Race Report

2024 Formula 1 British Grand Prix
FIA F3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Circuit: Silverstone (GB), Length 5.901 km, 7^th - 9^th July 2024, Rounds 13 + 14
www.silverstone.co.uk

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Charlie Wurz (A), Max Esterson (USA), Matias Zagazeta (PER)

© Dutch Photo Agency

Zagazeta with podium at Silverstone

The FIA F3 Championship took part in its seventh event in the Formula 1 program of the 2024 Formula 1 British Grand Prix on the demanding, fast track in Silverstone (GB). As usual, Silverstone delivered an amazing atmosphere with a lot of passionate fans showing up to support their heroes. Competition was tough and everybody gave it their best shot to try and shine.

© Dutch Photo Agency

Qualifying

Friday, 05/07/24, 14.05 – 14.35, Weather: Overcast, 16°C

Early on Friday morning, the track was wet for free practice. Raindrops were falling and it was very cool at 12°C. It was only later in the session that the rain started to get heavier. Max caught a very good moment on track and placed himself in 1^st place. Until the end of the session, no other driver could beat his time! Charlie finished 12^th, Matias was 25^th.
The qualifying session started with a dry track, but soon some raindrops were falling. All three of our drivers had done well on their first push laps and, like everyone else, they returned to the pit lane to change tires. It started to rain a little harder and when the drivers started chasing times again, no one improved for a long time. It was only at the very end of the session, when the rain stopped again, that many improvements suddenly came about. Max managed to drive another super good lap, which brought him to an excellent 2^nd place overall, 0.045 seconds behind the fastest time. Charlie managed to improve to a nice 6^th place and Matias managed to take a very good 10^th place. All three of our drivers made it into the top ten in qualifying on this demanding track.
After qualifying, some penalties were handed out. Also Max was moved back three places on the starting grid for tomorrow's race.

© Dutch Photo Agency

FIA F3 Championship

Race One (Sprint-Race, 40 Minutes)

Saturday, 06/07/24, 09.20, Weather: Overcast, 15°C

Everyone was ready for the start of the sprint race, but the weather was not on their side. Rain fell incessantly and large puddles formed on the track. First there was a delay in the start, but then the start of the race was even postponed. The new start time was 6:10 p.m.
It was dry in the evening and the sprint race could take place. Lindblad caught Leon at the start and Matias was briefly in 2^nd place, but Leon immediately regained 2^nd place. From then on, Matias drove a very strong race with excellent race pace and held 3^rd place unchallenged. In the 3^rd lap, Goethe and Max collided, the two flew off track and the safety car had to be deployed. Unfortunately, Max's chance of a top ten place was already over. Charlie got off to a good start and was already 6th. Everything looked good after the restart too. Later, Charlie came under pressure from Dunne, but Dunne's maneuver went wrong and the two collided. This meant that the race was over for both of them, and Charlie’s chance for points and a place in the top ten was lost. After a super drive, Matias became the first Peruvian to reach the podium in an FIA F3 race! He deservedly climbed onto the podium in third place!

© Dutch Photo Agency

FIA F3 Championship

Race Two (Feature Race, 45 Minutes)

Sunday, 07/07/24, 08.20, Weather: Cloudy, 16°C

Just as the large field was on the starting grid, it started to rain. Most of them switched to rain tires. After the start, however, the first came back into the pit lane to switch back to slicks. An accident had occurred and the safety car was deployed. From then on, the classification changed every lap, because sometimes the track was drier and sometimes it was wet. About halfway through the race there was another long safety car phase, which several drivers used to change tires. At the end, about half of the drivers were on slicks and the other half on rain tires. And at the end the track started to dry out properly, so that the drivers on slicks could now drive much faster. Max stayed in the top ten for a long time until he finally dropped back to 18^th place. Matias held on well in the middle of the field before falling back to 22^nd place. Charlie, who had come in and changed to slick tyres, was unlucky at the end because a part of another car flew into his radiator, causing his engine to overheat, as a result he had to retire in the pit lane. This was a very dramatic race, with big changes in position on every lap. The changeable weather made everything very difficult.

© Dutch Photo Agency

We are looking forward to the next race meeting which will be held on the weekend of the 21^st July 2024 at the Hungaroring near Budapest (HU).

Championship standings after 14 out of 20 races:

1^st Gabriele Mini (I), 119 points; 2^nd Arvid Lindblad (GB), 113 points; 3^rd Luke Browning (GB), 112 points; 4^th Leonardo Fornaroli (I), 93 points; 5^th Oliver Goethe (D), 85 points; 6^th Dino Beganovic (S), 80 points; 20^th Charlie Wurz (A), 10 points; 22^nd Matias Zagazeta (PER), 8 points; 26^th Max Esterson (USA), 5 points

Charlie Wurz (A)

© Dutch Photo Agency

Max Esteron (USA)

© Dutch Photo Agency

Matias Zagazeta (PER)

© Dutch Photo Agency

2024 FIA F3 Meisterschaft

Read more:

• www.fiaformula3.com
• www.italiaracing.net