Venezuelan driver Manuel Maldonado will return to the BRDC British F3 Championship this year. The 17-year-old who was a regular in the paddock throughout 2017, will return to Fortec Motorsports.
Signing on as the teams first driver and the series tenth official confirmation (excluding the expectant Clement Novalak) Maldonado will be hoping to improve on last season where he finished twelfth overall, with a best result of sixth at Silverstone, where he had started on pole.
As the cousin of ex-Formula 1 driver Pastor Maldonado, the young driver had a high-profile karting career in Rotax Max, before stepping up to the Italian F4 Championship in 2016. He struggled to make an impact at first, coupling it with a short run in the MRF Challenge. His leap to British F3 has rewarded him with more success, picking up nine top-ten finishes.
Maldonado said: “I am really happy to return to the BRDC British F3 Championship and to be staying with the Fortec team. We worked really well together in 2017, and our experience should mean we are challenging for podiums and hopefully wins in 2018.”
Russ Dixon, Team Manager of Fortec Motorsports commented: “It’s great to welcome Manuel back to the team for the 2018 BRDC British F3 Championship. We were very happy with the progress he showed last year and with our race and championship-winning experience, feel that we can move to the next level together this year.”
Last year, Ben Hingeley drove the Fortec team to four victories, three further podiums and one pole position. Maldonado’s signing stretches the field to nine different nationalities.
