Carlos Sainz Jr claimed the fastest lap during Wednesday’s British Formula 3 morning test at a sunny Silverstone.
The Spaniard took the top spot in his Volkswagen-powered Carlin during a short late stint, keeping him ahead of teammates Harry Tincknell and Jack Harvey.
Registering 32 laps (the least of all the runners), Sainz Jr also displayed a modicum of consistency throughout his stints in the three-hour session, while displaying plenty of style on track.
Despite suffering gearbox issues during the session, Tincknell fell just two-tenths shy of Sainz Jr, with Harvey a further quarter-of-a-second adrift in 3rd.
Reigning Formula UK champion Alex Lynn headed the Fortec charge in 4th, just one-tenth up on teammate Hannes van Asseldonk. Come the midday-chequered flag, less than seven-tenths covered the top five.
Split by a quarter-of-a-second, Carlin pair Jazeman Jaafar and Pietro Fantin assumed 6th and 7th, although both fell more than one second outside Sainz Jr’s fastest effort. An off for Jazeman brought out a late red flag, bringing the session to a close a few minutes early, while Fantin struggled with set-up issues during his running, leaving him frustrated with the final outcome.
Fortec newboy Felix Serralles continues to bed himself into the category with each day of running. The Puerto Rican completed 45 tours of the Northamptonshire circuit – the most of anyone during the relatively brief session.
T-Sport’s International Class runner, Nick McBride was 9th with Nissan power, two-tenths up on the final Fortec man, Pipo Derani.
Spike Goddard (T-Sport, 11th) proved the quicker of the two Rookie Class men; holding a 1.5 second over new Double R signing Duvashen Padayachee* (13th). It was a busy day for Padayachee, as he attempts to gain mileage in Dallara’s F309 chassis, although is run was interrupted somewhat, when he right rear wheel fell of his Mugen-Honda powered machine.
The Rookie Class pairing were split by Malaysian pilot Fahmi Ilyas** – another driver who confirmed his place with Double R this week.
* {note 1}
Padayachee, an Australian national, was a relatively late starter in motorsport, when he began Karting at the age of 17, before moving into cars just prior to his 20th birthday.
Two seasons in the JK Racing Asia Series (formerly known as Formula BMW Asia) brought two podiums, with Padayachee finishing 5th following last year’s campaign. The Australian claimed 100 points, some 192 shy of eventual champion, Lucas Auer***.
*** {note 1b}
Auer is probably not the most recognisable name in motorsport, but the 17-year-old is the nephew of ex-Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton driver Gerhard Berger.
The Austrian took 7 wins and a further 10 podiums on his way to the JK Racing Asia Series title, before moving to the Toyota Racing Series at the beginning of this year.
Auer would claim 6th in that championship following a podium and two pole positions. Later this year, Auer will compete in the ATS German Formula 3 Cup.
** {note 2}
This will be a second year in the series for Fahmi Ilyas. The 20-year-old raced with Fortec in the British F3 Series during 2011, scoring 7 points on his way to 21st in the end of year standings.
Ilyas also registered four starts with West-Tec in the mainly Spanish-based European F3 Open Championship, where took one win (Brands Hatch) and a 2nd place (Portimao).
A single round entry to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series at Belgium’s legendary Spa-Francorchamps proved less successful. Ilyas ended the races 33rd and 21st respectively, leaving the campaign without any points, but with enough knowledge to use when F3 visited the track some months later.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m53.193s 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m53.393s 3. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m53.649s 4. Alex Lynn Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m53.717s 5. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m53.841s 6. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m54.331s 7. Pietro Fantin Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m54.581s 8. Felix Serralles Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m54.698s 9. Nick McBride T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m54.960s 10. Pipo Derani Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m55.169s 11. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m55.940s 12. Fahmi Ilyas Double R Racing Dallara-Mercedes 1m56.947s 13. Duvashen Padayachee Double R Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m57.446s Italics= National Class
