Rising stars aim to shine on biggest stage

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) will further cement its status as one of the leading destinations in global motorsport when it hosts around in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for the first time this weekend as part of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022.

F3 has held pre-season testing in the past in Sakhir—including earlier this month—but will now be making its competitive debut in support of the F1 spectacle.

Some of the hottest junior motor racing talent from around the world will be looking to make a name for themselves in the F3 sessions this Friday to Sunday at “The Home of motorsport in the Middle East”. F3 is the official third rung in the climb up the F1 ladder.

It is sanctioned by the Federation International de l’Automobile (FIA) and it features 30 identical cars from 10 world-class teams.

F3 gives young drivers a chance to join their F1 heroes in the paddock at Grand Prix weekends and showcase their skills to F1 and F2 teams who are looking for the latest talent to develop for the future. This weekend, the F3 field will be hoping to continue from where they left off in their pre-season tests held at BIC three weeks ago.

They will be kicking off their 2022 campaign in Bahrain and will be pushing to make a positive start. Action gets underway on Friday with practice at 11.25 am.

That will be followed by Qualifying later that afternoon at 4.25 pm, which will determine the grid for Sunday’s Feature Race.

The grid for Saturday’s Sprint Race will be formed by reversing the top 12 finishers of Qualifying.

The Sprint Race will be over 20 laps and it is scheduled to start at 12.45 pm on Saturday.

The Feature Race on Sunday will begin at 11.45 am, and it will be held over 24 laps.

Trident is the series’ defending champions, having narrowly won last year’s title by just four points over Prema Racing in a tight title fight in 2021.

Trident is set to compete this season with a trio consisting of Jonny Edgar, Roman Stanek and Zane Maloney, while Prema has Arthur Leclerc, Jak Crawford and Oliver Bearman.

Also in the F3 field for 2022 are Victor Martins, Gregoire Saucy and Juan Manuel Correa competing for ART Grand Prix; Caio Collet, Alexander Smolyar and Kush Maini for MP Motorsport; Laszlo Toth, Ayrton Simmons and Francesco Pizzi for Charouz Racing System; and Kaylen Frederick, Isack Hadjar and Nazim Azman for Hitech Grand Prix.

The F3 grid is completed by David Vidales, Hunter Yeany and Josep Maria Marti of Campos Racing; Ido Cohen, Patrik Pasma and William Alatalo for Jenzer Motorsport; Zak O’Sullivan, Brad Benavides and Enzo Trulli for Carlin; and Franco Colapinto, Rafael Villagomez and Reece Ushijima for Van Amersfoort Racing. After Bahrain, there will be another eight rounds in the 2022 F3 season, to be held twice in Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Austria, Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands.

F3 is being joined on F1’s support programme at BIC this weekend by the FIA Formula 2 Championship and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East—making for a non-stop schedule of top-class racing. Tickets to the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 can be purchased online at BIC’s official website bahraingp. com or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.

Tickets are also available at the BIC to stand in City Centre Bahrain or at the sales tent located at Sakhir Petrol Station en route to the circuit.

Ticket discounts are available for children aged three to 12 years old at 50 per cent off, with reductions also available for students, people of determination and senior citizens.

This year’s F1 extravaganza is set to be a once-in-a-generation event, following the introduction of sweeping new regulations and the huge design evolution of the F1 cars.

Fans in the Kingdom will have the privilege of being the first in the world to experience the pinnacle of motorsport like it was never before seen.