The 2019 British Formula 3 Championship heads to Snetterton this weekend for the second round of the season with a field stocked full of racers determined to prove their worth around Norfolk’s finest racetrack. After an enthralling start to the season at Oulton Park last month, where there were three different winners in Cheshire, who will emerge victorious at Snetterton?
Carlin racer Clement Novalak is the points leader heading to Norfolk after taking his maiden British F3 win at Oulton as well as an additional podium finish to put him 11 points clear of second-placed driver Johnathan Hoggard. But after Hoggard also took a first career win at Oulton, the British racer will hope to utilize his race experience at Snetterton to good effect after he competed around the Norfolk circuit during his British F4 campaign last year.
However, Hoggard is not alone in that, and is likely to be challenged this weekend by his former F4 rival and Chris Dittmann Racing driver Ayrton Simmons. After Simmons made a costly error in the final race at Oulton Park, he will be hoping to make up for his mistake by a strong set of results this weekend at Snetterton as he heads to Norfolk third in the standings and just 28-points of the series lead.
Douglas Motorsport had a positive start to the season at Oulton Park as Belgian racer Ulysse De Pauw and his team-mate and reigning British F4 champion Kiern Jewiss head to Snetterton fourth and fifth in the standings respectively as the duo enjoyed three top ten finishes at Oulton to kick-start their campaign. But as the two rookies progress throughout the season, there is much promise starting this weekend at Snetterton.
After claiming a podium finish on his debut weekend in the series, American racer Neil Verhagen will hope to build on that momentum this weekend and heads to Norfolk sixth in the points. Just behind is Fortec Motorsports returnee Manuel Maldonado as the Venezuelan racer secured another podium finish in Oulton Park, after he won there in 2018.
Carlin racer Kaylen Frederick will have mixed emotions after Oulton as the American showed great speed throughout the weekend after taking pole for both race one and race two. But after non-points finishes in both the first and third races, he won the second race from pole. But can he turn that speed into great results at Snetterton?
After scoring a podium finish last season at Snetterton, Hillspeed racer Sasakorn Chaimongkol will be determined to build on his consistent results at Oulton Park to launch a more realistic championship charge in 2019. A few points behind after the opening round is Malaysian driver Nazim Azman who completes the top ten for Chris Dittmann Racing. But after showing strong progress at Oulton Park, expect more from him at Snetterton.
Lanan Racing driver Josh Mason sits just outside the top ten after a tricky opening round, just ahead of Marcus Ericsson’s younger brother, Hampus, who endured a dreadful opening round at Oulton. The Swede will hope to put events at Oulton to one side and start to build a championship challenge from this weekend onwards if he is to advance up the motorsport ladder after his second season in the series.
The same can be said of the final four drivers, all of whom found points tricky to come by at Oulton Park: Benjamin Pederson, Lucas Petersson, Fortec racer Kris Wright and Double R’s Pavan Rashankar. But with all of the drivers having so much more potential than they showed at Oulton, expect them to strike a surprise this weekend.
As the British F3 Championship heads to Norfolk, there will once again be three action-packed races around Snetterton with the chance for 16 potential future superstars to prove themselves on the world stage. So after Novalak delivered at Oulton, who will shine at Snetterton?
