INDIA in F1

Tag: Prema Racing

  • Harsh post-race penalty robs Daruvala of a ‘win’ in Austria

    Harsh post-race penalty robs Daruvala of a ‘win’ in Austria

    The 23-year-old was provisionally classified second but a 20-second penalty drops him down the classification

    The Red Bull-backed racer was perfectly poised to inherit victory after provisional winner Verschoor was disqualified

    SPIELBERG, 10 July 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala put in a stirring drive from 11th to second in Sunday’s Formula 2 feature race in Austria but was robbed of his sixth podium of the season by a post-race penalty.

    Jehan had finished a provisional second after an inspired strategy call to start the race on slick tyres on a damp track and searing pace from the Red Bull-backed racer in the tricky conditions saw him make rapid progress up the field.

    But a 20-second time penalty, handed out after stewards deemed the Prema Racing team had attempted to dry the track surface at Jehan’s grid spot, negated his brilliant run.

    The penalty was all the more disappointing as Jehan was briefly in with a chance of inheriting the race win after provisional winner Richard Verschoor was disqualified for a fuel irregularity.

    Jehan said, “I’m absolutely gutted. All season luck has been against us and just when I thought things were finally going our way we get hit with a penalty.

    We did everything right today. I was expecting a tough race from 11th on the grid and, while it was tricky, we read the conditions perfectly today. The team made the right strategy call on the tyres and I was able to maximise it with my pace in the wet. It’s difficult to find the positives after having a result we fought hard for taken away from us in this fashion. We could have taken big points off our rivals today but I can still take encouragement from my pace today. We now have a weekend off before the next run of back-to-back races and it’s now full focus on Paul Ricard and Budapest. We just need to keep pushing and I’m sure our day will come.”

    Jehan’s pace in the changing conditions was formidable. He built up a sizeable gap and then timed his one and only pitstop to perfection, coming in on lap 13.

    The penalty in Austria was the latest in a series of Sunday misfortunes that have cost Jehan a strong result in feature races this season.

    An ill-timed safety car cost him a potential victory in Imola. In Barcelona an electrical problem sidelined Jehan on the fourth lap just when he was ideally placed to benefit from running the alternative strategy.  

  • Jehan misses victory but moves to third in title-hunt

    Jehan misses victory but moves to third in title-hunt

    Imola, 23 April 2022: India’s Jehan Daruvala only just missed out on victory on Saturday, with the Red Bull-backed racer coming away with a second-placed finish in the Sprint race of the Formula 2 championship’s Imola round. 

    The 23-year-old, who started third, rocketed off the line to slot into second behind Marcus Armstrong, who took the lead.

    Jehan kept the position through an early safety car and then a subsequent Virtual Safety Car period before unleashing his pace.

    Overtaking proved to be tricky on the narrow Imola track, Jehan crossed the line 1.4 seconds behind the Hitech driver. His Prema team mate Dennis Hauger was third, completing a double podium for the Italian team on home soil.

    His second-place in Imola was Jehan’s third podium from as many rounds this season and 10th overall in Formula 2. It also lifted him to third in the overall drivers’ standings.

    Jehan said about Race 1, “Firstly, I got off the line better than the guys at the front but because I had to avoid Logan I lost some momentum and couldn’t get Marcus. But after that the race wasn’t easy. I was trying to put him under a lot of pressure early on in the race but it was really hard to follow especially in the middle sector. I had DRS but I was never quite close enough to mount an attack. I tried to cool down and give it a go at the end but again when I got closer I really struggled to follow. All in all we had great pace but couldn’t really use it much.”

    Jehan followed up his podium with a points-paying finish in the Feature race, with the Red Bull-backed racer showing blistering pace to bounce back from an ill-timed safety car. Despite the safety car misfortune, Jehan remained unfazed and proved he had the pace to win.

    Having started eighth, Jehan moved into the lead on lap 9, reeling off a series of consecutive fastest laps. He stayed in the lead for more than half the race and charged back up to ninth, after his pitstop had dropped him down to 14th. He also had the fastest lap of the race.

    Jehan is the only driver to have to have finished on the podium in every round this season, and is also the lead Red Bull Junior in the standings.

