Alex Lynn is aiming to be among the leading contenders in his rookie season in the British Formula 3 International Series this year.
Lynn, the reigning Formula Renault UK champion, has been among the pacesetters in pre-season testing and went fastest overall at the recent Silverstone GP circuit test.
“I'm looking forward to it – I feel ready,” said 18-year-old Lynn, who remains with Fortec Motorsport for his step up the ladder. “We just need to work on finding consistent speed and we’ll definitely be close.”
“I want to compete for the championship. It’s going to be tough but there’s great motivation as two previous winners – Daniel Ricciardo and Jean–Eric Vergne have made it to F1 this year.”
Alex is relishing developing the brand-new Mercedes-powered Dallara F312 chassis this season, which has replaced the old F3 model that was relied on for four seasons. It’s a double-edged sword: it resets old form as new teams engineer the new car; but it’s a tough task for a rookie like Lynn, who has no old data to fall back on.
“I’ve always enjoyed the whole development side of it,” said Alex, who is working again with Fortec chief engineer Mick Kouros and race engineer Russell Dixon. “I love giving the best feedback I can to the team and hopefully I can contribute a lot on that side. It’s not the first time I’ve jumped into a new car because that’s what happened when I started in Formula Renault – I enjoyed it then and I’m loving it again now.”
Lynn had a strong ‘warm-up’ to his season by taking part in the European F3 Open Winter races at the Paul Ricard circuit – and ended the day as top scorer with podium finishes in both races.
He will be racing again at the French track again this summer in the British F3 round, and the calendar also includes Italian GP venue Monza, Belgian GP track Spa, the Pau street circuit in France, and of course top British courses such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Oulton Park – where it all kicks off on April 6/7.
“I’m really looking forward to racing on those great tracks,” said Alex, who is a member of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy, the MSA’s Team UK and the British Racing Drivers Club’s SuperStars programme. “It’s a big step up from Formula Renault – we’re going about five seconds a lap quicker, but I feel as though I'm beginning to get to grips with it and I can’t wait for the racing to start!”
