Macau, 19th November 2013 - Indonesia’s Sean Gelael put in the best performance of his short Formula 3 career to take a superb 17^th place finish in the Macau Grand Prix qualification race.

The Macau Grand Prix is the biggest prize in the world of junior motorsport, attracting a full field of 28 of the globe’s biggest young talents. An incredibly challenging street circuit, this was new territory for 17-year-old Sean, who had never raced on a street track before.

Gelael did a fantastic job to keep his Double R Racing Dallara-Mercedes out of the unyielding barriers, while many crashed around him, to take his great result. That put him 17^th on the grid for the Grand Prix itself, but unfortunately it ended on the first lap when he was smashed into the wall from behind.

Sean qualified in 23^rd place, maximising his experience of the tortuous circuit through two free practice sessions and two qualifying periods.

“The trick was to keep safe and gradually build the speed,” he said. “I would have loved to make the top 20 but there were just too many red flags stopping the sessions. With my level of experience I need time to get into the rhythm, whereas the guys who have been doing it longer can optimise things more quickly. Hopefully now I can close the gap.”

Gelael got up to 17^th place on the opening lap of the qualification race and was involved throughout in a fantastic battle for 14^th, which included his rivals from the FIA Formula 3 European Championship Antonio Giovinazzi (his Double R team-mate), Nicholas Latifi and Lucas Wolf.

Cars passed and repassed each other in a great slipstreaming bunch, with Sean bringing his car home 17^th.

“A car stalled in front of me on the grid so my start was not perfect,” he said, “and the first lap was crazy! It was a case of trying to be cautious but use aggression at the same time. Latifi was at the front of our group and he can run very strongly in European F3, so this is really good and I am very happy with my performance.”

At the start of the Macau Grand Prix final, Gelael was in the mix going into the flat-out Mandarin Oriental kink when Swedish driver John Bryant-Meisner crashed. Cars slowed to avoid him, but Austrian Lucas Auer ploughed into the back of Sean and crashed them both into the barriers.

“I made an OK start but then I got pushed towards the wall by someone who made a really bad one,” said Gelael. “John spun in front of me, and everyone lifted off. I also had to brake a bit, and Auer just hit me in the back. It was weird – the car was going in a straight line and the next moment I was heading for the wall.

“My car was good and I am really looking forward to coming back here next year! We can certainly take the positives from my first Macau Grand Prix.”

After a very long maiden season in international motor racing, Sean will now divert all his attentions to the winter and preparation for his second season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, where he can surely build on the experience gained in 2013 and perform well in 2014. (ms/arl)