FIA F3 lands in Melbourne for second round of the year
After the opening round at Bahrain three weeks ago, the FIA F3 Championship lands this weekend on the other side of the planet. At the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne – Australia, the competition reaches its second double round with Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto leading the standings.
On board of car #5 of the Trident Motorsport team, Bortoleto was the big name of the first round of the Championship. With a win and 26 points earned he appears at the top of the leaderboard.
The challenges of this weekend, however, are different. The category has never competed on this track and the information and data that usually the team already has from previous years do not exist for the Albert Park Circuit. The track, which has hosted F1 races since 1996, is a mix of street and race circuit. Set in the middle of the park that gives name to the circuit the track has an extension of 5,278 meters permeated by large straights and 14 curves. Some “hairpins” bring good overtaking points and make the disputes even more intense and interesting.
As like the rest of the season, the FIA F3 takes place as a F1 preliminary. The Brazilian public, already accustomed to waking up at dawn to follow the intense catches of the category will have, in this round, the opportunity for friendlier schedules. With 14 hours of time zone ahead of Brazil the schedule for those who watch here will start on Thursday night with free practice and the qualifying that will be exactly at midnight. On Friday night the Sprint race will be held and on Saturday night the feature race.
“I like to race on new tracks. The challenge is quite big, but I prepared myself for this weekend. I did several simulator sessions over the last few days, not to mention, in intense physical preparation. We believe that, just like in pre-season and in the first stage, we will have a very competitive equipment. The track is complicated and, despite the long straights, it is still a street circuit. I will do my best to achieve a good result in the qualifying and, with this, try to make clean races and away from the intermediate pack, where most accidents always happen,” explained the 18-year-old.
Check out the official schedule by Brasilia time:
Thursday | March 30
18:50 – Free practice 1 (Band Sports)
24:00 – Qualifying (Band Sports)
Friday | March 31
21:00 – Race 1 (Band Sports)
Saturday | April 1st
20:05 – Race 2 (Band Sports)
Pictures: James Gasperotti | Disclosure
Press office of KTF Sports
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick