Barcelona ‘could be the biggest’ for degradation, says Edgar as he continues to learn Pirelli rubber

Getting to grips with the notoriously tricky to manage Pirelli tyres is one of the biggest learning curves for drivers when stepping up to Formula 3 and that makes Barcelona a difficult place to start, with Jonny Edgar saying that the Spanish circuit is amongst the worst on the calendar for degradation.

Finishing 12th in his first ever Qualifying session at this level, Edgar nabbed himself reverse grid pole for Race 1 on Saturday, and the Carlin Buzz racer believes that knowing when he can and cannot push will be a delicate balancing act.

“This track was already quite bad for degradation in the tests and now it’s even warmer,” said Edgar. “Everyone will need to be saving their tyres because even one or two laps of pushing too much can have a big effect on the rest of your race - this track could be the biggest in terms of degradation.

“It is hard to manage; you have to push to keep your position, but if you push too much, it will affect you for the rest of the race. That’s going to be one of the biggest things for me to learn this year.

“It would be nice to try and have that lead because it’s better for tyres if you are at the front, but I don’t want to fight too hard to keep the place and then destroy my tyres.”

The highest placed of the three Carlin Buzz drivers, Edgar said he felt a noticeable difference around the track, having actually struggled in Barcelona during the pre-season test.

“Going into today I was just looking to get somewhere in the top 12 to be in the reverse grid positions, which I managed to do,” said Edgar. “The team have managed to improve the car from testing quite a bit, which is good.

“It was difficult because I only got three push laps and it’s only really the last one that’s the best because you cannot refuel, so the car gets a lot lighter. That means that there’s a lot of pressure to do it on the last lap.

“That’s different for me. I didn’t really experience that last year, but thankfully I managed to get quite a good lap when it mattered.”