Euro F3 back on track after summer break
Published on 07 October 2014 by Stefan Meens
After his successful free practice outing in the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR9 during the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is back in Europe. He joins the other FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers and their teams after the series’ summer break at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a collective test is held on the 2.5-mile Italian track in order to prepare for the penultimate round of the championship upcoming weekend.
In addition to the established FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers, the Imola grid also will feature returnees and new names. A total of six new drivers will make the trip to Imola to battle it out with their far more experienced opponents who have been contesting the entire 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship season: Hongwei Cao (Fortec Motorsports), Nicolas Pohler (Team West-Tec F3) Sérgio Sette Câmara (Eurointernational) and Marvin Kirchhöfer (Motopark Academy) make their first FIA Formula 3 European Championship appearances while William Buller (Signature) and Nick Cassidy (ThreeBond with T-Sport) already contested selected FIA Formula 3 European Championship events of the 2013 season.
China’s Hongwei Cao won the British Formula 3 Championship, this year – to now make the next step. Germany’s Marvin Kirchhöfer won the 2013 title in the German ATS Formula 3 Cup and is a GP3 regular, this year. Brazilian Sérgio Sette Câmara can hark back to F3 experience gathered at home in the national Formula 3 series and German Nicolas Pohler currently contests the 2014 Euroformula Open season.
Furthermore, the German Team Motopark Academy is going to contests its first official FIA Formula 3 European Championship tests. The German outfit is no stranger to Verstappen fans as the Red Bull Junior claimed a dominant Zandvoort Masters win with the team in a one-off collaboration. Another team joining the Euro F3 paddock is French squad Signature that opted for withdrawing from the series, after the pre-season tests. Altogether, 29 drivers from 21 nations and twelve teams will be involved in the two days of FIA Formula 3 European Championship testing at Imola.
But the newcomers and returnees will have to cope with a strong competition such as the two fast rookies Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam) and Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) The two young talents have been dominating the season to date and hold first and second drivers’ championship positions, with six more races to be contested. Due to engine swap at the Nürburgring, Max will receive a ten place grid penalty for two of the three races this weekend. It will therefore be a tough task to still win the title but the Dutchman is highly motivated to finish the season on a high note before embarking on his Formula 1 mission in 2015.
On both test days the drivers will hit the track between 8am till 12pm and 1.30pm till 5pm. Via our social media channels(Twitter and Facebook), we will keep you updated throughout the day. You can find the live timing here: http://imola.perugiatiming.com
