Arden Motorsport are one of two new entries on the BRDC British Formula 3 grid for the 2021 season.
They bring with them experience at almost every level of junior single-seater racing except British F3, as well as two exciting young drivers who make the step up from the British F4 Championship with the team.
The Checkered Flag takes a look at what Garry Horner‘s team can expect from their maiden campaign.
Frederick Lubin – #78 – GBR
Frederick Lubin was announced as a British F3 driver in January, after a stellar British F4 campaign which saw him finish runner-up in the championship’s Rookie Cup class.
The British-American took six Rookie Cup wins with Arden during a delayed season, with an overall best finish of fourth place, en-route to a ninth-place finish in the overall standings against more experienced drivers.
Lubin, a member of Arden’s Young Racing Driver Academy (YRDA), took 13 Rookie Cup podiums and 21 points finishes from 26 starts, warranting a step up to Britain’s premier single-seater series at the first opportunity.
The YRDA had seen ‘Red Arrows’ on the grid from British F4, to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, all the way up to FIA Formula 2, but British F3 was the one series missing from its pathway from karting to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
In January, Lubin said of the move, “We enjoyed a really positive, successful season together in 2020, and I’m really looking forward to building on that development in the year ahead.
“The car itself is fantastic, and I’m already feeling very comfortable with the environment we’ve built up within the team for next season.“
He’s been equally glowing in his praise during pre-season testing.
“We’re getting to grips with the car really well.
“]Donington Park] seems to be a bit of a struggle for us, but we’re not too far off.
“I’m really looking forward to Brands and I think it’s going to be really close and really exciting to see how everyone gets on.
“We seem to have got on with it a lot quicker than we thought, which has helped, and [joining British F3 was] obviously the right decision to make.
“It’s a really good package, it seems to just work together and it’s been really easy to get on top of.
“I think we can definitely aim to put both our cars in the top-five, so it just a question of whether we can put that together consistently.
“I think we have a really strong race car and a qualifying car, so I’m really excited to see how we get on.”
Alex Connor – #27 – GBR
Alex Connor was announced as moving up from British F4 with the Banbury team in April, having spent two seasons in the championship to Lubin’s solitary Rookie Cup campaign.
Like his team-mate, he finished runner-up in the Rookie Cup in 2019, having graduated from karting as part of the YRDA he joined in 2017.
His karting days in Dubai saw him named 2015/16 UAE X30 Cadet champion and UAE MicroMax vice-champion, also securing a third-place finish in the 2016 SWS Junior Cup World Finals.
During his two-year spell in British F4, Connor claimed 17 podium finishes, with three wins in 2020 firing him to fourth in the overall standings.
The Dubai-based British driver said after being announced,
“The team and the YRDA have supported me from the very start of my racing journey.
“We all worked very well together in British F4 so I know that we are going to be able to focus 100% on a really strong debut season right from the start.
“The Championship races on some of my favourite tracks, so I can’t wait to tackle them with the extra speed and power of the F3 car – and I know that Spa is going to be awesome!“
The verdict
As British F4 graduates in a team that’s just as new to British F3 as they are, Lubin and Connor are slightly unknown quantities thus far. But if their pace and results last season, married with their enthusiasm from testing are to be believed, the Banbury outfit may well be a surprise package this year.
Success is in Arden’s DNA; they have the experience and infrastructure to suggest it won’t be long before they’re battling at the front.
The 2021 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship begins at Brands Hatch GP on 22/23 May, supporting the Intelligent Money British GT Championship.
The Checkered Flag will be bringing you all the action from the season.
