Race Report
Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana 2023
FIA F3 CHAMPIONSHIP
Circuit: Barcelona (ESP), Length 4.655 km, 2nd – 4th June 2023, Rounds 7 + 8
www.circuitcat.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2023:
Nikita Bedrin (ITA), Taylor Barnard (GB), Alejandro Garcia (MEX)
Barnard and Bedrin in the points in Barcelona
The FIA F3 Championship held the third racing event of the season in Barcelona in the FIA F1 program of the Gran Premio de Espana 2023. It was immediately apparent how close the top-class, 30-vehicle field was.
Qualifying
Friday, 02/06/23, 15.00 – 15.30, Weather: Cloudy, 22°C
The fifth round of the season began on Friday morning with free practice. With very warm temperatures, our drivers were ready to give their best. Taylor managed a fantastic 1st place and led the free practice session. Nikita achieved 20th while Alejandro reached 27th position. The expectations before qualifying were high. In the afternoon a few clouds rolled in but the rain didn't come. The light turned green and the battle for the starting grid began. Taylor improved from run to run and secured a great second place finish on the final pushlap. Nikita and Alejandro also did a very good job and qualified 14th and 26th respectively. Both had clearly improved as well.
| Race One Grid | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Zak O’Sullivan (GB) | Prema | |
| 2nd | Luke Browning (GB) | Hitech | |
| 3rd | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | ART | |
| 4th | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Trident | |
| 5th | Mari Boya (E) | MP | |
| 6th | Sebastian Montoya (COL) | Hitech | |
| 11th | Taylor Barnard (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
| 13th | Nikita Bedrin (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
| 26th | Alejandro Garcia (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
| Race Two Grid | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Josep Maria Marti (E) | Campos | 1:27.587 |
| 2nd | Taylor Barnard (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:27.837 |
| 3rd | Franco Colapinto (ARG) | MP | 1:27.864 |
| 14th | Nikita Bedrin (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:28.256 |
| 25th | Alejandro Garcia (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:29.230 |
FIA F3 Championship
Race One (Sprint-Race, 40 Minutes)
Saturday, 03/06/23, 10.30, Weather: Sunny, 22°C
On Saturday morning the sprint race got underway in agreeably warm temperatures. As the lights went out, the battles for positions began. Wheel to wheel through the first corners, Taylor was 13th when the Safety Car had to be deployed at the end of the opening lap. Behind him, Nikita was 17th and Alejandro was 26th. The race got underway again and positions settled with Taylor now in 14th, Nikita in 17th and Alejandro in 25th position. As considerable tyre degradation was expected all drivers drove very steadily over long laps in order to try to safe their tyres a bit longer. However, in the second half of the race various movements were attempted and got done throughout the field. Taylor went up to 11th position and Nikita was now 14th. Alejandro was up in 22nd position. There were some contacts and a few cars stranded in the gravel, which brought out the Safety Car a second time. The race got underway again for the final three laps. Nikita had a stellar restart and moved up the order. When the checkered flag waved, Taylor took 11th followed by his teammate Nikita in 12th. Alejandro crossed the line in 24th position. Mini and Saucy each received a time penalty after the race and our drivers moved up the results list meaning Taylor and Nikita were both in the top ten and therefore classified in the points.
| Results Race One | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Zak O’Sullivan (GB) | Prema | 36:53.410 | |
| 2nd | Luke Browning (GB) | Hitech | Gap | 1.676 |
| 3rd | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Trident | Gap | 2.360 |
| 9th | Taylor Barnard (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 10th | Nikita Bedrin (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 22nd | Alejandro Garcia (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Zak O’Sullivan (GBR) in 1:32.054 | ||||
FIA F3 Championship
Race Two (Feature Race, 45 Minutes)
Sunday, 04/06/23, 09.55, Weather: Sunny, 22°C
The Feature Race got underway on Sunday morning. Starting from the second spot on the grid, Taylor had a promising start and immediately fought wheel to wheel with Marti going into Turn 1. Despite Taylor’s attempts, the British driver settled in the second position at the end of the first lap. Behind him, Nikita and Alejandro had a rather difficult start to the race and both dropped down a few positions. A Safety Car had to be deployed at the second lap due to a car stopped on track. At this moment, Taylor was still doing well in second place with Nikita in 17th position and Alejandro in 27th. At the restart, Taylor stayed glued to the rear of Marti but did not find an easy way to pass. After the DRS was enabled Taylor felt pressure from the following drivers. A short off track moment from Taylor made it easy for Colapinto to overtake him. Unfortunately Taylor dropped down several places. Behind him, Nikita and Alejandro were fighting hard to move up the field. When the checkered flag waved, Taylor managed to take 9th place and two points. Nikita finished 11th, just outside the points and Alejandro took 22nd showing a very good progress.
| Results Race Two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Josep Maria Marti (E) | Campos | 41:27.587 | |
| 2nd | Franco Colapinto (ARG) | MP | Gap | 4.464 |
| 3rd | Dino Beganovic (SWE) | Prema | Gap | 5.952 |
| 9th | Taylor Barnard (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 11th | Nikita Bedrin (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 22nd | Alejandro Garcia (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Josep Maria Marti (E) in 1:31.964 | ||||
We are looking forward to the next race which will take place on the weekend of 2nd July 2023 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Championship standings after 8 out of 18 races:
1st Gabriel Bortoleto, (BRA), 92 points; 2nd Josep Maria Marti (E), 68 points; 3rd Dino Beganovic (S), 61 points; 4th Gabriele Mini (I), 56 points; 5th Paul Aron (EST), 54 points; 6th Franco Colapinto (ARG), 48 points; 13th Taylor Barnard (GB), 16 points, 19th Nikita Bedrin (I), 1 point
Nikita Bedrin (ITA)
Taylor Barnard (GB)
Alejandro Garcia (MEX)
2023 FIA F3 Championship
| 3-5 March | 2023 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix | Sakhir (BHR) |
| 31 March - 2. April | 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix | Melbourne (AUS) |
| 19-21 May | 2023 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix1) | Imola (I) |
| 26-28 May | 2023 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix | Monte Carlo (MC) |
| 2-4 June | 2023 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix | Barcelona (E) |
| 30 June - 2 July | 2023 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix | RedBull Ring (A) |
| 7-9 July | 2023 Formula 1 British Grand Prix | Silverstone (GB) |
| 21-23 July | 2023 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix | Hungaroring (HU) |
| 28-30 July | 2023 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix | Spa-Francorchamps (B) |
| 1-3 September | 2023 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix | Monza (I) |
1) Cancelled after heavy flooding in the region
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