Australian driver Alex Peroni has confirmed he will continue racing in 2020 after announcing plans to compete in a second season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Peroni had a tough end to his debut year after being involved in a spectacular crash at Monza in September, which made headlines around the world and put him in a back-brace for three months.
With the brace now off and a successful recovery complete, Peroni is currently in training to get back to full fitness after announcing his desire to once again race in the Championship.
“The recovery is basically done now. I am training as much as I can as I lost a lot of fitness during that period,” Peroni said.
“I am feeling really good. I am yet to get into a car. I am trying to get myself into one by the end of January. With the vibrations and the bumps in your back, you can’t really simulate that anywhere else, so that will be interesting to test
out.
“It’s been a big build up and a lot of hard work to get to this stage. It feels awesome with the support I have received ahead of what will be the hardest stage of my return – trying to get a team.”
It’s been a long four months for the Tasmanian, who only recently has been able to begin intense physical fitness training.
With the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup Monaco race winner on the right track in his recovery, he admits there were trying times during the process.
“Throughout the whole recovery, I have been really motivated to get back,” Peroni added.
“When I first had the injury, I thought I’d still compete in Macau, but I was a bit gutted when I found out I wouldn’t be able to. With that and the fact I didn’t have many great results last year, I wasn’t confident of getting
a seat this year.
“However, that blew over pretty quickly after the support I received skyrocketed and everyone got behind me, which motivated me even more to get back out there.”
Despite Peroni yet to confirm his specific plans for the championship, the excited 20-year-old is confident he will be competing and hopes to get his team news locked in soon.
“It’s nice to finally make my comeback news official. It’s the first step for the 2020 season,” Peroni said.
“I am confident I will get a seat, but until we actually sign the deal with a specific team, I can’t 100 per cent confirm my position. We’ve spoken to a few teams who want me and we are very close to securing the funding – enough
to be able to sign the deal.
“I am feeling more excitement than nerves right now, however I am sure it will be different closer to the first race – partly because I wouldn’t have been in a car for more than six months.
“This is why it’s important to get a lot of seat time before the season starts because I feel I will be quite rusty.”
Peroni will be joined by three other Australians in this year’s championship with 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup winner Oscar Piastri, Calan Williams and Jack Doohan all set to compete.
The nine-round FIA Formula 3 Championship begins at the Bahrain International Circuit on 20-22 March.