Australian teenager Calan Williams has confirmed his plans for 2020 with the West Australian to compete in the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Calan will enter the international series with Jenzer Motorsport after impressing the Swiss team during a successful three-day Official FIA F3 post season testing in Valencia earlier this year.
The move comes off the back of a solid stint in the 2018 and 2019 Euroformula Open F3 Championship with Fortec Motorsport, which saw Williams claim a number of points in a competitive field.
Williams becomes the second Australian to join the new international Formula 3 championship, after Alex Peroni took part in this year’s inaugural season and was thrilled to get a seat.
“I am incredibly excited about the year ahead, and to be able to race during F1 events in front of F1 teams is a huge opportunity,” Williams said.
“Driving the car in Valencia was an amazing experience. It is a real step up from the Formula 3 car I have driven for the past two seasons in Europe, with much more power, more downforce, and being a larger car it is heavier and more physical to drive.
“Having my first outing in the car in the wet was certainly being thrown in the deep end. But to be P16 of the 30 drivers on day two, with most of those ahead being current drivers in the 2019 Championship was really pleasing.
“Also to be only seven tenths of a second off the quickest time was even better, and considering it was my first time in the car, a really good place to start.”
In the inaugural 2019 season, Jenzer Motorsport had two full-time and four part time drivers compete with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda ending the year in eighth outright after picking up a race win at Monza.
Team Principle Andreas Jenzer was impressed with Williams’ attitude towards the sport as well as his skill behind the wheel.
“I was very pleased to meet Calan when he visited our workshop for a seat fitting,” Jenzer said.
“After spending some time with our engineers on preparation work for the Valencia test, it was obvious to see he is a professional and focused young Australian man.
“Following on from the three days test, which were held in a range of varying conditions, clearly, we can see his potential. We are excited to be working together with him next year and look forward to a successful partnership.”
Williams was also happy with the team’s setup after spending time at their headquarters in Lyss, Switzerland.
“All of the team are fantastic, everything clicked very quickly and I really like the way they are focused to achieve the best results on track, have high expectations, but are also interested in how I continue to develop as a whole person outside of racing,” Williams added.
“Switzerland also looks like a great place to be spending quite some time next year.”
Williams has also had a major boost with a number of Perth based backers, including businessman Dale Wood, joining current major sponsor in Lazersafe as financial support for the 18-year-old’s bid to race in Formula 1.
The 2020 FIA Formula 3C hampionship commences with three days of testing at Bahrain in March, ahead of the season opener during the Bahrain Grand Prix later that month.