F3: Fittipaldi focussing on qualifying

Everything is ready at Silverstone for the fifth round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship. After racing for the first time at the English circuit last week, Enzo Fittipaldi, a Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) student, is set to go back on track to apply the lessons learned with his engineers. 30 drivers take part in the series and for qualifying, they can use two sets of new tyres in the short 30 minute session. It’s not easy therefore to find a clear track when tyres are at their best and experience is very important in this regard.

Key phase. “On some tracks it’s really difficult to move up the order,” confirmed the FDA’s technical head Marco Matassa. “So qualifying performance is vital to aim for a good result, because when you start from far back, even having a good race pace is no guarantee that you can quickly move up into the points. It’s a price paid by many rookies, especially on high speed tracks like Silverstone which demands an excellent feel for the car. It will be an important test for Enzo, which will show how much progress he has made compared to last weekend.”

Programme. The fifth round of the season follows the same timetable as last week, with free practice at 9.35 local (10.35 CET), getting the action underway. Then comes qualifying at 14.05 (15.05 CET) while Race-1 is on Saturday at 9.25 (10.25 CET). The long stay in Silverstone ends on Sunday with Race 2, which starts at 8.45 (9.45 CET).