Formula 3 returns to action this weekend as it supports Formula 1 at the French Grand Prix where it will be the second round of the season for the series.
On form
The early pacesettter in the championship is Russian, Robert Shwartzman who inherited the feature race victory from Dane, Christian Lundgaard and then went on to finish fourth in the sprint race.
Lundgaard was impressive, winning the feature race on the road before being penalised five seconds after the race due to issues with being notified of a Virtual Safety Car period. The Dane therefore finished second before finishing sixth in the sprint race.
Indian, Jehan Daruvala claimed the sprint race victory, with his seventh place finish in the feature race placing him third in the championship ahead of New Zealander, Marcus Armstrong (third in feature race, fifth in sprint race) and ahead of Estonian, Juri Vips (sixth in feature race, second in sprint race).
In need of a result
With it still being early in the championship and there being thirty drivers competing for ten points places during a feature race and only eight in a sprint race, there aren’t many drivers yet who desperately need a result.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, Christian Lundgaard was impressive during the feature race in the first round and will need to reduce the gap between himself and Shwartzman which currently stands at thirteen points ahead of this weekend’s action.
Been there, done that
At least six of the drivers on the current grid competed at Paul Ricard last season in the GP3 series, the predecessor to FIA Formula 3.
| Driver | 2018 GP3 Feature Race Result | 2018 GP3 Sprint Race Result |
 Leonardo Pulcini |
4th | 8th |
 David Beckmann |
18th | 10th |
 Pedro Piquet |
6th | 2nd |
 Jake Hughes |
10th | 17th |
 Niko Kari |
Disqualified | Retired |
 Christian Lundgaard |
12th | 13th |
Last Season
In the 2018 GP3 Series, Frenchman Anthoine Hubert won the feature race ahead of Russian Nikita Mazepin and Frenchman Guiliano Alesi (all now in Formula 2). In the sprint race Briton, Callum Ilott won ahead of Pedro Piquet and Australian Joey Mawson.
The Motorsport Critic 