2016 FIA F3 European Championship – Eriksson returns to scene of winning memories

Joel Eriksson returns to scene of winning memories

Just days on from the latest round of the season in France, Joel Eriksson and the rest of the FIA F3 European Championship field head to Austria this weekend as battle resumes in the Styrian Alps – and it could hardly have been a case of stronger contrasts.

Exit the narrow streets of Pau, enter a vastly different venue; the fast, wide and flowing Red Bull Ring. 17-year-old Eriksson arrives at the picturesque 4.326 km circuit – strikingly set among the mountains overlooking the village of Spielberg – with three podiums to his name so far this year, and will be hoping to build on his previous record at the Austrian Grand Prix track as round four of the 2016 campaign takes centre stage.

“The Red Bull Ring is a place of very fond memories for me,” says Joel Eriksson. “That’s where I took my first-ever win in single-seater racing back in 2014, and I had one of my strongest weekends in Formula 4 there last year with pole position and two wins from three races. It’s the kind of the thing that just gets you in the right mood. I really enjoy driving there and I can’t wait to try it out in a Formula 3 car with such a huge amount of downforce. It will be pretty quick in the fast corners towards the end of the lap!”

While three race wins from two visits to the Red Bull Ring might be a cause for optimism for Eriksson, the Team Motopark Swede is aware of the scope of the challenge awaiting on his first visit to the track in F3 machinery – particularly with recent resurfacing of the venue adding an extra unknown to the mix.

“We don’t know how the track will be affected by the new tarmac, but it might change quite dramatically,” Eriksson points out. “All the teams obviously have access to data from previous years, but all the references, braking points and speeds are likely to be different this year. I will just go out there in free practice and try to find the limit as quickly as possible, and then I really want to do well in qualifying. We’ve been a bit unlucky in qualifying so far this year, so it would be nice to really get it together this time and make sure we start as far up the grid as possible.”

This weekend’s FIA F3 European Championship races are part of the support bill at leading German touring car series the DTM’s annual visit to Austria.