Joel Eriksson ready to get FIA F3 European Championship season underway

After months of anticipation, the time has finally come for Sweden’s Joel Eriksson to begin the next chapter of his short but promising single-seater career as the 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship springs to life at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France this weekend.

17-year-old Eriksson enters the fiercely competitive ranks of Formula 3 on the back of a successful 2015 campaign, in which he scored seven race wins and ten podiums en route to second place in the ADAC Formula 4 championship standings. With pre-season preparations having indicated a smooth transition – Eriksson surprisingly topping the timesheets on his very first day of official F3 testing in early March – the Team Motopark rookie carries a positive yet realistic approach into the curtain-raiser.

“I really can’t wait to finally get this season underway,” says Joel Eriksson. “It’s exciting. Testing has been good and I like the way the car behaves, but racing is something completely different. I know very well that this is my greatest challenge so far, and as a rookie, I need to take things step by step. Qualifying, the starts, tyre degradation – I have a lot to learn. The first race of the season always gives you plenty of answers and hopefully we’ll get some positive ones this weekend in France.”

One of the most popular series on the road to Formula 1, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship has nurtured some of the sport’s brightest stars in recent years. Grand Prix drivers Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat both learned their trade in the championship before progressing straight into Formula 1, and the grid once again features several protégés from the leading talent development programmes in 2016.

Interestingly, three of them have slotted in at Team Motopark, with Eriksson joined at the Oschersleben squad by Red Bull juniors Sérgio Sette Câmara (Brazil) and Niko Kari (Finland), as well as Ferrari-backed Guan Yu Zhou (China).

“We’ve got a strong team and we’ll push each other hard this year,” Eriksson continues. “It’s difficult to know how we’ll fare against the others, but my own target is to fight for the rookie championship. It will probably take a couple of rounds to get into everything, but I’m determined to improve with every race. I’m feeling ready.”

Eriksson is one of nine rookies on the 2016 grid, which boasts a total of 21 entries from seven different teams.

Hosting the season-opener, Circuit Paul Ricard is located some 45 km east of Marseille, close to the Mediterranean and the French Riviera. Joel Eriksson has not previously driven at the venue, but will be given a taste of the track along with the rest of the field in a collective pre-event test on Thursday.

The first round of the 2016 FIA F3 European Championship officially begins with free practice and qualifying on Friday. The weekend will then comprise three races – each spanning approximately 35 minutes – across Saturday and Sunday.

 

TIME TABLE (all times local – GMT+02:00)

FRIDAY 1/4

Free Practice 1: 09.00-09.40

Free Practice 2: 09.45-10.25

Qualifying 1: 13.10-13.30

Qualifying 2: 16.30-16.50

 

SATURDAY 2/4

Race 1: 10.45 (33 min. + one lap)

Race 2: 16.45 (33 min. + one lap)

 

SUNDAY 3/4

Race 3: 10.30 (33 min. + one lap