Carlin Motorsport have signed Tom Blomqvist, Antonio Giovinazzi and Sean Gelael to the FIA European F3 effort for this season.
Unlike previous seasons, the Blomqvist-Gelael-Giovinazzi group are being backed by the Jagonya Ayam group and are (on paper) split from the main Carlin effort.
Jagonya Ayam – Indonesia’s version of KFC – have been a personal backer of Sean Gelael for some time and also helped keep Giovinazzi with Double R last year. Blomqvist, a former Red Bull junior driver, joins the Carlin squad for third season of European F3, following spells with EuroInternational and ma-con.
Throughout last season, both Blomqvist and Giovinazzi displayed plenty of speed, with Blomqvist showing his metal in the early rounds, before the team began to fall backward through the season; however the Anglo-Kiwi driver still finished a very respectable 7th in the standings.
After a difficult opening, Giovinazzi began to pull things together as the season aged – eventually the former Formula Pilota China champion scored 20 of his 31 points in the final six races of the thirty-race calendar.
Gelael, meanwhile, scored no points with Double R in 2013, but did display some consistency and growth of confidence in the second-half of the season.
For Carlin, the British squad have shown themselves to be the dominant force in British F3, but they have yet to take a title on European ground. While it may take quite a step up in performance from his drivers, team boss Trevor Carlin believes that could change.
“This is a massive commitment from the sponsor and we are proud to be chosen as the team to take these Sean, Tom and Antonio forwards in their careers,” commented Carlin. “We are very proud to be able to represent the Jagonya Ayam brand in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. We feel the combination of experience and potential of Jagonya Ayam with Carlin can compete for championship honours.”
On the other side of the Carlin garage, Ed Jones and Jake Dennis were confirmed some weeks ago, while it is believed that Jordan King is to complete the Carlin sextet.
