Race Report

Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2019
FIA F3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Circuit: Silverstone (GB), Length 5.901 km, 12^th - 14^th July 2019, Rounds 7 & 8
www.silverstone.co.uk

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2019:
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN), Andreas Estner (D) and Federico Malvestiti (I)

Tsunoda in the points at Silverstone

The 2019 FIA F3 reconvened on the demanding Silverstone Circuit, racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. This was their fourth outing supporting the 2019 Grand Prix programme. The track was laid with new tarmac, and for the first time this year, the hard compound Pirelli tyres were used.

Race One Qualifying

Friday, 12/07/19, 17.50 – 18.20, Weather: Cloudy, 20°C

Federico Malvestiti, who scored well with us in FIA Formula 4 in 2017 and 2018 and who is competing in Formula Renault Eurocup this year, joined our drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Andreas Estner for this event. Federico courageously took the steering wheel of the more powerful FIA F3 race car for the first time with no testing for this race. Yuki had never driven on this track before, and Andreas also had to adjust once more to the high speed of the FIA F3 machine. All three did well on Friday morning in free practice, even though the track was damp at first, the new tarmac was slippery and it was only in the closing laps of the session that the faster times could be run. Yuki was 6^th, Andreas was 19^th and newcomer Federico was 27^th.
At 17.50 the qualifying session started in slightly cooler temperatures than we had been experiencing, but at least the track was dry. Yuki was in a good 12th place using his first set of tyres, and should have continued to improve with the second set of new tyres. However his vehicle soon learned to fly, then tobogganed off the track, and the tyres were so dirty that nothing could be achieved after that. He dropped back to a disappointing 26^th place. Andreas was very good in sectors one and three, and was faster than Yuki, but a mid-sector mistake prevented him from setting a better time and meant he was 27^th in the end. Federico was pushing energetically, and eventually lost out to the other drivers, ending up 29^th which was respectable enough for a rookie.

FIA F3 Championship

Race One (40 Minutes)

Saturday, 13/0/19, 10.25, Weather: Coudy, 17°C

The start went well and Yuki managed to make up several places on the first lap. He was now 21^st, Andreas was 26^th and Federico had managed the start in his first race in this category and was 27^th. Soon Federico and Andreas started to exchange places and seemed to progress well, but then suddenly the engine on Federico’s car switched off and he ground to a sudden halt on the straight. The Virtual Safety Car was activated while his car was recovered. It turned out that a battery cell shutdown was the reason for the drama. Unfortunately, Federico's first race, through no fault of his own, was over after just six laps. Andreas worked his way up to 23^rd place, and that was the position he finished in. Yuki had moved steadily forward during the first few laps and then held onto 16^th place for a number of laps. Towards the end of the race he set his fastest lap times and improved by another two places. After a very fast and demanding race he crossed the finish line in 14^th place.

The grid for the second race of the weekend was set by reversing the order of the first eight finishers in the first race, with the rest of the places set according to finishing order in the first race.

FIA F3 Championship

Race Two (40 Minutes)

Sunday, 14/07/19, 09.35, Weather: Overcast, 14°C

The morning was damp and cool, but it didn’t rain. Yuki overtook several drivers, made good progress and was already planning an attack for 11^th, but his manoeuvre failed and he dropped back to 18^th place. He moved forward again, ganing place after place, and his lap times were very rapid. There were places changes throughout the field in the closing laps of the race, and Yuki kept making progress. By the end he was in the top ten and after a chase in which he set the third fastest lap of the race, he finished an action-packed race in an excellent 7^th place. Andreas did not get off well at the start and lost some places but was able to improve during the race, working his way up to 22^nd place. Federico started well and moved from 29^th to 24^th but then an attack failed and he dropped back to 27^th. By the end of the race he was able to improve again and made several overtaking moves, crossing the finish line just behind Andreas in 23^rd place.

We look forward to the next race which will be held at the Hungaroring near Budapest (HU) on the weekend of 4^th August 2019.

Championship standings after 8 out of 18 races:

1^st Robert Shwartzman (RUS), 114 points; 2^nd Jehan Daruvala (IND), 102 points; 3^rd Juri Vips (EST), 92 points; 4^th Marcus Armstrong (NZ), 77 points; 5^th Pedro Piquet (BRA), 43 points; 6^th Max Fewtrell (GB), 37 points; 13^th Yuki Tsunoda (JPN), 11 points

Yuki Tsunoda (JAP)

Andreas Estner (D)

Federico Malvestiti (I)

© Photo Pellegrini

2019 FIA F3 Championship

For more information:

• www.fiaformula3.com
• www.italiaracing.net