Tag: F3

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

Rookie Jehan Daruvala just 0.2 seconds off top-2 pace in GP3; Alesi leads FP1 in Abu Dhabi

Frenchman Alesi fastest in free practice

Abu Dhabi, 23 Nov 2018: Indian star Jehan Daruvala, touted as the best bet for the future of Indian racing, made an impressive debut showing the pace straight away in Free Practice 1. He was just 0.2 seconds off the pace of two drivers ahead of him as he finished fourth fastest on Friday.

Meanwhile, Giuliano Alesi has set the pace for the final round of the 2018 GP3 Series by grabbing the top spot in this morning’s free practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit with a time of 1:55.676, going purple in all 3 sectors late in the session for a lap which was 0.892s faster than teammate David Beckmann and Gabriel Aubry, who both set the same best time earlier in the day.

The session opened to the expected blue skies and building heat so familiar to everyone at the circuit, with most of the runners heading out when the lights went green but ART and Trident holding fire for a while: Beckmann was the last driver on track at the 15 minute mark just as ART annexed the top 3, with series leader Anthoine Hubert leading the way ahead of Callum Ilott and Nikita Mazepin.

Hubert went quicker still next time round, laying down a marker for his title intentions, while Beckmann slotted in a tenth behind him to show that his late season form was continuing. With most of the field having a wealth of experience at the circuit there was little in the way of off-track activity, although Alesi briefly slowed half an hour in before getting underway once more.

Leonardo Pulcini was also determined to show that his recent good form reflected his true ability by setting the pace with 15 minutes remaining, setting a new target for his rivals. Hubert improved but not by enough, while Mazepin ran well wide before regaining the track at the Viceroy section. All eyes were on Aubry as he was setting purple sectors, but just ahead of him Beckman claimed the top spot with a concise and flowing lap, while the Frenchman ran wide at the final corner to match the German’s time to the thousandth, with rookie Jehan Daruvala slotting just 0.02 behind the pair.

With 2 minutes remaining Alesi struck, setting the pace in every sector to bring home a lap that smashed his rivals dreams: Beckmann improved on the first sector but was well off in the second, and the session was done. Behind the top 4 Joey Mawson was the only other driver within a second of Alesi, finishing ahead of Sacha Fenestraz, Pulcini, Hubert, Richard Verschoor, Ryan Tveter, Jake Hughes and Mazepin as they returned to the paddock to plan their qualifying strategies.

Free Practice Times

Driver	Team	Laptime	Laps
1	Giuliano Alesi	Trident	1:55.676	18
2	David Beckmann	Trident	1:56.568	12
3	Gabriel Aubry	Arden International	1:56.568	18
4	Jehan Daruvala	MP Motorsport	1:56.589	20
5	Joey Mawson	Arden International	1:56.655	17
6	Sacha Fenestraz	Arden International	1:57.053	18
7	Leonardo Pulcini	Campos Racing	1:57.116	16
8	Anthoine Hubert	ART Grand Prix	1:57.170	16
9	Devlin DeFrancesco	MP Motorsport	1:57.170	18
10	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	1:57.259	18
11	Ryan Tveter	Trident	1:57.277	15
12	Jake Hughes	ART Grand Prix	1:57.311	17
13	Nikita Mazepin	ART Grand Prix	1:57.393	16
14	Juan-Manuel Correa	Jenzer Motorsport	1:57.453	17
15	Diego Menchaca	Campos Racing	1:57.579	18
16	Simo Laaksonen	Campos Racing	1:57.588	17
17	Pedro Piquet	Trident	1:57.727	15
18	Tatiana Calderon	Jenzer Motorsport	1:57.826	18
19	Callum Ilott	ART Grand Prix	1:57.847	16
20	Jannes Fittje	Jenzer Motorsport	1:58.579	17

November 23, 2018

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

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 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
Kush Maini finishes a creditable 3rd in Race 2, consolidates third position in the championship

Kush Maini in action at Brands Hatch where took a third place on Sunday. Images: Maini team

Brands Hatch, 6 Aug 2018: Up and coming Indian racer Kush Maini of Lanan Racing, the junior of the Maini brothers, finished third in Race 2 to consolidate his third place in the championship standings after a strong display at the Round 6 of the BRDC F3 Championship at the renowned Brands Hatch here on Sunday.

The 17-year old Bangalore-born racer came back strongly after a bad outing at Spa in the last round, He managed two exciting results, finishing sixth in the Race 1 and Race 3, to bag enough points and packed it with an impressive third-place drive to the podium in Race 2.

By claiming 56 points in this round, the Junior Maini has 321 points in the driver’s championship, 19 points ahead of fourth-placed Gamble.

Despite not having much track time in the car, Maini started the weekend with a good qualifying session taking P6 for Race 1 after only a 20-minute practice session. He P6 time was just 0.379s off pole. Then, Maini drove a steady race and managed to finish sixth, the position he started on the grid in Race 1.

Kush Maini with his trophy at Brands Hatch after his third place in Race 2 on Sunday.

