Joel Eriksson Tops First Day of Testing

Joel Eriksson got life as an FIA Formula 3 European Championship driver off to the best possible start by topping the first day of official pre-season testing in Italy on Thursday.

17-year-old Eriksson clocked a 1m28.488s best around the Vallelunga circuit, located on the outskirts of Rome, to head the overall times on his very first day of official F3 activity.

Eriksson was most closely followed by Red Bull Junior Team member Niko Kari, one and a half tenth behind, and Chinese Ferrari protégé Guan Yu Zhou.

The day featured changeable weather conditions, with the fastest times all being set in the first of four one-hour sessions while track conditions were at their driest.

“I certainly didn’t expect to go quickest overall on my first day of official testing, but it’s a nice little bonus,” says Joel Eriksson. “I’m well aware that it’s just testing, and I really don’t read anything into this, but it’s always nicer to be heading the times than not doing so. The main thing today was the feeling in the car; I felt very comfortable in the wet and in the dry, and the balance was consistent. We’ve laid some good foundations and we’ll just take it from here.”

With the FIA F3 European Championship entry list now having been formally released, Joel Eriksson has been allocated start number 22 for his rookie F3 campaign. Incidentally, the very same number was used by Eriksson’s older brother, Jimmy, during his maiden Formula 3 season in the German championship in 2010.

Testing at Vallelunga concludes on Friday.

 

Results – Day 1 (top five)

1: Joel Eriksson (Sweden), 1m28.488s

2: Niko Kari (Finland), +0.154s

3: Guan Yu Zhou (China), +0.235s

4: Sérgio Sette Câmara (Brazil), +0.285s

5: Alessio Lorandi (Italy), +0.468s