    The fourth round of the Formula 2 championship will be held at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from May 20th to May 22nd, alongside the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.

    About Jehan Daruvala

    Jehan Daruvala is a racing driver from Mumbai, India. He began karting at the age of 10 in 2009. Two years later, he was picked as one of the three winners of Force India’s ‘One From a Billion’ talent hunt. In 2013, he became the first Asian to win the British KF3 karting championship. A proven winner, Jehan has won in every category he has competed in. He is currently racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, which is a feeder series to Formula 1 and takes place on the same weekends. Already a multiple winner in the category, Jehan’s goal for the 2022 season is to claim the title which would boost his chances of becoming only the third Indian on the Formula One grid.

    Picture credits – Prema Racing

  • F3: Vesti wins for Prema but loses half points to rain

    F3: Vesti wins for Prema but loses half points to rain

    Spielberg, 11 July 2020: Frederik Vesti is off the mark in Formula 3, taking his first victory in Race 1, but it’s not quite how the Dane would have envisaged it, with the race ending nine laps early due to a hazardous downpour of rain

    With more than 25% of the race left to run, only half points will be awarded to the grid, leaving Vesti with a sense of frustration on a weekend where he has shown real pace.

    Trident enjoyed their most successful race in the Championship with their driver trio proving their abilities in the wet, as Lirim Zendeli and David Beckmann took second and third for their first F3 podiums, and a late lunge from Olli Caldwell saw him earn his best finish of fourth.

    It wasn’t quite such a successful afternoon for the other two PREMAs, as Oscar Piastri fell from fourth to fifth, and Logan Sargeant dropped from third to seventh.

    AS IT HAPPENED The weather was far from conclusive ahead of the race start. Patches of the track were wet, but the main straight remained dry with just drops of rain falling on the Red Bull Ring as the cars lined up for the formation lap. This prompted plenty of discussion down the field as to which tyres to start on. The majority of the grid opted to air on the side of caution with the wets, but the likes of Federico Malvestiti and Cameron Das at the back were tempted to risk the slicks. The formation lap put this notion to bed, and they returned to the pits to switch to the wet Pirellis. Poleman Vesti was pretty much untroubled off the line, but his teammates struggled with the conditions. The Tridents however revelled in them. Beckmann calmly hung on to second despite an attempted lunge from Piastri down the left, before teammate Zendeli launched from P6 to P2 and into the rear-view mirror of the race leader, who suddenly had to go on the defensive, just clinging on to first.

    The rain was getting fiercer and Max Fewtrell clearly wasn’t happy, telling his team that he could barely see from 15th. The third Trident of Caldwell didn’t appear to be having quite the same struggle, fighting well to pass Logan Sargeant and Theo Pourchaire. 

    Liam Lawson looked to have a handle on the conditions and eyed up Alex Peroni, but things got a little heated between the pair. Lawson made his move and the two tapped wheels. The overtake was clean, albeit aggressive, but the Kiwi wouldn’t have minded too much as the position was his. The conditions began to get too much tougher and Alex Smolyar was the first to fall foul of the downpour. The Russian lost grip on the final corner and spun into the barriers, bringing out the first safety car of the morning, but certainly not the last. Vesti got away cleanly at the restart, with the field looking reluctant to risk a move in the conditions.

    Piastri had brief glance down the side of Beckmann, but opted against it. The safety car wasn’t in the pits for long, as Clement Novalak lost control of his Carlin and suffered a puncture which sent him wayward. Racing resumed and the front three remained firmly locked in place, with nobody wanting to take unnecessary risks. Those further back were slightly less wary and Caldwell made a late move on Piastri for fourth, squeezing past him down the inside of Turn 2. Richard Verschoor also made up a position, tussling his way to sixth, for his fifth overtake of the morning. The safety car would return for the final time the following lap, with Roman Stanek spinning wide and Sebastian Fernandez losing control down the main straight. This was enough for race control to wave the red flag and the decision was made shortly after to end the race early, with conditions only getting worse as the morning wore on. That handed a Vesti a first win in F3, albeit in difficult circumstances. It confirmed a fantastic afternoon for Trident, who took their best ever finish, with Zendeli, Beckmann and Caldwell following Vesti in the order, ahead of Piastri in fifth. Verschoor hung on to sixth, ahead of Sargeant, Lawson and Pourchaire.

