Autosport – 18 April 2019

Jewiss is aiming

to improve his

qualifying

Hoggard will race

with Fortec again

Simmons returns

with Chris Dittmann

18 APRIL 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 55

BRITISH F3 PREVIEW

CALENDAR

DATE VENUE

20/22 April Oulton Park

18-19 May Snetterton

8-9 June Silverstone

22-23 June Donington Park

20-21 July Spa

3-4 August Brands Hatch

17-18 August Silverstone

14-15 September Donington Park

ENTRY LIST

NO DRIVER TEAM

3 Johnathan Hoggard Fortec Motorsport

33 Manuel Maldonado Fortec Motorsport

35 Kris Wright Fortec Motorsport

7 Nazim Azman Chris Dittmann Racing

12 Ayrton Simmons Chris Dittmann Racing

8 Kaylen Frederick Carlin

17 Clement Novalak Carlin

22 Lucas Petersson Carlin

20 Benjamin Pedersen Douglas Motorsport

77 Ulysse de Pauw Douglas Motorsport

87 Kiern Jewiss Douglas Motorsport

21 Josh Mason Lanan Racing

24 Hampus Ericsson Double R Racing

26 Neil Verhagen Double R Racing

28 Pavan Ravishankar Double R Racing

45 Sasakorn Chaimongkol Hillspeed

“We proved we had a lot of potential last year with the races
that we did without much testing beforehand,” says Simmons.
“We did well with Chris Dittmann [last season], which was
another reason we came back with him. We showed great
pace last year and with a bit of testing we should be up there.
Simmons’s minimum target is “challenging for the title. The
objective will be to win, but [he’ll be happy] as long as we’re in the
title fight. I’m grateful to have the chance to step up from
F4 and I’m going to take this opportunity to the max.”
The driver with perhaps the best form coming into the season is
Johnathan Hoggard, who finished third behind Jewiss and Simmons
in the 2018 F4 standings. If only results from the second half of
the year were taken into account, he would have romped to the F4
title, having taken eight wins – the most of any driver all season.
Hoggard will remain with Fortec Motorsport, and topped the official
media day testing times at Donington Park last month.
“I think we’ve adapted to the car quite well – we’ve done a couple
more tests here and there,” says the 18-year-old. “Initially it’s a big
step up, but I think my driving style suits the car as I struggled in
F4 with how it moved around.” Like Jewiss, Hoggard believes that
qualifying will be vital in the season ahead, as the downforce levels
of the Tatuus-Cosworth make it difficult to stay close to the car in
front. “Qualifying is the important thing as it’s hard to overtake,”
he adds. “It’s not just following [other cars], but also the different
tracks we go to are quite narrow.”
For this trio of graduates, challenging for wins during the
course of the season is their minimum expectation, and come
the final round of the year at Donington Park they should all
still be battling for the title.
But perhaps the British driver with the best chance for the
title is Clement Novalak, who continues in British F3 with
Carlin after contesting four rounds last season. The 18-year-old,

who also campaigned in Formula Renault Eurocup, took pole on

his F3 debut at Oulton Park but only managed a best result of

fourth despite flashes of blinding pace.

“[The championship] is a realistic goal considering the experience

we have got in the category,” says Novalak. “The only thing is I’ve

not driven on some tracks yet – some are quite difficult, like Brands

Hatch GP, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. Novalak and

team boss Trevor Carlin “both wanted to join forces again for

this year and we know that we can do something good.”

Grid numbers for the season look positive, with 16 drivers

already confirmed and the possibility of several more joining –

new team JHR Developments has yet to confirm any drivers –

meaning that some races could feature as many as 20 cars.

For the first time, the reversed-grid second race and race three

will be live-streamed by the championship on its website. It’s

another sign that it is heading in the right direction. Talks are

also ongoing to make the category one of the FIA’s Regional F3

categories in 2020 with a car fitted with a halo.

“This year looks to be the strongest ever, which I think is a

great tribute to the championship,” says Jonathan Palmer, whose

company MotorSport Vision runs the series. “British F3 is a good

step up in performance and sophistication from British F4 and it

gives drivers the chance to keep on a winning theme.”

And winning is all any of the British F4 graduates – and their

oppisition – are concerned about.