Preview Round 4

Data (GMT+1)

Friday Free Practice: 08.35 – 09.20 Qualifying: 16.50 – 17.20 Press conference: 18.30

Saturday Race 1: 09.25 (20 laps) Press conference: 10.25

Sunday Race 2: 08.35 (20 laps)

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

The Stakes

Two weeks after the amazing action in Austria’s mountains, the F3 paddock rolls into the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire countryside for Round 4 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship at Silverstone.

PREMA Racing’s Marcus Armstrong had the early pace at the Red Bull Ring, going fastest in practice and then nabbing pole position in qualifying, but it was Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips who took the win in Race 1 after a measured drive to stand on the top step of the podium for the first time this season. Armstrong and Championship leader Robert Shwartzman looked on course to return PREMA to winning ways in Race 2, only for the teammates to break the golden rule of racing and collide on the final lap. The New Zealander suffered a puncture and ended up P19, while the Russian was relegated to third after a time penalty meaning Jake Hughes landed his and HWA RACELAB’s first F3 win.

Shwartzman (90 points) still leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship, though his lead has been cut to just eight points by teammate Jehan Daruvala (82) in second place. Vips (63) leaps up to third after bagging 31 points in Austria, more than any other driver. PREMA (226) are still sitting pretty at the top of Teams’ Championship, 150 points in front of second-placed ART Grand Prix (76). Hitech (71) are just five points behind in third.

Silverstone Circuit is the venue for the fourth round of the championship. Famed for its high speeds, fast corners and long straights, the drivers will look to fly around the former airfield on Pirelli’s hard compound tyre. With 30 cars ducking and diving around the track, they’ll have to remain grounded if they are to come out on top during another incredible weekend of racing.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing

“Silverstone is known as the ‘home of British motorsport’ so it’s a very significant race for many teams and drivers in the F3 championship. The biggest question mark will be the new asphalt, which nobody has had a chance to drive on yet, while the weather in England at this time of year is also often variable. The 30 Formula 3 drivers will all be fighting on the hard tyre and will need to manage them to the end on this demanding circuit.”

Warm Up // Jüri Vips – Hitech Grand Prix

“Silverstone is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. I really love the fast sections of corners and everything is combined so it’s very fast but very technical at the same time. That fits me just perfectly. It’s one of the rounds that I look forward to the most.

“Every corner is a challenge, some more than others, but it probably has the most challenging section of corners on the calendar. Out of the first four corners, Maggotts and Becketts are some of the hardest of the season. You have to drive perfectly. It’s the easiest place to make a big time difference in that sense, which I like a lot.

“Silverstone is definitely a driver’s track. Last year, overtaking was very difficult but I think this year it will be easier because after Maggotts/Becketts it’s not that difficult to follow a car and we have a DRS zone there.

“If you get hot temperatures and your car has oversteer and slides a lot you can get quite tired, not physically but mentally, because you’re fighting the car quite a lot. It’s not that your muscles get overloaded, it’s just that you have to think about what the car is going to do a lot more so it’s harder.

“Tyre degradation is probably going to be quite high, especially on the front tyres, so we’ll have to set up the car for that and take care of that during the race. It’s an interesting new set of skills that we have to learn in F3.

“I can’t wait, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going to get pole position and win both races, or at least that’s what I’m planning for!”

Season Stats

8 The gap between Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing teammate Jehan Daruvala at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

31 The number of points Jüri Vips took from Round 3, the most of any driver.

7 The number of different drivers who have led races so far this season. 235 The total race distance in kilometres a driver will cover at Silverstone in Round 4.

Noteworthy

Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips became the first non-PREMA Racing driver to win a race this season when he was victorious in Race 1 in Austria.

Vips, Lirim Zendeli and Marcus Armstrong all led an FIA Formula 3 race for the first time at the Red Bull Ring.

Six drivers from five different teams have earned a bonus point for setting the fastest lap so far; PREMA’s Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala, Vips of Hitech, Jenzer Motorsport’s Yuki Tsunoda, Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB and ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard.

Just eight points separate Robert Shwartzman and Daruvala at the top of the Driver’s Championship.

19-year-old Italian racer Federico Malvestiti will make his F3 debut when he drives Jenzer Motorsport’s number 15 car at Silverstone.

Nine different drivers have stood on the podium in the opening three rounds.

Seven different drivers scored points in both races of Round 3 – Shwartzman and Daruvala of PREMA, Vips and Leonardo Pulcini of Hitech Grand Prix, ART Grand Prix’s Max Fewtrell, Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB and Zendeli of Sauber Junior Team by Charouz.