Race Report
2018 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix
GP3 SERIES
Circuit: Spa-Francorchamps (B), Length 7,003 km, 24th/26th August 2018, Rounds 11 & 12
www.spa-francorchamps.be
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2018:
Tatiana Calderon (COL), Juan Manuel Correa (USA) and Jannes Fittje (D)
Calderon in the points again at Spa
The GP3 Series met up at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps (B) circuit, as usual racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix. As normally happens at this location, the weather also played a role, and we had very cool temperatures and some rain to create additional suspense.
Race One Qualifying
Friday, 24/08/18, 17.50 – 18.35, Weather: Overcast, 17°C
The free practice session was run on Friday morning, and it wasn’t long before there was a long red flag stoppage, with just 20 minutes remaining when the session resumed. Our drivers only used a single set of new tyres each as a result. Juan Manuel claimed an excellent 7th place, Tatiana was 9th and Jannes, who is still building his confidence in the car and the Pirelli tyres, was 18th.
The qualifying session was held later in the afternoon. Despite the black clouds hovering over the track only a few drops of rain fell, and Juan Manuel and Tatiana started out really well, but couldn’t improve that little bit more, to get into the top ten. Nonetheless, Tatiana finished in a very good 11th place and Juan Manuel was 13th. Jannes ended up in 20th place.
Race One Grid | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | David Beckmann (D) | Trident | 2:04.335 |
2nd | Anthoine Hubert (F) | ART | 2:04.479 |
3rd | Pedro Piquet (BRA) | Trident | 2:04.529 |
11th | Tatiana Calderon (COL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 2:04.804 |
13th | Juan Manuel Correa (USA) | Jenzer Motorsport | 2:05.068 |
20th | Jannes Fittje (D) | Jenzer Motorsport | 2:06.036 |
GP3 Series
Race One (40 Minutes)
Saturday, 25/08/18, 09.35, Weather: Overcast, 10°C
It rained heavily during the night, and so the decision was whether to go out on slicks or rain tyres. Everyone opted for slicks, which meant the first laps would prove critical. Given the low temperatures, the track dried very slowly off the racing line, making overtaking manoeuvres very risky. As a result, there were fewer place changes than might normally be expected on this track. Juan Manuel moved up to 11th during the first lap, while Tatiana dropped back to 13th, and Jannes was 18th. Lap times were almost 10 seconds faster at the end of the race compared to those at the beginning. This meant the drivers had to adapt afresh to the conditions on every single lap. Juan Manuel set some very good lap times early on and even achieved set the fastest lap of the race so far on lap 7. A little later he launched an attack on the driver in front of him, Laaksonen, but it did not work out. A few laps later he made a clean overtaking manoeuvre stick and thus claimed 10th place. Tatiana, who overtook Pulcini not long after the start and who was right behind Juan Manuel, followed suit a few laps later to move up to 11th. Juan Manuel was a bit slower on his heavily used tyres and Tatiana saw her chance to snatch a top ten place. Two laps from the end, she managed to get past Juan Manuel cleanly, setting the second fastest lap time of the race and finishing in the points for the second time this season. Juan Manuel took the chequered flag right behind Tatiana in 11th place. Jannes initially lost a lot of time in the middle sector, and even experienced an off-track moment when he launched an attack on DeFrancesco who was in front of him. He dropped back to 20th place, but from the mid-point onwards he set some very good lap times. There wasn’t enough time left to improve his position, though so he finished in 20th place.
The grid for the second race of the weekend was set by reversing the order of the first eight finishers in the first race, with the rest of the places set according to the finishing order in the first race.
Results Race One | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | David Beckmann (D) | Trident | 36:56.427 | |
2nd | Ryan Tveter (USA) | Trident | Gap | 1.363 |
3rd | Anthoine Hubert (F) | ART | Gap | 2.027 |
10th | Tatiana Calederon (COL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
11th | Juan Manuel Correa (USA) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
20th | Jannes Fittje (D) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Anthoine Hubert (F) in 2:07.684 |
Race Two Grid | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Joey Mawson (AUS) | Arden | |
2nd | Jake Hughes (GB) | ART | |
3rd | Callum Ilott (GB) | ART | |
4th | Nikita Mazepin (RUS) | ART | |
5th | Pedro Piquet (BRA) | Trident | |
6th | Anthoine Hubert (F) | ART | |
10th | Tatiana Calderon (COL) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
11th | Juan Manuel Correa (USA) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
20th | Jannes Fittje (D) | Jenzer Motorsport |
GP3 Series
Race Two (30 Minutes)
Sunday, 26/08/18, 09.35, Weather: Sunny, 8°C
Fog lay over the track in the morning, but it dissipated quickly. Temperatures were cold, despite the sun shining by the time the race began. Juan Manuel attacked Tatiana in the first corner and the two cars touched, but both drivers were able to continue the race having lost a lot of places. Tatiana put in a strong performance as she caught up several places on almost every lap. She shone with some clever manoeuvres and never hesitated, soon finding herself in the top ten where she started a scarp with Tveter for 8th place as she did her best to claim the last available point. Tveter’s defence was determined, and Tatiana just couldn’t quite claim the place in the remaining time. However, she could be proud of a super race performance and an excellent 9th place. Juan Manuel equally shone in a fantastic chase for positions and he moved up the order in big leaps. He put in a flawless performance and on the last lap finally slipped past Aubry. That meant he finished the race directly behind Tatiana in a very good 10th place. Jannes collected more driving experience and tested the effects of the DRS system several times, driving a good race and improving his position up to 15th place.
We look forward to the next race, which takes place just next week at Monza (Italy).
Results Race Two | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Nikita Mazepin (RUS) | ART | 27:45.477 | |
2nd | Anthoine Hubert (F) | ART | Gap | 1.840 |
3rd | Callum Ilott (GB) | ART | Gap | 4.658 |
9th | Tatiana Calederon (COL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
10th | Juan Manuel Correa (USA) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
15th | Jannes Fittje (D) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Nikita Mazepin (RUS) in 2:06.738 |
Championship standings after 12 out of 18 races:
1st Anthoine Hubert (F), 158 points; 2nd Callum Ilott (GB), 132 points; 3rd Nikita Mazepin (RUS), 125 points; 4th Leonardo Pulcini (I), 99 points; 5th Pedro Piquet (BRA), 85 points; 6th Giuliano Alesi (F), 72 points; 12th Juan Manuel Correa (USA), 26 points; 17th Tatiana Calderon (COL), 2 points
Tatiana Calderon (COL)
Juan Manuel Correa (USA)
Jannes Fittje (D)
© Photo Pellegrini
2018 GP3 Series
11/12/13 May | 2018 Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana | Catalunya (E) |
22/23/24 June | 2018 Formula 1 French Grand Prix | Le Castellet (F) |
30 Jun, 1/2 July | 2018 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix | RedBull Ring (A) |
6/7/8 July | 2018 Formula 1 British Grand Prix/td> | Silverstone (GB) |
27/28/29 July | 2018 Formula 1 Ing Magyar Nagydij | Hungaroring (HU) |
24/25/26 August | 2018 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix | Spa-Francorchamps (B) |
31 Aug, 1/2 September | 2018 Formula 1 Gran Premio d’Italia | Monza (I) |
28/29/30 September | 2018 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix | Sochi (RUS) |
23/24/25 November | 2018 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Abu Dhabi (UEA) |
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