Positive performance in all three races in European F3 openerCalifornia native showcases superb racecraft come rain and shine

Gustavo Menezes was cruelly denied a podium finish following a superb performance in the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship curtain-raiser at Silverstone – but having ably proven both his pace and potential, he is bullish about his prospects moving forward.After finishing a creditable 11th in the overall classification at the end of his rookie campaign last year, Menezes has returned to European F3 this season and travelled to Silverstone – the prestigious ‘Home of British Motorsport’ and host to the annual British Grand Prix – buoyed by a positive and productive winter testing programme.A less-than-perfect qualifying session around the full 3.6-mile GP circuit left the talented young American just 13th on the grid for race one, albeit a more competitive eighth for races two and three in the fiercely-contested, 35-strong field – the indisputable crème de la crème of up-and-coming open-wheel stars, with European F3 widely regarded as the toughest junior single-seater series on the planet.Menezes swiftly set about making amends no sooner had the action begun in a disjointed and safety car-punctuated opening encounter. On a damp-but-drying track surface, the California native was impressively aggressive and incisive as some of his rivals tip-toed more tentatively about, gaining six positions in barely the blink of an eye and boldly going all the way around the outside of one of his adversaries at Stowe.Thereafter, he remained in a tight group scrapping over third place, more than holding his own amidst some illustrious company and pulling artfully away from the chasing pack to take the chequered flag seventh.Menezes was subsequently running sixth in race two later in the day – right in the wheeltracks of the driver ahead and looking for a way past – when unavoidable contact from behind following a safety car re-start pitched him into a spin and left him all the way down in 28th. Despite having to contend with a bent track rod and a late fuel pump problem, the 20-year-old battled valiantly to haul himself back up to 18th – incredibly, less than eight seconds adrift of the top ten.A meteoric getaway in the weekend’s finale – anticipating and reacting to the starting lights with razor-sharp precision – propelled the series sophomore immediately up to fourth, from where he pressurised race two winner George Russell into an error to advance to third. A supremely assured effort saw Menezes maintain that position throughout, under no real threat from behind – until a late-race safety car and a recurrence of his fuel pump dramas cost him the spot on the very last lap.Despite his understandable disappointment, fourth place nevertheless completed a very solid points haul to begin his campaign and the WH Sports Group protégé heads next to Hockenheim in Germany at the beginning of May sitting eighth in the title standings and eager to reap the rewards of his scintillating raw speed.“We had some issues in qualifying which meant we were further down the grid than we should have been, but we recovered well in the races,” reflected Menezes, a former winner of the coveted Jim Russell Driver Scholarship Award. “The conditions in the first one were tricky, being on slick tyres on a track that was still pretty damp in parts, and in that situation it’s all about minimising mistakes and pushing the limits without exceeding them. That’s just the kind of challenge I enjoy, though, and it was really cool – a lot of fun.“Race two was clearly a shame, as we looked to be on-course for another good finish – the top five was certainly on the cards – but we concluded the weekend with a really strong performance in race three. My start was probably the best I’ve ever had and after I passed George, I settled into a solid rhythm.“The team had given me a fantastic car, and we did everything right. We were comfortably in third place – I had a decent gap behind before the safety car came out – and then the fuel pump problem resurfaced. That was obviously extremely frustrating, but it’s racing and these things happen – it was totally out of our control.“We nonetheless proved that we had the pace for the podium, which is encouraging looking ahead. We showed a lot of potential and I definitely felt the benefit of having a year’s experience under my belt. We need to work on our qualifying form a little, but our racecraft was strong – so if we can start a bit further up the order, we should be in really good shape.“This championship is so tough and so competitive that you need to be finishing consistently towards the front if you want to stay in the fight, and whilst we should have come away from Silverstone with at least a couple of top five results, there are still 30 more races this season, which means 30 more opportunities for podiums – and wins!”