On the second day of the official FIA Formula 3 European Championship pre-season test at the Hungaroring, Briton Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1m34.012s) proved to be the quickest, with his compatriots Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam, 1m34.040s) and rookie Lando Norris (Carlin, 1m34.125s) finishing second and third respectively. In the tests held at the 4.381-kilometre long circuit not far from Hungary’s capital, Budapest, Guan Yu Zhou (Prema Powerteam, 1m34.266s) came fourth, followed by Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam, 1m34.299s) and Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1m34.325s).
On the second day of testing, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship teams and drivers once again focused on preparing for the season kick-off that will be contested on the Easter weekend at Silverstone.
“It was just a test. But it’s crucial to also make it to the top at Silverstone,” said Harrison Newey, the quickest on day two. “Of course it’s nice to have secured the top position. But it’s of minor importance for me as things possibly can look completely different next week at the tests at the Red Bull Ring.”
Callum Ilott who finished second and was just 0.028 seconds slower than his compatriot also was happy with his achievements:
“We completed our scheduled programme and made good progress,” he said. “Altogether it was a really good day of testing for us.”
The best rookie of the day, Lando Norris, who finished third on the result sheet of day two, was happy with the test as well. “Altogether it was a really productive day,” he revealed.
“Of course, we can’t compare our times with the ones of the other teams as we don’t know what they tested, how old their tyres were or how heavy their cars. But we leave Hungary with positive feelings. It’s also nice that we Carlin drivers are racing on a similar level but have our strengths in different sections. So, we are able to help each other.”
Maximilian Günther, who became second in the 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, said:
“We are working on being perfectly prepared for Silverstone. I am optimistic that we will be able to achieve the goals we set ourselves for the season what means in my case to win the title. But I’m not thinking about this goal all the time. I am planning to go forward step by step. And the next important step is the season kick-off at Silverstone.”
Experienced F3 driver Jakes Dennis (Carlin, 1m34.357s), reigning rookie champion Joel Eriksson (Motopark, 1m34.364s), Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin, 1m34.386s) and Jehan Daruvala (Carlin, 1m34.487s) completed the top ten.
Next week, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship competitors will travel to Austria for the third and fourth day of pre-season testing, held at the Red Bull Ring on Tuesday and Wednesday.
FIA Formula 3 Press Release