FIA Formula 3 Championship
The FIA Formula 3 Championship got its season underway over the weekend as a support category for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Queenslander Jack Doohan and West Australian Calan Williams returned to the championship for their second season after challenging rookie seasons in 2020.
With the traditional weekend format of three races being run, it was Doohan with his new team Trident who fared better of the two as the 18-year-old enjoyed his first F3 career podium.
Following a tough opening race where he placed 17th, Doohan picked up his first set of points in race two with eighth, before converting his P2 from qualifying into a well deserved runner-up placing in the weekend’s feature race.
It was a far more difficult weekend for Williams, despite producing the strongest showing for his Swiss team, Jenzer Motorsport. Williams’ best performance came in the second race where he placed P11, missing out on his first points finish by just three tenths.
Unfortunately, the 20-year-old was unable to replicate his second outing form, placing 18th in the opening race and 21st in the feature race.
As a result of his runner-up in the feature race, Doohan now sits sixth on the outright standings, a further 10 places ahead of Williams.
Doohan, Williams and the Championship remain in Spain this week for testing in Jerez, before the second round of the season takes place in Austria on 2-4 July.
Formula Regional European Championship
Tommy Smith’s difficult start to the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship season has continued in the category’s second round in Barcelona.
While the Victorian managed to cross the chequered flag in both of the round’s races, he was unable to break the top 20 - finishing 22nd and 25th respectively.
The championship returns to action with the Formula 1 World Championship later this month at the famous Monaco Grand Prix.
French F4 Championship
Hugh Barter has continued his strong start to the French Formula 4 Championship as the only driver to score podiums in all three races during the round.
Qualifying for the first race in P2, the 15-year-old was unable to capitalise on Championship leader Esteban Masson’s drop to fourth as he finished where he started in P2.
As Masson recovered for the second race to take out the win, Barter still picked up a good haul of points with third place behind Noah Andy, before finishing second again to Masson in the final race.
Although he was unable to get the better of Masson, Barter still showed plenty of pace throughout the weekend, taking out the round’s fastest lap and ending it comfortably in second place on the standings, just 11 points behind the leader.
The Championship heads to the famous Hungaroring in Hungary for the third round of the season on 9-11 July.
British F4 Championship
Marcos Flack has endured a difficult start to life in the British F4 Championship, ending the opening weekend with just one point to his name.
Taking place at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, it was a forgettable first race for Flack, who was forced to retire on the opening lap.
It didn’t get much better in the round’s reverse grid as Flack started strong from P3 but had his good work undone when he made contact with another driver and ended up P12.
In a chaotic final race of the weekend, that saw an immediate red flag when four drivers went into the barriers, Flack eventually missed out on a top 10, but was elevated to the points when Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was disqualified post-race.
The next stop on the 2021 calendar is Snetterton’s 300 circuit in Norfolk on 12-13 June.