    Jake Hughes will start on reverse grid pole for HWA RACELAB in Race 2 on Sunday, having climbed from 16th . With only half points given, Piastri remains first in the standings on 35 points, but is just half a point clear of Vesti in second. Lawson is joint third with Zendeli on 25 points, ahead of Beckmann on 21.5. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA are first on 90.5, ahead of Trident on 52.5. Hitech Grand Prix are third, ahead of MP Motorsport and Campos Racing

  • Piastri leads PREMA one-two in Spielberg F3 Race 1

    Piastri leads PREMA one-two in Spielberg F3 Race 1

    Spielberg (Austria), 4 July 2020: It was business as usual for PREMA, as the 2019 Champions got off to a near-perfect start in Spielberg, taking a one-two finish thanks to Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant in Race 1 of FIA Formula 3, held before the F1 Austrian GP qualification on Saturday.

    Piastri had stunned at the start to steal the lead from third, and played out a controlled race, rarely looking in danger. Only the Campos of Alex Peroni could break up the PREMA party, with the Aussie racer snatching third ahead of Frederik Vesti, and the fastest lap, for his first ever F3 podium.

    Having started the weekend so superbly, polesitter Sebastian Fernandez’s race was over before it even began, as a first lap collision with Piastri forced him to retire from the pits.

    Clement Novalak will start Race 2 from pole, under the new reverse grid rules. The Frenchman impressed on his maiden appearance to finish 10th, with less than two seconds separating eighth from 11th.

    From left: Sargeant, Piastri and Peroni as they spray champagne to celebrate on the podium. An FIA F3 image
    From left: Sargeant, Piastri and Peroni celebrate on the podium. An FIA F3 image

    Further back, Igor Fraga caught the eye on his F3 debut. The Brazilian dropped to the back of the grid at the start, but clawed his way up to 16th with a serious of stunning manoeuvres.

    As it happened

    Anyone expecting a calm start to the Formula 3 season would have been bitterly disappointed, with chaos ensuing right from the off. Sebastian Fernandez stuttered when the lights went out and allowed the Trident of Lirim Zendeli to edge ahead of him from the inside.

    Piastri followed the German through down the right and it was that move that provoked a reaction from the Spaniard. Fernandez attempted to reclaim the position from the outside but ran out of room and went spinning into the gravel.

    The ART machine was forced into the pits, where the polesitter’s morning ended in retirement. Race control deemed it a racing incident, with no further action required. Piastri got away damage free, with plenty of momentum, and he followed up his move on Fernandez by diving past Zendeli on the outside of Turn 3 for P1.

    Another beneficiary of the chaotic start was Peroni. Starting from eighth – on his return to F3 following a horror crash in Monza last year which ended his season early – the Aussie gained a

    position as Hughes was forced to start from the pits, having qualified fifth. By the time Piastri took the lead, Peroni had flown to fourth and was hot on the heels of Sargeant in P3.

    Despite the Campos in his rear-view mirror, the American’s focus was locked onto Zendeli in P2. When the chance arose, Sargeant made sure he took it. Zendeli was overcautious on the brakes, which allowed both Sargeant and Peroni to dive around the outside of him.

    Their battles in behind had allowed Piastri to build a firm 3s lead out in front, as Peroni got within DRS range of Sargeant. The American was just about managing to hold him off, while Piastri stretched his legs.

    Further back, the fight for reverse pole was heating up. Under new rules for 2020, the top 10 will all earn points and then be reversed for Race 2. Clement Novalak was the incumbent of that position, but with less than 2s separating eighth from 11th, they continued to fight.

    Another PREMA would join the top four, as Vesti darted ahead of Zendeli and set the fastest lap in doing so. The Dane’s move helped to ease the pressure on Sargeant, as he began to tussle with Peroni.

    Despite the battles going on, little would change in the closing laps. Piastri fought off concerns about the degradation of his rear tyres to close out a measured drive. The Aussie taking victory on his F3 debut, ahead of his teammate Sargeant, and Peroni.

