Valencia, 19th March 2015 - Indonesia’s Sean Gelael got back behind the wheel of a Formula 3 car with a two-day test on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Ricardo Tormo circuit near the Spanish city of Valencia.
Sean is focusing primarily on the Formula Renault 3.5 series this season and has been dialling himself in well to these more powerful cars, but returned to the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen that he raced in the Formula 3 European Championship in 2014 and in which he plans to contest selected F3 races this year.
It was his first time in an F3 car since November’s Macau Grand Prix, and as such he had to re-adapt to the nuances of the machine. The Valencia circuit is highly technical, with very little scope for improvising, so it is one of the toughest tracks at which to jump back into an F3 car and be competitive against those who are in the rhythm of the category.
As such the first day was tough, but Gelael was much stronger on the second day, which took place in wet conditions, with therefore more possibility for improvising and showing natural talent. In the afternoon the track dried out slightly, so that the drivers were able to run slick tyres but still on a very slippery surface, and Sean finished that session with the eighth fastest time from the 34 drivers.
“It was a bit more of a difference from the Formula Renault 3.5 car to what I expected,” said Gelael, “and I needed to adjust a bit more. The braking and driving technique of the Formula 3 car are very different. You carry a lot more mid-corner speed, and trying to get your head around that is kind of hard when you are used to something different.
“When I tried more mid-corner speed, I was carrying more entry speed, but the Formula 3 car does not have the power to get you out of the situation that this results in. You cannot hustle the car like you can in Formula Renault 3.5.”
But when the rain came, the power-to-grip ratio was closer to what Sean is used to in Formula Renault 3.5. “It was weird in the morning,” he said. “Every time we did a run it was raining, and every time we went into the pits it stopped! That was unlucky but the pace we had was really good, and whenever I was on track I was in the top two or three of those who were out there.
“In the afternoon it was really fun in the wet-dry conditions. It was drying all the time at the end of the session, and I was gaining a second per lap, but I was one of the first three to cross the line for the chequered flag. If only I had got one more lap in I would have ended up higher.”
Sean moves his focus back on to Formula Renault 3.5 for that series’ next test, which is once again in Spain but this time at Motorland Aragon in two weeks’ time. (ms/arl)
