept around the outside at the first chicane for P2. The Briton was visibly struggling and watched on as Collet and Sargeant followed Novalak past.
Having looked so controlled out in front for much of the race, Smolyar’s lead was suddenly under threat from Novalak, who was nearly within DRS range after eating into the gap between them. So, Russian was relieved to see a Safety Car come out with three laps to go, after Rasmussen spun off into the gravel.
The length of the clear-up meant that the Safety Car led the drivers over the finish line, allowing Smolyar to clinch a maiden victory over Novalak and get his title challenge up and running.
He may not have been able to hold off Collet and Sargeant, but the late drama ensured Edgar kept P5, ahead of Caldwell and Vesti. Friday’s form driver, Dennis Hauger, took P8 ahead of Victor Martins and Matteo Nannini. Enzo Fittipaldi will start Race 2 from reverse grid pole, ahead of Schumacher.
KEY QUOTE – ALEX SMOLYAR (ART GRAND PRIX)
“My first win of the season and I am really happy with the race. I had quite a comfortable lead at the beginning, but then had to fight off the pace of Novalak.
“I am quite pleased with the win and I will now try and keep earning as many points as I possibly can this weekend.”
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Hauger takes first F3 pole beating Doohan
Dennis Hauger continued his excellent start to life with PREMA Racing to take his first ever pole position in Formula 3, beating out Trident’s Jack Doohan by 0.006s. The Red Bull juniors traded places throughout the session, but it was the Norwegian who came out on top, with MP Motorsport’s Alpine prodigy Victor Martins nabbing third late on.
Barcelona, 7 May 2021: Track temperature had risen from 28 to 39 between Free Practice and Qualifying and the majority of the field opted to head out at the first opportunity. At the front of the queue were Hitech Grand Prix, with Jak Crawford the first to complete a flying lap, but it was Trident’s Doohan who set the standard, beating the fastest time from Free Practice with a run of 1:33.580.
The fastest man from practice, Hauger, very briefly nabbed first with a storming final sector at the start of his second run, going round at 1:33.138, but Doohan responded by reclaiming the position at the first opportunity.
Hauger had more luck on his third run, with the Red Bull junior setting a purple middle sector to snatch pole from Doohan by 0.006s.
The top two were in a league of their own, but there was a flurry of late activity behind them, as Frederik Vesti and Matteo Nannini both briefly held third, before falling to fourth and fifth. The duo were dropped down the order thanks to a last gasp effort from Martins, who came within 0.055s off the front two, beating Nannini by two tenths.
Olli Caldwell and Clement Novalak beat 2020 title challenger Logan Sargeant to sixth and seventh, with the final Trident of David Schumacher settling for P9. Caio Collet completed the top 10 ahead of Alex Smolyar.
Jonny Edgar beat Juan Manuel Correa to reverse grid pole for Race 1 by less than a tenth, with the Carlin Buzz racer finishing 12th.
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Jehan Daruvala earns valuable Super Licence points with 3rd in Drivers title: Asia F3
Abu Dhabi, 20 Feb 2021: Talented Indian driver and the next F1 hopeful from the country, Jehan Daruvala, racing for Mumbai Falcons, clinched two podiums, winning third places in Race 14 and Race 15 each, ended the Asia F3 Championship here on Saturday.
Pierre Louis Chovet won the Drivers’ Championship with 221 points with Guanyu Zhou (189) taking second with Daruvala garnering 156 for third. Teammate Kush Maini finished 12th with 24 points. This week-end Kush Maini put in a strong performance taking P4 behind Daruvala in one race. Maini who had initial hiccups early in the season, could not perform upto his potential due to technical issues.
The Mumba-born youngster, with two third places in Round 5, clinched the third place in the Drivers’ Championship which fetched him important points that add to his FIA Super Driver Licence. He is likely to get 12 points for his efforts.
“It is great to finish the weekend with a double podium. It’s P3 for me in the championship in the end. A Big thanks to Mumbai Falcons, for all the hard work over the last few weeks and congratulations on securing P3 in the teams’ championship,” said Jehan Daruvala tagging Falcons’ handle on twitter
Mumbai Falcons India Racing Limited’s Jehan Daruvala has endured a season of mixed fortunes so far, and had an outside chance for the title ahead of the final round. The 22-year-old won three of the six races in Rounds 2 and 3 at the Yas Marina track, all from pole, but had mixed fortunes later on.
The championship winner takes home 18 coveted FIA Super Licence points, with the runner-up taking 14, and the final point awarded to the ninth-place finisher in the Driver Classification.
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Chovet favourite as Asia F3 closes; Outside chance for Jehan
Abu Dhabi (UAE), 17 Feb 2021: Eighteen-year-old Frenchman Pierre-Louis Chovet is the hot favourite to clinch the 2021 F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA title as the series prepares for the season-closing triple-header at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit from February 18-20. The Pinnacle Motorsport driver has so far won six of the 12 races, three from pole position giving him a 100% conversion rate.