    Fellow debutant Vesti would seal a superb start to 2020 for PREMA with fourth, ahead of Zendeli, who also scored his highest ever finish in F3. Liam Lawson impressed with a drive from 12th to sixth, ahead of David Beckmann, Richard Verschoor, Smolyar and Novalak.

    The key quote – Oscar Piastri (PREMA Racing)

    “Winning the first race is a great start to the year. It was very scary at Turn 1 at the start and I thought that it was going to be race over 10 seconds into my debut, but thankfully I got through that and made a good move on Lirim [Zendeli] into Turn 3.

    “Then, I just controlled it from there. The tyre deg was a bit more than we were expecting and halfway into the race I was struggling a bit with the rears. Logan [Sargeant] was catching me and bringing the train with him, so I had to stay on my toes.

    “I couldn’t have started the year any better really and hopefully we can make up a few spots in the reverse grid tomorrow.”

    What’s next?

    Carlin’s French rookie Novalak will start Race 2 from pole tomorrow at 9.45am local time, with fellow rookie Alex Smolyar and Macau winner Richard Verschoor in behind. Don’t bet against the PREMA’s making up a few positions either, with the Italian’s already in red hot form.

  • Daruvala back on form with pole in Spa-Francorchamps: F3

    Daruvala back on form with pole in Spa-Francorchamps: F3

    PREMA Racer qualifies ahead of Piquet and Tsunoda

    Jehan Daruvala (IND) of PREMA Racing, celebrates after taking pole position at Spa on Friday, 30 Aug 2019. An FIA F3 image

    Spa Francorchamps, 30 August 2019: Indian racing sensation Jehan Daruvala scored his first pole position of the season with a scintillating late tour of Spa-Francorchamps in Friday’s FIA Formula 3 Qualifying. The Prema Racing ace was the best of a late sprint to pole, beating out Trident’s Pedro Piquet and Jenzer Motorsport’s Yuki Tsunoda.

    Crucially for the Indian, it adds four points to his tally, as he chases Russian Robert Schwartzman & Juri Vips from Estonia, in the championship battle.

     The ultra-competitive nature of the FIA F3 championship has seen a wide range of drivers performing through the season and Jehan was sixth different pole sitter in the six rounds of the season so far.

    The moment qualifying started, almost all cars were on track jostling for position and after the first set of laps, it was former Brazilian F3 champion Pedro Piquet who was on provisional pole. Jehan’s quick laps were only good enough for seventh. Jehan was the slowest of the top eleven on the straights at that time and when he pulled into the pits, the team altered setup reducing Jehan’s downforce.

    All drivers had changed tyres and were back on track. The changes to his car suited Jehan when he returned to track and he immediately put in his personal fastest in sector 1. Sector 2 was where Jehan was sensational, posting a time faster than everyone else. A quick sector 3 sealed pole for Jehan with a lap time of 2:05.125. Such was Jehan’s pace that he managed to have the highest lap time margin for pole the entire season!

     “Finally pole position! I have been thereabouts all season, fighting for pole, and then I got it so I’m very very happy for myself and the team. It’s great to bounce back after a bad weekend at Budapest. It was a chaotic session, but I managed to stay out of trouble. The car was great. After the first set of laps, I knew I didn’t put it together so I just wanted to focus on the driving and get a good lap. We tweaked something in the middle of the session which also helped. To be on pole at Spa is amazing, hopefully, I can turn it into a win.” said Jehan.

     Piquet was second followed immediately by Tsunoda & Championship leader Shwartzman, Jehan will start on pole for Race 1 today while top 8 in Race 1 will be reversed for the start of Race 2. Jehan sits 3rd currently in the championship, 16 points behind Shwartzman and 4 points behind Vips.

