Preview Round 6

Data (GMT+2)

Friday Free Practice: 09.35 – 10.20

Qualifying: 17.50 – 18.20 Saturday

Race 1: 10.35 (17 laps) Press conference: 11.40

Sunday Race 2: 09.45 (17 laps)

Note: The FIA F3 press conference takes place in the F1 press conference room.

The Stakes

Refuelled and raring to go after the summer break, the F3 paddock visits the Belgian town of Spa for Round 6 of the FIA Formula 3 championship.

ART Grand Prix had a weekend to remember in Hungary last time out, with Christian Lundgaard setting the pace in practice before putting his machine on pole in qualifying. The Dane stormed off the line to take maximum points in Race 1, setting the fastest lap in a lights-to-flag victory for his first win of the season, ahead of teammate Max Fewtrell for an ART one-two. If Lundgaard was impressive on Saturday, PREMA Racing’s Marcus Armstrong was simply dominant on Sunday. The New Zealander earned his first victory of the season, finally converting his raw pace into maximum points. He led from start to finish, set the fastest lap and crossed the line 12.6 seconds ahead of runner-up Leonardo Pulcini.

Robert Shwartzman (124 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship, with Jüri Vips (112) in second place, just 12 points behind. Jehan Daruvala (104) is third, with Armstrong (98) and Lundgaard (73) completing the top five. PREMA (326) remain at the head of the Teams’ Championship, 161 points in front of Hitech Grand Prix (165). ART Grand Prix (147) are 18 points further back in third.

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps plays host for Round 6, a track many drivers and fans rate as one of their favourite places for motorsport. A track known for its length and fast, challenging corners, the teams and drivers will need to pay close attention to Pirelli’s medium compound tyre – that’s if the often tricky conditions don’t result in rain! Spa has seen plenty of dramatic action over the years, and 30 F3 cars battling it out wheel-to-wheel should provide even more!

Warm Up // David Beckmann – ART Grand Prix

“Spa-Francorchamps has always been a very special track for me and I think for every driver. It's a very historic, magical track. There are many famous corners there and the layout of the circuit is awesome. It's really nice to drive. Eau Rouge is very nice and in our cars it’s easy to do flat. There are other corners like Pouhon which is a very fast left hand corner and also very technical corners like the chicane where drivers can make real a difference. It's a good track to overtake on because of the long straights and when you overtake someone you're able to make a gap so they can't get you back before Blanchimont. I'm really looking for to it.

“I won there last year in GP3 in a really hard race because it was damp. It wasn't easy to drive and you never know what the weather is going to be like. Even if the forecast is for dry weather, in the morning the track might be completely damp because we drive so early. You need to be prepared for every situation. We didn't have any big problems with tyre degradation because of the damp surface, but you have to get the tyres to temperature and that's not so easy in the morning. You have one formation lap so you need to be really aggressive to the tyres but also smart so as not to destroy them if they are too cold.

“If you are good at Spa then you can be very good at every racetrack. It will be nice to go back there this year and I'll try my best to repeat that win and hopefully get good points. I'm really looking forward to it, it's one of my favourite tracks on the calendar.”

Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing

“Spa is an epic circuit that always provides a massive thrill for the drivers as well as a big test for the tyres, due to the multiple forces acting on them. Overtaking is definitely possible, so we’re looking forward to some very close racing and exciting battles in Formula 3, as has already been the case very often this year. But Spa is a circuit that punishes mistakes harshly as well, so the safety car could be a factor influencing strategy too – not to mention the famously variable Belgian weather.”

Season Stats

12 The gap between championship leader Robert Shwartzman and second-placed Jüri Vips at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

3 ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard has more Fastest Laps than anyone else on the grid. Marcus Armstrong is second with two to his name.

11 The number of different drivers who have stood on the podium so far this season. Shwartzman and PREMA teammate Jehan Daruvala have both been on the podium five times already.

2 Shwartzman, Vips and Daruvala all have two wins each so far this season.

Noteworthy

Christian Lundgaard has now led more laps (44) than any other driver on the grid this season. Jüri Vips is second with 40 laps led.

All five rounds before the summer break saw a different driver qualify for pole position; Robert Shwartzman in Barcelona, Jake Hughes in Le Castellet, Marcus Armstrong in Spielberg, Vips in Silverstone and Lundgaard in Budapest.

Nine drivers are classified as having completed every race so far this season; Richard Verschoor, Yuki Tsunoda, Andreas Estner, Devlin Defrancesco, Niko Kari, Vips, Marcus Armstrong, Jehan Daruvala and Logan Sargeant.

Carlin Buzz Racing have set two Fastest Laps this season, though have yet to score any bonus points for doing so.

At 7.004km Spa-Francorchamps is the longest circuit on the FIA Formula 3 calendar (by comparison Silverstone, the second-longest, measures 5.891km).

Round 6 of the championship is the final time we will see Pirelli’s medium compound tyre this season, with the final two races of the season in Italy and Russia both using the soft compound.