Race 2 saw a reverse-grid start, and Maini was forced to start from P10. Despite a bad start, Maini recovered in the first lap itself, as he managed to avoid the clash in front and sneaked in to move up. “There was chaos at the front and I just kept my nose clean and looked for the opportunities,” he said about the initial laps in Race 2. He had a busy race thereafter and with some gritty driving, he avoided the `frantic’ action on the second lap to surge past the cars ahead of him into the fifth position. Then a safety-car was deployed that did not help as he dropped a position after the restart. But the youngster, who grew up watching his father Gautam Maini and elder brother Arjun Maini racing cars, from childhood managed to go up into fourth place by Lap 9. A podium place was in the waiting as the third-placed finisher Ravishankar had to take a penalty for an infringement.

Kush started the final race of the weekend from P8 on the grid. He carried on some of the great form, from his previous race and ensured another P6 comfortably overtaking a couple of cars and then widened the gap to Maldonado, who was trailing him in seventh. He had a lead of over 10-seconds to the Maldonado.

Talking about his race, Kush Maini said, “It’s my eighth podium of the year and so I’m happy, But we’ve had a few tough races, so it’s good to be back here. We will be pushing harder to get back on the top step. There were plenty of battles raging and I thought there was going to be a bit of contact so I took different lines and got people on the exits, and I’m really happy with how I raced my race.”

ends/db

August 6, 2018
Carlin confirms Ameya Vaidyanathan for FIA Formula3 Euro Championship

Carlin confirmed that Indian racer Ameya Vaidyanathan remains with the team for the full 2018 season competing in the FIA Formula Three (F3) European Championship.

The 2017 season was a standout season for Vaidyanathan who took a race victory in the Euro Formula Open Championship at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The 21-year-old has now confirmed that he will remain with the team for a third season for the FIA F3 Championship.

Vaidyanathan started racing late at 18, but gained experience in various championships beginning with a Ginetta GT car before he entered single-seaters and switched to the BRDC British F4 Championship, taking a handful of podiums along the way.

Vaidyanathan then competed in the BRDC British F3 Championship and moved on to the Euro Formula Open Championship for the 2017 season. In Spa, Vaidyanathan took a fine win which saw him make an incredible move for the lead of the race to ensure he stood on the very top step of the podium – his fifth podium of the 2017 season.

“It’s great to be moving up to FIA Formula Three in what is now my third year with Carlin,” said Vaidyanathan. “Staying in the team was a no-brainer because I can see everyone’s commitment towards achieving the highest standards. I’ve really learned so much during my time at Carlin thus far and I’m keen to put everything to good use to find my feet in such a competitive field.”

Trevor Carlin, racing director, said: “This will be our third season working with Ameya and we’re pleased to see how much he has grown and accomplished in that time. He took his maiden win in the Euro Formula Open Championship at Spa and has been consistently improving his race craft. We are extremely pleased to be working together in such competitive championship and look forward to seeing what he can achieve.”

Vaidyanathan will be out on track for pre-season testing towards the end of March at both the Hungaroring and Red Bull Ring before the 2018 FIA Formula Three European Championship gets underway at street circuit Pau in May.

March 19, 2018
Tough debut for Jehan Daruvala at Macau Grand Prix as he finishes 10th

Jehan Daruvala finishes 10th at Macau World Cup. 19 Nov 2017; Photo by James Gasperotti

Macau: Jehan Daruvala of the Sahara Force India Academy, overcame numerous hurdles, while gaining valuable experience, on his debut at the FIA F3 World Cup. The nineteen year old Indian finished a commendable tenth in his rookie race at the Macau Grand Prix. The notoriously unforgiving street circuit witnessed high drama throughout the weekend with most sessions witnessing either a red flag or a safety car, due to multiple accidents.

Jehan’s weekend at the Macau Grand Prix began with the Indian teenager finding his way around his the circuit during his first time on track. The Grand Prix in Macau deviates from the normal racing format, with the average of 2 qualifying sessions deciding the start position for a qualifying race, which in turn decides the grid for the Grand Prix race.

The 6.1 Guia street circuit is considered as one of the toughest circuits in the World and numerous F1 stars have raced and won here, enroute to F1. The circuit has no run-off at most corners, while metal armco barriers or walls, line the edge of the narrow circuit for most of its length. The added twist of the extremely high speeds that can be achieved, often result in mayhem with multiple crashes in all categories.

Jehan’s progress was hampered after crashes in practice 1 and qualifying 1, as it was for numerous other experienced and rookies alike. However the young Indian improved significantly in the second practice session which saw him just 1.1 seconds off the pace, in tenth position. Qualifying 2 undid his efforts after a crash on his first quick lap left him down in nineteenth. Jehan started nineteenth in the qualifying race, but unfortunately by then he had damaged too many tyres in his accidents. He was forced to use an old set for the race and could do little in terms of progressing up the order and eventually finished the race in sixteenth.

