The Fortec Motorsports team and the Double R Racing outfit have parted company with drivers ahead of the forthcoming FIA European Formula 3 Championship round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Australian driver Mitchell Gilbert has decided to leave Formula 3 to concentrate on the GP3 Series, where he will be racing for Trident Racing. He had a best finish of fifth in the third race at Pau but was down in fifteenth position in the championship.
At present, it looks like current Status Grand Prix GP3 Seriesdriver Alfonso Celis Jr will take his place, at least for the races in Austria. The Mexican, who also made his Formula Renault 3.5 Series debut last weekend at the Nurburgring in Germany for Tech 1 Racing, will partner regular driver, Swede John Bryant-Meisner.
The other driver change sees Felipe Guimaraes leaving Double R Racing. His best finish had been eighth in the opening round at Spa-Francorchamps, but a series of crashes and five consecutive retirements has made the Brazilian walk away from the team.
“Everything was getting horrible and we decided not to continue,” said Guimaraes to Autosport. “It’s a lot of money and we were not achieving good results. I’m still trying to race in European F3, but I don’t know with which team.”
Double R Racing have yet to announce a replacement driver for Guimaraes, but have a few weeks to find a driver with the Austrian round not scheduled until the first weekend of August.