Tag: F3

Sakhir, 20 March 2022: Star Indian racer Kush Maini, was handicapped by his starting position and waded through the field from the back, to put in a brave performance overtaking 14 cars in 23 laps and finished 16 in the Feature Race of the first round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship here on Sunday.

Starting both the races in the first of the nine-round F3 championship, he had to wade through the back-benchers, and progressed ahead overtaking many a car with an outstanding performance but had to be content with 16th in his first Feature race for MP Motorsports team in the season opener as he was bogged down by the pit-lane start here on Sunday.

In a field of 30 cars, out of which only 26 finished the feature race, the former Indian National champion from Bengaluru, displayed good pace and race-craft to move ahead admirably. He had no seat time before he entered his big season in F3 this year. Kush, the junior of the Maini brothers, clocked 47min, 22.5secs for his 23 laps with a best lap of 1:52.301 which is just a fraction of a second off the winner’s best of 1:52.031. However, the best time of 1:51.634 was clocked by R Stanek of Trident.

Earlier, Kush Maini finished 15th in the Sprint race, also starting from the Pit Lane. He clocked 38:01.026 and missed to log points for his MP Motorsport team. Maini Jr, who qualified a creditable third had to start from pit lane in both the races due to a penalty but showed enough promise displaying quick pace. “After putting it P3 in my debut FIA F3 qualifying, unfortunately we will have to start both races from the pit lane after a harsh penalty. Pace is there going to do my best to make up as many positions as I can! Thank you for all the support,” Kush said after the Sprint race.

ART Grand Prix driver Victor Martins took the glory in the opening Feature Race of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 season in Sakhir, beating PREMA Racing’s Arthur Leclerc to victory on Sunday.

Martins stayed patient throughout the opening stages of the race after starting from third on the grid, keeping close to the rear of rookie pole-sitter Franco Colapinto, who led a majority of the race. However, on lap 15, the more experienced Martins made his move for the lead.

Leclerc produced another strong recovery drive from 13th on the grid, advancing all the way up to second place by the chequered flag.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Colapinto crossed the line in third place, but was issued a five-second time penalty for violating track limits, which caused him to drop back to fifth while Gregoire Saucy inherited the final spot on the podium.

AS IT HAPPENED

Although he produced a surprise result in Qualifying with pole position, it was arguably going to be a taller task for Colapinto to hold onto the victory as he continues to acclimatise himself to his new F3 surroundings.

However, in the opening stages of the race, the Argentine looked comfortable out in front. He was forced to deal with a Safety Car restart, which was required after Francesco Pizzi and Zane Maloney came to a stop on the circuit on the opening lap. Pizzi was nudged by Maloney, who was dropping through the field due to a mechanical issue following the opening corners.

Caio Collet was also a victim of the first lap, as he broke his front suspension while driving over a kerb at Turn 7, having taken his car off the circuit to avoid potential contact between his rivals.

At the Safety Car restart, Martins overtook Roman Stanek for P2, but the Trident driver would soon be eliminated from contention after coming together with Alex Smolyar. Stanek suffered a puncture and was forced back to the pit lane for a new set of tyres.

A brief Virtual Safety Car was called on Lap 6 after Hitech Grand Prix’s Nazim Azman was spun around following contact. At the restart, Leclerc made swift work of Saturday race winner Isack Hadjar and Campos Racing’s David Vidales to place himself in the top five.

Further ahead, Juan Manuel Correa appeared to have rapid pace and he moved into the top three after overtaking Smolyar, with the latter also soon finding himself behind the charging Leclerc. There was then heartbreak for Hadjar, who suffered a puncture while battling Smolyar for fifth place.

Leclerc progressed into the top three after moving past Correa, while behind and outside the points, his two PREMA teammates Jak Crawford and Oliver Bearman began to make headways into the top 10, progressing through a stream of 15 or so cars that were separated by just a handful of seconds.

Having hounded Colapinto for several laps, Martins made the crucial overtake on Lap 15, and three laps later, the pole-sitter found himself in third as Leclerc moved ahead. Although Leclerc was able to slightly narrow the gap to Martins, he couldn’t cut it enough to challenge for victory in the final laps.

Bearman and Crawford continued to progress further into the top 10 and at the chequered flag, they found themselves sixth and seventh, respectively. Colapinto was demoted back to fifth due to his time penalty, with Saucy and Correa gaining a spot each to classify third and fourth.

Vidales was eighth, while Williams Alatalo scored his first points of the season in ninth. American Kaylen Frederick rounded out the top 10 to take the final point on offer.

Race winner Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) said: “What a race, P1 today. It’s a great comeback after yesterday’s race and zero points scored.

“The race was just mega, the overtakes, I went for it. I waited a bit of time behind Colapinto but in the end, I managed to take the win. I think it’s a good start to the season.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP VIEW

In the Drivers’ Championship, Martins is the leader of the standings after round one, sitting atop with 25 points. He’s one point ahead of Leclerc in second with 24, while Bearman is third on 17 points.

In the Teams’ Championship, ART Grand Prix come away from the opening round with the lead, sitting on 54 points. PREMA Racing is close behind on 47, while Hitech Grand Prix sits further back in third on 14 points.

WHAT’S NEXT?

F3 will return next month for the second round of the season in Imola from April 22 – 24. Like Bahrain, it will mark the first time the category has visited the circuit.

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 MP

Motorsport 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.