The FIA F3 World Cup Race at the Macau Grand Prix proved to be the most exciting. Jehan finally on fresh tyres immediately made a move once the lights went out. He was unfortunately forced wide and once again hit the barriers. Luckily the only damage that Jehan had was a slow puncture. He soon had to make an unscheduled pit-stop to change the punctured tyre and then resumed his race on track. He was fortunate to pit during a safety car period which meant he did not lose too much ground to the leaders.

Jehan joined the race in last and put his head down to close the gap. He soon started overtaking cars and also benefitted from others crashing. Jehan eventually took the chequered flag in a commendable tenth position, 10.45 seconds behind the race winner. Up ahead, the race was one of the most exciting races in the history of the Macau GP. The early leaders crashed in the first few laps after which Jehan’s teammate, Habsburg from Austria took the lead from Brazilian favourite, Sergio Camara on the last corner of the last lap! Ironically however, both crashed as they exited the last corner and handed victory to British racer Daniel Ticktum who started from eighth.

“I expected a mixed weekend – and it was exactly that. It was a steep learning curve with absolutely no margin for error. My qualifying race was compromised because ran out of tyres. At the start of the GP race I was forced into the barriers, which was a shame because I had good pace. Considering all the set-backs, I am happy with the pace I managed at the end, in my first Macau GP. I have learnt a lot and would definitely love to come and race here again next year” said Jehan after his top ten finish in the FIA F3 World Cup.

Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard are some of the Formula 1 winners who have won the Macau Grand Prix in the past besides, numerous other F1 racers who have participated but were unable to win.

eom/Press Release

November 21, 2017
Jehan, 1st Indian to get FIA F3 Euro win

Nuremberg (Germany) 2 July 2017: Jehan Daruvala of the Sahara Force India Academy created history by becoming the first ever Indian to win in the FIA F3 European Championship. Jehan’s victory in race 3 comes 18 years after Naren Karthikeyan won in the British F3 Championship.

The 2.3-km Norisring is an extremely fast and flowing layout for a street circuit, with mistakes being punished by concrete walls instead of soft tyre barriers. The Formula 3 rookie showed immense skill to clinch the top spot with two full-course yellow flag periods and made no mistakes despite coming under sustained pressure from championship leader Maximilian Gunther.

The 2001 Formula 1 title runner-up David Coulthard, who also won in F3 on several occasions, presented the winner’s trophy to Daruvala.

FIA Formula 3 is the toughest junior racing category in the world, having produced some of the best racing talents ever known including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

Daruvala had qualified on the front row for the final race of the weekend – behind pole-sitter and championship leader Maximilian Gunther. As the lights went out, the 18-year old got off the line in a scintillating fashion, getting side-by-side with his German rival before even reaching the braking zone into turn one. He comfortably defended the inside while others scrabbled behind him and never looked back – completing a perfect lights to flag win 39 laps later.

That is not to say the race was uneventful. There were many incidents and full-course yellows were deployed twice during the course of the race – but the Indian kept his head down and executed perfect restarts every single time, belying his experience in this format of single-seater racing.

Keeping an experienced rival like Gunther, the championship leader with three years of F3 experience under his belt went a long way in cementing Jehan’s credentials as one of the best new talents in junior motorsport.

Daruvala had a one-second advantage when the first full-course yellow was called on lap six, after a collision between Mick Schumacher and Pedro Piquet. At the restart, Gunther got slightly close and then several times during the race length of the race, but Daruvala kept up his relentless pace and never allowed his German rival an opportunity to make a move, taking the chequered flag with a 0.4s cushion.

“It feels brilliant to get my first F3 win. I have been quick all weekend & it finally came together this race. I knew the start was crucial, so I focused a lot on that. Once I had Max at the start, I just had to ensure that I made no mistakes. The pressure was immense through the race, but I was enjoying myself.

I must thank the team for a fantastic car all weekend & everyone else around me who have been instrumental in my success.” Said an ecstatic Jehan.

There was plenty of action earlier on in the weekend as well, as FIA Formula 3 once again ran alongside the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) – one of world’s leading tin-top championships. The first qualifying session saw Daruvala finish ninth with a laptime of 48.409s, less than two-tenths slower compared to pole-position time of Jake Hughes (48.231s). It once again showcased the ultra-competitive nature of the championship with the entire grid of 18 drivers covered by just seven-tenths of a second.

A strong haul of points thanks to his sixth & fourth places finishes in the first 2 races, meant that Jehan is now fifth in the overall standings and second in the rookie standings.

Shortly after the race ended, there was a great show of support for the young Indian driver – particularly from his compatriot Karthikeyan who enjoyed strong success in Formula 3, incidentally also with Carlin Motorsport.

He tweeted, “18 years after I won my first British F3 race, another Indian has made it to the top step once again – well done & congrats @DaruvalaJehan!”

“By far India’s brightest prospect of making it to F1. Today’s superb drive in the most competitive junior grid seals that. Awesome mate!” said the second tweet from the first Indian in Formula 1.

The next round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship is scheduled at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium on July 29-30.

eom/Rayo Racing release

July 2, 2017