It was a strong start to the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European season for the Carlin and Jagonya Ayam drivers today, as the first qualifying session of 2015 got underway at a blustery Silverstone. Jagonya Ayam man Antonio Giovinazzi led the way setting the second quickest time while George Russell who was fourth quickest and the top rookie. 16 year-old Red Bull Junior Callum Ilot was 10th fastest, Ryan Tveter was 12th, Gustavo Menezes was 13th and Tatiana Calderon 24th in the 35 strong field.
A bumper field took to the Silverstone circuit this afternoon for the first qualifying session of the season. Having already completed two practice sessions this morning the drivers were surprised to find that conditions had changed significantly due to weather and extra rubber laid down by the World Endurance cars.
Russell was an early pacesetter – taking the top spot on the timing screens with nine minutes remaining in a session that saw a flurry of improvements. A few minutes later Giovinazzi had climbed to second behind F3 veteran Felix Rosenqvist who had since taken provisional pole. Tveter made a big leap forward in pace after struggling with a technical issue earlier in the week and was in the top 10 for part of the session, finishing P12. As the drivers all made the most of a short window of optimum tyre performance, the order was set with five Carlin cars in the top 13.
Having qualified on the front row of the grid, Giovinazzi said, “I am happy to be on the front row of course although one place ahead would be better! The tyres come in very quickly here and go off quickly too – there was really only one opportunity to set a good lap time.
Top rookie Russell said about his session; “I’m a bit disappointed with the gap to be honest – I wanted to be a bit closer. We need to have a look at the data and see where we can make improvements. The circuit is very abrasive so there’s only a limited chance to set a good time. We should be looking to close the gap for next qualifying session.”
Qualifying tenth in his first qualifying session in a car, Ilot still wasn’t satisfied with his performance, “I don’t think I got the most out of that session. The tyres were only at their best for one lap really and I had traffic on the lap which should have been my best so I’m a bit frustrated.”
Summing up the team’s performance Trevor Carlin said, “In a competitive 35 car field there is huge potential for drivers to tumble significantly down the order due to just a small mistake so it’s great to see five cars in the top 13. Silverstone is a tricky circuit to start the season as the nature of the track means that there is such a small tyre window in qualifying. Antonio did a great job to lead the team with a front row performance, while fourth and tenth from rookies George and Callum is impressive. I think we know what needs to be done for second qualifying when we hope to improve again.”
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