Polish driver Roman Bilinski will make his BRDC British Formula 3 Championship début at Donington Park this weekend (10/11 July).
After two pre-event test days, he will compete in the triple-header with Arden Motorsport, having left the team for Carlin ahead of his second FIA F4 British Championship campaign in 2021.
Bilinski joins fellow British F4 graduate, and Silverstone podium-finisher Alex Connor in the test, deputising for Frederick Lubin this weekend after he was ruled out on medical advice.
He makes the step up to the Tatuus BF3-020 in the week the FIA announced the second-generation Formula 4 car, complete with halo and an updated safety profile, to be introduced in coming National F4 seasons.
Arden are one of two teams making their first foray into British F3 this season, having brought Lubin and Connor up with them. The pair finished ninth and fourth in the 2020 British F4 standings; Bilinski split the pair in eighth, with three podiums and 23 points-scoring finishes from 26 races.
He will join a number of other 2020 graduates on the grid at the Leicestershire circuit, in the form of runner-up, and current British F3 Championship leader Zak O’Sullivan, Carlin team-mate Christian Mansell, Roberto Faria (Fortec Motorsport) and Reema Juffali (Douglas Motorsport).
Bilinski stresses his main focus is still his full British F4 campaign, having taken a seventh and fifth-place finish at Brands Hatch last time out, but knows he joins a fourth-placed team which has seen both cars finish in the points in every race so far.
Gary Ward, Arden’s British F3 Team Manager, is positive about the impact the 17-year-old can have this weekend.
“Everybody is really pleased to welcome Roman back to the team for this weekend.
“We know all about him as a driver, and he’s obviously got a very solid relationship with the rest of the team from his time with us in Formula 4 last season.
“We’re happy to provide him with this opportunity to make the step up and give Formula 3 a go, and hopefully he’ll find it an enjoyable and instructive experience.”
Bilinski added, “I’m really excited to make my début in British F3 this weekend; first and foremost I want to say thank you to Trevor Carlin, Garry Horner and both teams for allowing me to take up this opportunity.
“It’ll be nice to see several familiar faces again at Arden, and of course there’s already a good working relationship there, so that will help in some aspects as I adapt to a new car and a new championship.
“We’ve still got British F4 to focus on as my full-time programme for this season, but it’s never a bad idea to start looking at what our next steps might be.
“There’s no expectation on me this weekend, it’s all about going out there, giving it a go and gathering some experience to help with decision-making in the future.”
The BRDC British Formula 3 Championship supports the Intelligent Money British GT Championship this weekend at Donington.
You can follow all the action from both series’ on The Checkered Flag.