    Earlier, Christian Lundgaard led the cars out into the 35-degree track temperature, but it was Piquet who was hottest in the early stages, beating out both the Dane and Leonardo Pulcini for provisional pole. The Brazilian racer was swiftly backed up by his Trident teammate Devlin DeFrancesco, who looked much improved in Round 6 and was eyeing his best Qualifying of the season.
    The two held their positions as the cars ducked into the pits for fresh boots and were the first back out on track for the final fifteen minutes of the afternoon. Armed with fresh tyres, the times started to tumble and the duo’s positions were under threat. Jüri Vips – hopeful of taking the title lead this weekend – was the first to steal provisional pole, with a time of 2.05.625.
    The Estonian’s time on top was short lived as Piquet, Tsunoda and Robert Shwartzman leapt ahead of him in quick succession. With less than five minutes remaining and one shot at pole, Daruvala managed the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps two tenths quicker than them all and claimed his position in P1.
    In the third PREMA, Marcus Armstrong was hoping to follow up his first win of the season in Budapest, with another strong weekend. The Kiwi complained of traffic on track and eased off in the hope of finding space, but it never came and he was left to settle for 19th.
    When the chequered flag was waved, Daruvala was followed by Piquet, while Tsunoda secured his best Qualifying position of the season in 3rd. Shwartzman and Jake Hughes completed the front five ahead of Vips, DeFrancesco, Pulcini, Logan Sargeant and Liam Lawson.
    Daruvala will be hunting down his first win since Round 2 when Race 1 gets underway at 2.05pm IST (10.35am local time) on Saturday morning.
    About Jehan Daruvala: The 20-year-old Jehan began his career in Karting at the age of 10. Since then he has won the Indian National Karting Championship, the Malaysian Junior Yamaha Karting Championship, the FIA CIK Asia Pacific KF3 Championship, and the British SuperOne National Karting Championship. Jehan remains the only Indian on the podium of any FIA World Championship when he was second runner up of the FIA CIK World Karting Championship. Jehan also remains the only Indian to win a Grand Prix, when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix and later went on to become the only Indian to win a race in the erstwhile FIA F3 European Championship, which used slower cars. Earlier this year Jehan was selected by Prema Racing, one of the world’s most successful Junior Racing teams’ to drive for them in this year’s new, FIA F3 Championship. He already has two wins and five podiums and is currently third in the F3 leaderboard.
    FIA Formula 3 Round 6 – Qualifying provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    2:05.125
    11
    2
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    2:05.356
    10
    3
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    2:05.540
    10
    4
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    2:05.605
    11
    5
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    2:05.614
    10
    6
    Jüri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2:05.625
    11
    7
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    2:05.640
    11
    8
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2:05.701
    11
    9
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    2:05.709
    11
    10
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    2:06.060
    11
    11
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    2:06.187
    10
    12
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    2:06.207
    11
    13
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    2:06.255
    11
    14
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    2:06.270
    11
    15
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2:06.274
    11
    16
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    2:06.289
    10
    17
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    2:06.333
    10
    18
    Giorgio Carrara
    Jenzer Motorsport
    2:06.396
    11
    19
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    2:06.400
    10
    20
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    2:06.420
    10
    21
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    2:06.475
    11
    22
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    2:06.537
    10
    23
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    2:06.606
    10
    24
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    2:06.614
    10
    25
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    2:07.251
    10
    26
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    2:07.475
    10
    27
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    2:07.503
    10
    28
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    2:08.014
    10
    29
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    2:08.076
    9
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    2:08.898
    10
  • Jehan Daruvala claims P3 for Race 1, looks forward to a good fight: F3

    Jehan Daruvala claims P3 for Race 1, looks forward to a good fight: F3

    Jehan Daruvala after qualifying P3 on Friday at Silverstone. Photos: Twitter @DaruvalaJehan

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian race driver Jehan Daruvala missed the pole by a whisker after a late charge by Jüri Vips in his last lap put the Hitech Grand Prix team on top and he fetched his first F3 pole position, during an intense final few minutes of FIA Formula 3 Qualifying here on Friday.