Guaranteed to give the young pretender a run for his money though is China’s Zhou Guanyu with Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema. The 21-year-old 2021 Alpine Academy driver won the opening two races of the season before a DNF in Race 3 dealt a blow to his title aspirations. Since then, however, nine consecutive double-digit points scores put him just 32 points adrift of Chovet in the driver classification.
Mumbai Falcons India Racing Ltd.’s Jehan Daruvala has endured a season of mixed fortunes so far, but remains in mathematical title contention ahead of the final round. The 22-year-old won three of the six races in Rounds 2 and 3 at the Yas Marina track, all from pole, so is expected to be a force to be reckoned with when the championship returns there this week.
Along with the championship title comes 18 coveted FIA Super Licence points, with the runner-up taking 14, and the final point awarded to the ninth-place finisher in the Driver Classification. That means there is plenty to fight for even for those no longer in championship contention.
Currently fourth and fifth respectively in the Driver Classification are 3Y Evans GP’s Isack Hadjar, who took five podiums in nine races, and Ferrari Driver Academy Swede Dino Beganovic, who notched up four podiums in the first three rounds with Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema. Having completed their championship stints as planned, both drivers bowed out ahead of Round 4, so will drop down the leaderboard by the end of the season. Beganovic was replaced by Spaniard David Vidales in Round 4, and the 18-year-old immediately impressed with a second-place finish in Race 12.
3Y Evans GP’s Patrik Pasma, currently sixth in the standings, is definitely a driver to watch after a strong performance in Round 4, which saw the 20-year-old Finn take victory in Race 11 and a podium finish in Race 12.
Hitech Grand Prix Red Bull Junior Driver Ayumu Iwasa sits seventh in the overall driver standings ahead of team mate Roy Nissany, and leads the Rookie Cup having scored his maiden class win in Race 10 after seven podium finishes. The reigning French F4 champion leads team mate Reece Ushijima by 14 points in the Rookie Cup standings, but both drivers should watch out for Turkish esports ace Cem Bolukbasi. The BlackArts Racing driver has taken six Rookie Cup podiums so far this year and trails Iwasa by just 26 points ahead of the final round.
The fourth season of the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA has exceeded all expectations, pitching new talent just emerging from the ranks of karting and F4 against experienced FIA F2 drivers, potentially on the brink of F1 breakthroughs, with intriguing results. As the series prepares for the final showdown on the stunning F1 Yas Marina Circuit, three more fascinating encounters lie ahead.
F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA
Drivers’ Championship after Round 4
Pos No Driver Nat Team Pts 1 3 Pierre-Louis CHOVET FRA Pinnacle Motorsport 221 2 33 Guanyu ZHOU CHN Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 189 3 19 Jehan DARUVALA IND Mumbai Falcons India Racing Ltd. 156 4 6 Isack HADJAR FRA 3Y Evans GP 95 5 16 Dino BEGANOVIC SWE Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 88 6 4 Patrik PASMA FIN 3Y Evans GP 85 7 12 Ayumu IWASA JPN Hitech Grand Prix 74 8 14 Roy NISSANY ISR Hitech Grand Prix 73 9 74 Cem BOLUKBASI TUR BlackArts Racing 49 10 11 Roman STANEK CZE Hitech Grand Prix 48 11 13 Reece USHIJIMA GBR Hitech Grand Prix 38 12 28 Kush MAINI IND Mumbai Falcons India Racing Ltd. 24 13 62 Lorenzo FLUXA ESP BlackArts Racing 21 14 16 David VIDALES ESP Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 20 15 10 Alessio DELEDDA ITA Pinnacle Motorsport 9 16 5 Alex CONNOR GBR 3Y Evans GP 8 17 7 Roberto FARIA BRA Motorscape 6 17 8 Rafael VILLAGOMEZ MEX BlackArts Racing 6 18 66 Zdenek CHOVANEC POR BlackArts Racing 2 18 5 Casper STEVENSON GBR 3Y Evans GP Team Oloi 0 19 25 Alexandre BARDINON FRA Pinnacle Motorsport 0 19 40 Matthias LUETHEN GER Pinnacle Motorsport 0 19 51 Irina SIDORKOVA RUS 3Y Evans GP Team Oloi 0 19 77 Nicola MARINANGELI ITA Motorscape 0 19 88 Amna AL QUBAISI UAE Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 0 19 99 Khaled AL QUBAISI UAE Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 0 F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA
Rookie Cup after Round 4
