Tag: Formula 3

Jehan Daruvala settles for second after a daring drive: F3 Race 1

Jehan Daruvala (PREMA Racing), Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix), Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Racing) at the F3 podium on Saturday. An F3 image

Silverstone, 13 July 2019: Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala of Prema Racing, made a valiant attempt to force a win, but superb defending by Red Bull Junior Juri Vips of Hitech Grand Prix team saw him take a well-deserved win ahead of the Prema duo of Daruvala and championship leader Marcus Armstrong in the FIA Formula 3 Race 1, a support event at the British Grand Prix weekend at the iconic Silverstone circuit here on Saturday. Daruvala, thus gained his fifth podium of the season and has now taken the championship lead with 102 points. He will start on P7 for the shorter Sprint race on Sunday at 1.05 IST

Jüri Vips produced a defensive masterclass at Silverstone to keep the relentless Jehan Daruvala behind him and drive a lights-to-flag victory in the FIA Formula 3 Race 1. The Hitech Grand Prix man survived several overtake attempts from the pacey PREMA to retain the position come the chequered flag. The duo were followed by the second PREMA of Marcus Armstrong in third.

There was a frantic start when the lights went out, as Vips dashed in front of Armstrong to hold onto pole and race ahead. In his attempts to take first, the Kiwi dropped between both Daruvala and Christian Lundgaard, who took advantage of his focus on Vips.

Armstrong managed to regain the place from Lundgaard at the second corner, who was thrust into a battle with Leonardo Pulcini. The Italian initially cut around the right of the ART man, who dropped back and sprinted around his left to regain fourth.

Meanwhile, the third PREMA of Robert Shwartzman had fallen as far as 13^th after a slow start, but wrestled his way back to his starting position of sixth within the first tour of Silverstone.

Armstrong and Lundgaard were still locked in wall-to-wall combat for third around the tight twists of the circuit, before the Kiwi was given some respite when debutant Federico Malvestiti stopped on track and brought out a virtual safety car.

Back out in front, Daruvala attempted a daring lunge on the race leader when action resumed, but Vips defended gallantly going into the corner to hold onto P1. The Indian driver made a second attempt just a few minutes later, but once again fell foul to the defensive abilities of the Hitech racer, who held on, despite nearly kissing tyres.

The battle was far from over and the gap remained under a second, but Vips refused to waver. His persistent change of racing line was breaking Daruvala’s tow and keeping him in behind. The PREMA man’s third attempt was his closest as the duo went wheel-to-wheel, but Vips edged him around the corner and once again, they nearly kissed tyres as the PREMA man was forced to ease off.

Having fought so hard for first, the Indian was suddenly plunged into a fight for P2 after he wobbled around a corner and briefly cruised off track. Armstrong dove down the side and the pair went wheel-to-wheel. Still within a second of Vips, Daruvala was aided by DRS and managed to cling on.

Further back, Raoul Hyman was flung off track and bumped the barriers. His attempts to get restarted were in vein and eventually he was forced out of his car, bringing out a safety car.

Five laps remained when the safety car dove back into the pits and Vips made a superb getaway, while Daruvala made a poor one. The Estonian quickly built up a 1s gap and was out of DRS range, with Daruvala now concentrating on the Kiwi teammate in his shadow.

The safety car had bridged the gap between Piquet and Shwartzman, but traffic was crushing his efforts to overtake. Spotting the Trident in his rear view, the PREMA picked up pace and made a move on Lundgaard, slickly sweeping down his left.

Vips had put air between himself and Daruvala, who was now locked in a three-way battle with Armstrong and Pulcini for the final podium places. They would all hold on come the chequered flag, as Vips ran ahead of Daruvala and Armstrong, with Pulcini in fourth, for the first lights-to-flag victory of the campaign.

Shwartzman completed the top five following his move on Lundgaard, while Piquet stole sixth at the death. The ART man was forced to settle for seventh, ahead of Liam Lawson, Jake Hughes and Alex Peroni.

Daruvala’s P2 finish was enough to haul him into the Championship lead on 100 points, two ahead of teammate Shwartzman. Vips is third on 92, followed by Armstrong on 69 and Piquet on 43. PREMA lead the team’s standings with 226 points, ahead of ART Grand Prix on 76. Hitech Grand Prix are third with 71 points, followed by Trident on 50 and HWA RACELAB on 35.

The grid’s youngest driver Liam Lawson will start on reverse pole in Race 2 tomorrow, which takes place at 1.05pm IST, 8.35am local time.

2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Race 1 classification

	DRIVER	TEAM
1	Juri Vips	Hitech Grand Prix
2	Jehan Daruvala	PREMA Racing
3	Marcus Armstrong	PREMA Racing
4	Leonardo Pulcini	Hitech Grand Prix
5	Robert Shwartzman	PREMA Racing
6	Pedro Piquet	Trident
7	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix
8	Liam Lawson	MP Motorsport
9	Jake Hughes	HWA RACELAB
10	Alex Peroni	Campos Racing
11	David Beckmann	ART Grand Prix
12	Ye Yifei	Hitech Grand Prix
13	Felipe Drugovich	Carlin Buzz Racing
14	Yuki Tsunoda	Jenzer Motorsport
15	Lirim Zendeli	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
16	Fabio Scherer	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
17	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport
18	Niko Kari	Trident
19	Max Fewtrell	ART Grand Prix
20	Sebastian Fernandez	Campos Racing
21	Keyvan Andres	HWA RACELAB
22	Bent Viscaal	HWA RACELAB
23	Andreas Estner	Jenzer Motorsport
24	Simo Laaksonen	MP Motorsport
25	Teppei Natori	Carlin Buzz Racing
26	Logan Sargeant	Carlin Buzz Racing
27	Devlin DeFrancesco	Trident

	NOT CLASSIFIED

	Raoul Hyman	Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
	Federico Malvestiti	Jenzer Motorsport
	Alessio Deledda	Campos Racing

	OVERALL FASTEST LAP
	Logan Sargeant (Carlin Buzz Racing) – 1:45.692 on Lap 16

	FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
	Jehan Daruvala (PREMA Racing) – 1:45.698 on Lap 17

July 13, 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

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 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