The 2021 Formula 3 championship concludes in Sochi and Arthur is keen to end a season in which he has made much progress on a high note
This weekend sees the final round of the Formula 3 season held at the 5.848 kilometre Sochi circuit, laid out around the former Olympic village on the shores of the Black Sea. This will be Arthur Leclerc’s first visit to the Sochi Autodrom, but this year, the Ferrari Driver Academy student has proved several times that he can learn a new track quickly. He comes to Russia off the back of a strong weekend in Zandvoort where he won Race 1 thanks to an amazing start and impeccable race management.
Solid progress. “Arthur has made very good progress this season,” reckons Marco Matassa, the head of the Ferrari Driver Academy. “In Zandvoort, despite a mistake in qualifying, he proved that to be the case. The final race weekend of the year always has a special feel to it as all the drivers want to end the season on a high and rounding off the championship with a good result always helps one’s mood during the winter break. As usual, qualifying will be important, but the Sochi track layout provides good overtaking opportunities, so we can expect closely fought races where anything could happen.”
Programme. Leclerc is currently tenth in the standings and third rookie in the category, despite being the only new driver to have two wins to his name for the first time this season, the F2 and F3 championships are taking place on the same programme and so the usual weekend timetable has undergone some changes. On Friday, free practice starts at 8.55 local (7.55 CET) followed by qualifying at 13 (12 CET). Saturday gets underway with Race 1 at 8.35 (7.35 CET), followed by the second race at 13.40 (12.40 CET). The final act of the Russian weekend and indeed of this season, Race 3, starts on Sunday at 9.55 (8.55 CET).