Pos No Driver Nat Team Pts 1 12 Ayumu IWASA JPN Hitech Grand Prix 176 2 13 Reece USHIJIMA GBR Hitech Grand Prix 162 3 6 Isack HADJAR FRA 3Y Evans GP 160 4 74 Cem BOLUKBASI TUR BlackArts Racing 150 5 16 Dino BEGANOVIC SWE Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 147 6 62 Lorenzo FLUXA ESP BlackArts Racing 103 7 7 Roberto FARIA BRA Motorscape 83 8 8 Rafael VILLAGOMEZ MEX BlackArts Racing 71 9 5 Alex CONNOR GBR 3Y Evans GP 38 10 51 Irina SIDORKOVA RUS 3Y Evans GP Team Oloi 33 11 88 Amna AL QUBAISI UAE Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 31 12 5 Casper STEVENSON GBR 3Y Evans GP Team Oloi 16 Team Classification after Round 4
Pos Nat Team Pts 1 UAE Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 297 2 IRL Pinnacle Motorsport 221 3 AUS Evans GP 188 4 IND Mumbai Falcons India Racing Ltd 180 5 GBR Hitech Grand Prix 114 6 HKG BlackArts Racing 70 7 JOR Motorscape 6 2021 F3 ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP CERTIFIED BY FIA PROVISIONAL CALENDAR
Date Venue Event January 27 Dubai Autodrome Pre-Season Test January 29-30 Dubai Autodrome, UAE Round 1 (Races 1-3) February 4-5 Yas Marina Circuit, UAE Round 2 (Races 4-6) February 6-7 Yas Marina Circuit, UAE Round 3 (Races 7-9) February 12-14 Dubai Autodrome, UAE Round 4 (Races 10-12) February 19-20 Yas Marina Circuit, UAE Round 5 (Races 13-15) -
Jehan Daruvala wins another race; Kush adds some points: Asia F3
Abu Dhabi, 7 Feb 2021: Mumbai Falcons’ Jehan Daruvala brought down the curtain on two back-to-back rounds here on a glorious note, winning Race 3 of Round 3 of the Formula 3 Asian Championship from start to finish on Sunday evening.
His three victories and two second-place finishes over four days elevated him in the points table to second position after he had briefly slipped to third in the morning. Debutant Mumbai Falcons too climb to the second place in the Team Standings, with 2 rounds and 6 races remaining in the Championship.
“As a new team, we are constantly learning and getting better. For the first time in the championship, we have had both our cars in the points in every race. It’s great to be second in the Team’s Standing, and we hope to get even better,” Moid Tungekar, CEO of Mumbai Falcons, said.
“I was happy with the pace we had in Race 3. I was able to control my pace the way I wanted. It feels good to be back on the top step of the podium. The race in the morning was not ideal. I’m looking forward to relaxing for a few days and then focusing on a good Round 4,” Jehan said.
Every racer is allowed two sets of tyres per weekend and India’s top racing star smartly held back his fresh set of tyres for the last race, to make the most of his pole advantage that he had won during the qualifying rounds on Saturday.
Jehan Daruvala, car #19, in action before he won the Race 3 in Round 3 of the Asia F3 series at Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Photo by Ishaan Bhataiya / Red Bull Content Pool Jehan had an excellent start from pole, and led into the first corner. China’s Guanyu Zhou, starting second, followed Jehan while the two Frenchmen behind them were almost side by side. Isack Hadjar, starting from fourth, however, managed to overtake Championship leader Pierre-Louis Chovet to climb into the third position.
Zhou soon mounted a challenge on Jehan and came right beside him, but couldn’t get past him. The Indian held his nerve and soon settled into a good rhythm and reeled out a series of quick laps to open up a small gap on Zhou.
A brief safety car period neutralised Jehan’s lead, though. But once the safety car pulled into the pits, Jehan made an excellent restart and immediately pulled away from Zhou. Jehan posted a couple of fastest laps and cemented his lead to win ahead of Zhou, while Hadjar finished third.
Mumbai Falcons picked up a few more points, thanks to Kush Maini having another good race. Kush also had a good start and quickly gained two positions. He was involved in a thrilling battle with Lorenzo Fluxa, who tried to overtake him for most of the race. Kush drove a highly intelligent, defensive race to keep Fluxa behind and finished eighth.
The grid for Race 2, earlier in the day, was based on the fastest lap from Race 1. Kush Maini continued his fine form from Saturday. He started tenth and soon made up a couple of places. He then made an incredible move to dive down the inside of Williams F1 Junior Driver, Roy Nissany.
Kush somehow made it stick and got ahead of Nissany, who then mounted several overtaking attempts, with the duo banging wheels on more than one occasion. The Indian however held on and eventually Nissany had a separate incident and retired. Kush climbed up to eventually finish seventh, right behind Jehan who had a forgettable race starting and finishing sixth.
Round 4 will take place next weekend at the Dubai Autodrome.
