FIA F3 in Melbourne
Wisnicki and Flörsch fight in Melbourne
The FIA Formula 3 weekend in Australia was a thrilling and action-packed event, with some of the best young drivers in the world competing for the top spot on the podium. The race took place on the challenging street-circuit in Melbourne, with a mix of high-speed straights and tight corners that tested the skills and nerve of the drivers. For the first time ever, FIA Formula 3 visited Australia, as a supporting series for Formula 1.
The only practice session on Friday morning served to collect important data for qualifying and both races on Saturday and Sunday. The 5.278km long track around Albert Park Lake with its walls right next to the track and many gravel beds does not really offer room for mistakes. In total, Sophia Flörsch, Piotr Wisnicki and Roberto Faria collected 56 laps of useful data for PHM Racing by Charouz. Taylor Barnard and Nikita Bedrin, who also drive under the PHM Racing flag but are racing for Jenzer Motorsport, both completed 19 laps each in the 45-minute session.
Taylor Barnard finished the 30-minute Qualifying session in 18th position, which marks the best of the PHM Racing drivers. Nikita Bedrin finished in 20th position, he was a few tenths up on his time until the exit of the final corner. Unfortunately he lost the back end and couldn’t keep his car out of the barriers. The Jenzer Motorsport crew did everything to get the badly damaged car ready for the sprint race at the following morning. The mechanics worked until 04:30 in the morning to get the car ready for use again. Really excellent work from the whole Jenzer Motorsport crew. Sophia was the highest placed PHM Racing by Charouz driver in 24th place, followed by Roberto Faria in 25th and Piotr Wisnicki in 27th.
The sprint-race on Saturday morning was the first on track action again since the rain of friday evening, which meant the track offered not much grip, as the rain washed all the rubber away. It’s a really tricky race ahead for the drivers.
Sophia had already improved by 2 positions on the first lap and was already in 22nd place before the safety car was triggered due to an accident. On lap 10, halfway through the race, Taylor Barnard found himself in 17th place. In general, the race was dominated by many safety car phases, so there were not many opportunities to make up positions. However, our drivers made the most of these few opportunities and all improved their positions.
A fourth safety car phase shortly before the end of the race meant that the race had to be finished under yellow flags. Taylor Barnard finished the race in 12th place, Nikita Bedrin in 15th, followed by Sophia Flörsch in 16th. Roberto Faria crossed the line in 18th place and Piotr Wisnicki in 23rd.
The main race on Sunday morning is 3 laps longer than the sprint race the day before. As in the first race, there was a safety car in the early stages of the race. Taylor Barnard and Nikita Bedrin made their way through the field together. First Taylor overtook the man in front and shortly afterwards Nikita, too. Unfortunately, Roberto Faria and Piotr Wisnicki both had to retire from the race due to damage to their cars. In the last laps of the race, Taylor was able to make up more and more positions and came closer and closer to the top 10. In the last sector of the last lap he actually managed to move up to 10th place and score the first points of his career in FIA F3. Due to a penalty from a driver in front of him, he finished the race in 9th position. Sophia Flörsch finished the race in 18th position with very nice overtaking maneuvers. Nikita Bedrin unfortunately spun at the last lap while lying in 15th position and couldn’t finish the race.
On the second race weekend of FIA Formula 3, Taylor Barnard became the first PHM Racing driver to score 2 points for Jenzer Motorsport. Everyone of the PHM Drivers proved why they are in FIA F3 with some good results and overtakes in the races. Now it’s time to pack up and get some rest before the next round in Imola in 7 weeks, which marks the beginning of the challenging European season with 8 race weekends at the best race tracks across the whole continent.
