The FIA Formula 3 Championship will be back to Circuit de Catalunya next weekend
The FIA Formula 3 Championship will be back to Circuit de Catalunya next weekend, a classic and challenging event for the series, home to round 4 of 2023. Trident Motorsport is arriving in Spain with the goal of confirming the same positive form achieved in the first part of the season as it leads the team and driver standings.
Lining up at Montmeló, the FIA Formula 3 Championship will not move very far away from the previous event at Monte Carlo. The series will enter its centre stint, the European one, which is often critical to the outcome of the season. Trident Motorsport will enter the second European race of 2023 comfortably leading in the driver and team standings.
The previous race in the Principality, where the Milan-based squad achieved fifth place with leader Gabriel Bortoleto in the Feature Race, has shown that no distraction is allowed and every small episode can have a leverage effect on the outcome of a whole weekend.
The 18-year-old Brazilian, already a winner in the Sakhir and Melbourne Feature Races, is aiming to confirm himself as the man to beat in the title race, entering the Spanish round with a 17-point lead over his closest rival.
The highly technical Montmeló track rewards the car's aerodynamic efficiency and does not allow much room for overtaking, particularly affecting drivers who don't manage tire degradation efficiently. As a result, it will be important to start the weekend well with a high-level qualifying performance that will allow the Trident Motorsport drivers to start from the front of the grid.
In the first three races of the season, Bortoleto collected two victories, a pole position and a fastest lap in an outstanding start of the year. However, now comes the hard part, as he has to continue proving himself.
Ahead of the Montmeló race, the motivation level of Leonardo Fornaroli is certainly sky-high. The Italian secured his first podium at Monte Carlo with P2 in the Sprint Race. The Piacenza-based driver found a very convincing chemistry with the series and his performance highlights a clear path of growth.
Completing the line-up of Trident Motorsport will be 18-year-old Danish driver Oliver Goethe, who is back from a bad weekend in Monte Carlo and will be looking for a prompt rebound on a track he knows very well having won there in the final EuroFormula Open event of last year, one of his 11 wins in 2022.
At the Montmeló track, the FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers entered two days of collective testing on April 13th and 14th, when important data was collected for the work in preparation for this weekend's race. The technical staff and drivers of Trident Motorsport prepared with great care and are looking forward to jumping back into action.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: "The Barcelona-Catalunya track is very technical and selective. For this reason, it is often used in testing sessions. We will need to have a perfectly balanced car with good aero efficiency to fight at the top next weekend when I expect a total battle. As usual, perfection will be needed, and we have worked hard to make sure we are ready for this event."
The FIA Formula 3 Championship weekend will begin on Friday at 9:55 for the 45-minute free practice session. Qualifying will be on later the same day at 15:00. The Sprint Race will be on Saturday at 10:30. The Feature Race will wrap up the weekend on Sunday at 9:55. All the action will be televised by the Sky Sports F1 network.