FIA F3 Championship, Barcelona, Race One Report

In Race 1 at the Catalan venue, Team Trident scored points with Beckmann, who crossed the finish line in P5. Zendeli and Caldwell ended up out of the top-10. The race results were heavily conditioned by the outcome of qualifying.

In the opening race for round 6 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, the Team Trident drivers shown alternating levels of pace after not leaving quite an impression in qualifying. Starting from P7, David Beckmann gained ground in a race that did not feature many overtakes. The German racer showed a convincing race pace especially in sector 1 and 3 of the Catalan venue. Lirim Zendeli, who was penalized three positions to P13 on the grid for blocking another driver in qualifying, did not manage to put together the recovery he expected and ended up out of the points zone in P12. British racer Olli Caldwell also collected fewer dividends than expected, starting from P21 in qualifying and finishing in P21. Caldwell found himself battling at the back of the pack which cost him valuable time and di not have a chance to fight back. The general balance of the day was visibly conditioned by qualifying on a track that does not offer many passing opportunities. Today’s fifth place cost Beckmann the third position in the championship standings and he is now sitting in P4. The team is now working in preparation for the second race, starting tomorrow at 9:45.

Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager:

“Beckmann had a positive race as his pace was quite consistent. He was losing out a bit in the middle sector, while he was very competitive in the first and third. Zendeli did his best in a race where there were few chances for overtaking. Caldwell's performance was positive too. However, like the other drivers, he was conditioned by the result of qualifying, which in F3 is often key for the outcome of the weekend".