2010 British F3: Oulton Park – Round 1

The new British Formula 3 season kicked off this weekend at Oulton Park sporting a new three race per meeting format, but it was a familiar story as the Carlin team took both pole positions, three fastest laps and all three race wins. This seasons Red Bull backed entrant, Parisian, Jean-Eric Vergne, lived up to his billing of pre season favourite on Saturday by first securing a double pole position, and then winning the first race later the same day from Fortec’s Ollie Webb and Carlin team mate Adriano Buzaid. Vergne would have surely completed a clean sweep of the weekend were it not for the revised format which now incorporates a BTCC style reversed grid for the shorter race two, whereby the race one winner draws a number from 6 to 10, on the podium, to decide which of those race one finishers will start from pole, the rest of the leading group then have their positions reversed, for the half points race.
The first such draw of the season saw Hitech’s Gabriel Dias, 2009 national class runner up, on pole (below), alongside Double R’s Daisuke Nakajima. Nakajima made the better start, and on lap 2 Dias attempted to get back through by taking the outside at a damp Old Hall, the move sending him spinning down the field and eventually into retirement. Two laps later the Japanese was passed, again at Old Hall by series debutant Rupert Svendson-Cook in another Carlin machine. The young Briton managed to fend off his more experienced competitor to take a very impressive win, followed by Colombian Carlos Huertas and the Carlin duo, Buzaid and Vergne.
The 40 minute feature race was somewhat processional, with the top 10 positions remaining largely unchanged throughout the 40 minutes, Vergne won from pole, followed closely by the impressive Formula Renault UK graduate Webb and his compatriot Svendson-Cook.
Vergne, Webb and Svendson-Cook were the obvious stand out drivers of the weekend, although there were some encouraging signs from the likes of Malaysian Jazeman Jaafar and home grown talent Will Buller and Alex Brundle, all new to the machinery. The most disappointing showing was comfortably that of 2009 Formula BMW Europe champion Felipe Nasr of Raikkonen Robertson, whose crash on his first flying lap in qualifying left him languishing at the back of the field all weekend, and according to paddock sources, struggling to motivate himself, maybe he has been taking some lessons in that department from Kimi.
Most experts had tipped Vergne to go well this season, although few would have thought he would dominate in the fashion he did, great news to see, however, that it will be the British contingent that will now be considered his main rivals.
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2010 British Formula 3 Preview

It took some time for Red Bull’s junior driver programme to begin producing the goods, and in the meantime that has lead to some pretty ordinary drivers, by F1 standards at least, piloting their cars and that of sister team, Toro Rosso, Scott Speed and Sebastien Bourdais would likely fall into that bracket. In the last couple of years however, it has unearthed some real gems, Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Buemi immediately spring to mind, but the next batch are now knocking on the door of Formula 1. You may have noticed New Zealand’s Brendan Hartley hanging around the Toro Rosso garage last season (you may also, incorrectly but understandably, have thought that he was a Red Bull backed surfer dude, invited as a guest), or Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was fastest in the three day young driver test last December at Jerez. You will have certainly seen Jaime Alguersuari this year and last and probably noticed him keep Michael Schumacher at bay for 30 laps last weekend at Melbourne. The last two, Alguersuari and Ricciardo, have something else in common; they have each won the British Formula 3 International Series in the last two years in a Red Bull backed, Carlin run machine. Who's next? Introducing Jean-Eric Vergne, the 19 year old Frenchman, who will be trying to complete a hat-trick of titles for Trevor Carlin’s crack F3 squad this term. Hugely talented, Vergne was runner up in both the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and West European Cup, and will this year dovetail a programme in British F3 with an assault on the Formula Renault 3.5 series with SG Formula. He has topped timesheets in testing in both categories this spring and it is a demonstration of the drinks giants’ faith in him that he is running for two top titles in 2010. He starts as favourite for the title, although Carlin teammates Adriano Buzaid, a 2009 race winner, and James Calado, who narrowly missed out on the 2009 Formula Renault UK title, may have something to say about that. Carlin will run another three drivers this term, taking their entry to six, whilst other expected fore-runners are sure to include ex-F2 ace Alex Brundle (yes it’s his son), Brit William Buller and Manor motorsport’s BMW Pacific champion Ryo Haryanto (look out for his Manor car running in the colours of the Virgin Racing F1 team). The only squad who look like they may give Carlin a run for their money is Double R, part owned by 2007 F1 champion, and now Citroen WRC crash tester, Kimi Raikkonen. They will be running a three car squad for Daisuke Nakajima, brother of ex-Williams F1 crash tester Kazuki, Carlos Huertas, and the super talented Felipe Nasr, 2009 BMW Europe champion. The series kicks off at Oulton Park this weekend with a revised format, extending the amount of races in the season to 30, and the reverse grid, half points races, should provide some extra entertainment. Vergne will be the one to watch, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion that he will triumph.
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