- First opportunity to catch British F3 title
- Donington Park hosts penultimate round of the year
Following a season lined by success, Linus Lundqvist has arrived at potentially the most defining weekend of his fledgling motor racing career to date. Carrying a 111-point lead, the Swedish youngster heads into the penultimate round of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with one eye on the ultimate prize: one of motorsport’s most esteemed single-seater titles.
Lundqvist – the leading force during a headline-grabbing rookie F3 campaign this season – is well aware of what’s at stake as the British series regroups at Donington Park this weekend, but remains cool and collected as racing resumes.
“I actually feel very calm at the moment,” says Linus Lundqvist. “I know very well that I could seal the title early this weekend and it would certainly be great to do so, but there’s no rush. The pressure is on the others. I’ve managed to build a healthy lead in the championship and I’m very comfortable with that. I take it as evidence that we’ve got the strongest package out there and that’s the feeling I’ll bring with me to Donington.”
Powering to six wins and 12 podiums from 18 races staged so far in 2018, Lundqvist leads the way in the standings from fellow Scandinavian Nicolai Kjaergaard (Denmark).
The exact preconditions in the title race are complicated by the complex points structure in British F3, particularly surrounding the reverse-grid Race 2 of each meeting where the number of starters must be taken into consideration, but Lundqvist basically needs to extend his advantage by another five points this weekend if he is to clinch the title ahead of next month’s Silverstone finale.
“Obviously at this late stage of the season the main goal has priority, but I don’t think the best way to achieve it is by going around calculating points,” the Double R Racing man continues. “That’s probably never going to be my style. I want to win more races, take more pole positions, more podiums. That’s my mindset for this weekend. Of course, it would be a bit silly to get into the most risky situations, but overall I’ll race as hard as ever.”
More than anything, however, Lundqvist is looking forward to simply be back on track, seven weeks on from the previous round at Brands Hatch.
“It will be great fun to get back in the F3 car and push it to its limits at Donington, which is a track I really enjoy,” Lundqvist concludes. “I took my first win in the UK there last year in Formula 4, actually. It should be a good one.”
British F3 action gets underway on Thursday with four test sessions, scheduled to be hit by rain. Following a day off on Friday, running then resumes with qualifying and Race 1 of the weekend on Saturday, followed by races two and three on Sunday.
TIME TABLE
BRDC British F3 Championship
Round 7 | Donington Park
All times local (GMT+01:00)
Thursday 20 September
Test 1: 09.35-10.05
Test 2: 11.20-11.50
Test 3: 14.00-14.30
Test 4: 15.45-16.15
Friday 21 September
Day off
Saturday 22 September
Qualifying: 10.50-11.10
Race 1: 15.10-15.30
Sunday 23 September
Race 2: 11.00-11.20
Race 3: 17.25-17.45
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)
BRDC British F3 Championship
After 18/24 races
1: Linus Lundqvist, 473 p.
2: Nicolai Kjaergaard, 362 p.
3: Kush Maini, 321 p.
4: Tom Gamble, 302 p.
5: Krish Mahadik, 261 p.
Click here to view full standings.
HOW TO FOLLOW LINUS
Website: www.linuslundqvistracing.se
Facebook: LinusLundqvistRacing
Live timing: http://www.britishf3.com/live-timing/