    No fewer than five drivers held first in the final 90 seconds of the session, but Vips came out on top ahead of PREMA duo Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala.
    The Championship leaders were the ones to beat at the start of the session, with Armstrong and Daruvala comfortably lapping quickest early on. Vips and Max Fewtrell soon got up to speed and were able to usurp the in-form pair.
    Armstrong was on the hunt for his second pole this season in as many rounds and reclaimed P1 as the cars began to feed back into the pit lane at the halfway stage.  Liam Lawson nipped out ahead of everyone and pocketed P2 with the track to himself, but the Kiwi was pushed back down the order when the track filled up again.
    Vips exchanged fastest laps with Niko Kari heading into the final minutes of the session, before Qualifying quickly heated up. Pedro Piquet stole P1 from the clutches of Vips with 90 seconds left on the clock, but was soon usurped by Robert Shwartzman and then Armstrong.
    The Estonian had enough in the tank to return the favour and jumped back ahead to seal first, followed by Armstrong and Daruvala. Christian Lundgaard and Leonardo Pulcini completed the top five, ahead of Shwartzman, Lawson, Piquet, Fabio Scherer and Ye Yifei.
    Jehan will be aiming for a podium finish if not a win and looking forward for a good fight in Race 1 tomorrow, at 2.05iST. Local time: 9.25am
    FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Qualifying classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Jüri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:43.902
    13
    2
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:43.998
    11
    3
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:44.014
    11
    4
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.073
    12
    5
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:44.139
    12
    6
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:44.218
    11
    7
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.360
    12
    8
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:44.403
    13
    9
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.433
    13
    10
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:44.461
    12
    11
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:44.462
    13
    12
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:44.476
    14
    13
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.581
    12
    14
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.584
    12
    15
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.647
    12
    16
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:44.746
    12
    17
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.756
    13
    18
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.967
    11
    19
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:44.984
    13
    20
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:45.020
    12
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:45.088
    13
    22
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:45.109
    13
    23
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:45.110
    13
    24
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.142
    12
    25
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:45.229
    14
    26
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.301
    13
    27
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.435
    13
    28
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:45.590
    13
    29
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:46.103
    13
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:47.068
    13

  • Jehan Daruvala clocks 10th fastest time in Friday morning practice: F3

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian racing sensation Jehan Daruvala of Prema Racing, who is running second in the F3 Championship table, finished 10th on the timesheets in Friday practice even as Max Fewtrell ensured the British race weekend got underway with a countryman on top, lapping quickest around the freshly laid Silverstone circuit to top the times in this morning’s FIA Formula 3 Free Practice.
    The ART Grand Prix man ran ahead of Trident’s Devlin DeFrancesco and teammate David Beckmann, who both secured their highest practice positions of the campaign to date.
    It was the third ART machine which got the session underway, as Christian Lundgaard set the early pace in cool 17-degree temperatures. Fellow Englishman Jake Hughes and Leonardo Pulcini then exchanged places at the top, as the grid warmed up their tyres.
    There was plenty of traffic on track in the opening minutes as the cars got a taste of the new tarmac and PREMA soon took control of the session with Championship leaders Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala leading the times.
    That was as good as it got for the PREMA duo who quickly dropped down the order. Pulcini and Beckmann began to battle it out in first, but Fewtrell then emerged as the frontrunner in front of his home crowd.
    Ye Yifei briefly claimed first ahead of the ART man, but the latter bounced back by breaking the 1m 46s barrier with just two minutes on the clock. DeFrancesco was able to set a time good enough for second, while Beckmann couldn’t improve on his teammate’s time and nestled in at third ahead of Yifei and Lirim Zendeli. Yuki Tsunoda, Lundgaard, Raoul Hyman, Pulcini and Daruvala completed the top ten.
    Fewtrell will look to keep up his early weekend pace when the cars return to the track for Qualifying at 4.50pm (local time).
    FIA Formula 3 – Silverstone Free Practice classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.264
    18
    2
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:45.487
    18
    3
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.583
    19
    4
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:45.606
    20
    5
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:45.672
    19
    6
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.779
    20
    7
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.998
    19
    8
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:46.185
    19
    9
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:46.222
    15
    10
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:46.264
    15
    11
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:46.270
    20
    12
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:46.396
    16
    13
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:46.428
    17
    14
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:46.553
    17
    15
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:46.578
    16
    16
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:46.681
    16
    17
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:46.743
    18
    18
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:46.767
    17
    19
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:46.843
    21
    20
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:46.850
    14
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:47.096
    17
    22
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.201
    17
    23
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.220
    16
    24
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.235
    16
    25
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:47.477
    18
    26
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:47.637
    18
    27
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:47.876
    21
    28
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:48.315
    19
    29
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:48.946
    19
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:49.124
    20