The Formula 2 and Formula 3 series are racing in Spielberg and the two Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy students are looking to put last weekend’s difficult Barcelona round behind them
The Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers and teams are facing the busiest part of the season, racing in Spielberg just a few days on from the previous round in Barcelona. The racing in Austria tends to be spectacular because of the high speed layout with plenty of heavy braking points. This is the seventh Formula 2 round, bringing to an end the first half of the season which has yet to have a clear leader. Oliver Bearman will be looking forward to fighting back after a tough weekend in Spain, when he failed to score points in either race. He is currently 16th in the standings.
Formula 3. Dino Beganovic is also hoping to do better than in Barcelona where, although he finished in the top ten in both races, the Swede was a long way from the podium. The Spielberg event is round 6 of 10 and here too, the championship is still very open with around ten drivers in with a chance of the title. Beganovic is currently fifth in the championship, 19 behind the leader.
The track. Races are often spectacular at this 4.318 kilometres long with good overtaking opportunities at turns 1 and 3, although drivers have to pay particular attention to track limits. There’s a chance of rain on Friday, but both races should be held on a dry track. The Austrian track requires a very different car set-up to that at Barcelona, so both FDA drivers will be hoping that might see them in better shape than in Spain, so that they can fight for the results to which they aspire, namely getting on the podium and therefore being able to tackle the second half of the season with optimism.
Programme. Formula 2 action starts with 45 minutes of free practice at 10.05 CEST on Friday, followed by qualifying at 14.55. The Sprint Race is on Saturday at 13.3o0, while the main race of the weekend gets underway on Sunday at 10.00. The Formula 3 competitors tackle free practice on Friday on Friday at 08.55, with qualifying at 14.00. Saturday sees the Sprint Race start at 09.30, with the Feature Race getting underway on Sunday at 08.30.