F3 International - The season begins in Spain

The build up is over and this coming weekend the Formula 3 International series takes to the track for its opening round of the season. This is the very first event of a brand new category, established by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and it takes place on the same card as the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Two students. There are two FDA (Ferrari Driver Academy) students taking part: the 19 year old Russian, Robert Shwartzman and the 18 year old New Zealander, Marcus Armstrong. They both race for the Prema team, with the aim of continuing the progress begun last year. The pre-season preparations for the new category have gone well for Armstrong and Shwartzman, with both of them showing well in testing. A large and high quality field of 30 drivers is taking part which means competition for the wins will be very close.

New experience. Marcus and Robert will have to get to grips quickly with this all-new series which uses a Dallara chassis mated to a 6 cylinder normally aspirated Mecachrome engine, putting out 380 horsepower, the whole running on Pirelli tyres. The drivers will also soak up the atmosphere of a Formula 1 weekend as all eight Formula 3 rounds are run in conjunction with Grands Prix. There is one 45 minute free practice session and 30 minutes of qualifying to determine the grid for Race 1, which takes place on Saturday. The order of the top eight finishers is then reversed to form the grid for Sunday’s Race 2.

Sochi finale. The Formula 3 International series runs alongside Formula 2 as a support race to Formula 1, with the Russian GP in Sochi as the final round. The series picks up where GP3 left off, after nine years of setting very young drivers on the road to Formula 1. Past winners include Charles Leclerc who, as a Ferrari Driver Academy student won the 2016 championship, his first major international title.