Next stop Imola for F3 Round 3
Round 3 - Imola - Preview
Hitech TGR are excited to embark on the European phase of the FIA F3 Championship, which gets underway this weekend at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola (16-18 May).
It’s been almost five weeks since the series’ second round in Bahrain, which has allowed the team and drivers plenty of time to regroup after a challenging weekend there last time out. Since then, everyone has been hard at work dissecting the data, and the team embarks on this next phase of the season with renewed optimism.
Imola is the start of an intense triple-header which then takes in Monaco and Barcelona in quick succession. The three circuits could not be any more varied in their characteristics, so it’s an intense few weeks ahead for everyone, including second-year drivers Martinius Stenshorne and Joshua Dufek, but especially for Rookie Gerrard Xie. All three drivers have been hard at work with their engineers, and in the sim and gym, and they’re fired up for a fresh assault on the campaign.
The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is as tricky as it is iconic, and the perfect training ground for young drivers. Tough corners conspire with short run-off areas of grass and gravel that leave little margin for error to create one of the most technical circuits on the calendar.
At 4.909 km, Imola is a low abrasion circuit which provides good grip. Sector one is relatively high speed ahead of the more technical middle and final sectors, and the combination requires a car setup that can balance out these different demands. Turn 2 at the end of the sole DRS zone is the primary overtaking opportunity.
As last year, Pirelli have chosen the Medium compound which, together with the new 2025 cars, is expected to help with managing thermal degradation, which was a big factor in the 2024 Feature Race.
Paul Bellringer, Hitech's F3 Team Manager:
“After the long break since Bahrain, we're all eager to get our teeth into the European phase of the season.”
He continued:
“After a good start in Melbourne, Sakhir was a trickier event for us and we certainly didn’t get the best out of the car with any of our drivers that weekend. Needless to say, we’ve conducted a thorough analysis and spent a lot of time in the simulator, and we’re all optimistic that we have a better direction for Imola, and beyond. It’s still very early in the season, so there is plenty to fight for in both championships.
“Imola is a classic track, one we enjoy coming to as a team, and which provides a real test for our drivers. We’re looking forward to it.”
Free Practice gets the on-track action underway at 09.55 local time on Friday and is followed by Qualifying session at 15:05 local. Saturday’s 18-lap Sprint Race is scheduled for 10:05 local time, while the 22-lap Feature Race will get underway at 08:30 local on Sunday.