SpaFrancorchamps, Bergium, 26 Juli 2014 - Sean Gelael had a fantastic weekend in the British Formula 3 Championship at the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, taking podium finishes in all three races and also leading a Formula 3 race for the first time.
The 17-year-old Indonesian qualified second fastest in his Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, and finished second in races one and three, adding a third place in race two.
Gelael is normally racing this season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, but added the British F3 round to his schedule to get some critical extra racing experience.
Sean dropped to fourth place from his front-row start in race one. But after an early safety-car period he made incisive moves past two rivals ahead to take second position within two laps of the race restarting, and he stayed composed to take the best result of his F3 career.
“I made a really terrible start!” he said. “We were testing something different with the clutch, and I had a problem on the lap before the start so I could not get a feel for it. But then I overtook the guys ahead and had a really good race.”
With the top five from race one reversed on the grid for race two, Gelael started this one from fourth. Another disappointing start dropped him to sixth place, but he surged up the order and was third by the end of lap two. By the time he got into this position the leading duo were too far ahead to challenge, so he settled for another podium finish.
“The Cooper tyres used in British Formula 3 are so different to the Hankooks I am used to,” he said, “so we had a bad start again. I had so much wheelspin it looked like an American-style burnout! Unfortunately it blistered the tyres and after I got into third place I was struggling to keep the pace of the guys ahead. Everything was going on in that race!”
With Gelael on the front row again for race three, both he and pole position man Ed Jones made equal starts. But Sean got a superb run through the legendary Eau Rouge corner and was able to slipstream past Jones and into the lead. The Indonesian flag stayed at the front of the field until the sixth lap, when Jones repassed Gelael for the lead – with two wheels on the grass! – in a thrilling race. Sean stayed close to Jones for the rest of the race, missing out on his maiden Formula 3 win by just 1.092 seconds after 32 minutes of racing.
“So close!” he said. “I got an OK start this time, had a good first corner and then I passed him on the run up the hill. Ed was really strong on the straights, whereas I was better in the corners. Because he was so fast on the straights he could get a really good tow, but when I was behind him the tow did not feel so effective. I really wanted a win, but we made great progress there. And it was good preparation for the Red Bull Ring.”
The Red Bull Ring, the scenic circuit in the Austrian Alps, is the venue for Sean’s next race outing in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, next weekend on 1st-3rd August. (ms/arl)
