Max narrowly missed a points scoring finish for the second event in a row in the latest rounds of the British F3 International Series, as the Championship visited the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent.

Although he has raced on the shorter Indy circuit many times, this was Max’s first experience of the much longer and much faster GP track. The weekend brought mixed results with a great drive in the first race to 11th place, just one away from the points. In the second race he had to survive being knocked off on the opening lap, a slipping clutch and eventually an overheated engine, but still brought the car home in 20th place. That was little consolation though, as he and the Arena Motorsport team had expected a much better result.

Max had his first laps of the 2.3 mile Grand Prix circuit during free practice on Friday and he quickly got to grips with the challenges of the fast, undulating track. Lap times improved in each session and as the team fine tuned the set up on his Lego Batman sponsored Dallara, Max got more confident.

Saturday’s qualifying didn’t show Max’s real potential though, as both his best laps during the first half-hour session were cancelled out by red flags being displayed at the end of the lap. In the second session a slow puncture prevented him from putting in the quick lap times he had expected, but despite the problems, Max qualified 15th and 18th for Sunday’s races out of a field of 31 cars.

A great opening lap in the first race and Max was up to 13th as the pack reappeared from the high speed section out in the woods. Another lap, another place gained and Max was up to 12th as the safety car had to be deployed to deal with a couple of stranded cars.

As the race got back underway Max benefited from the retirement of a couple of drivers to move up to 10th place and in a points scoring position in the Championship class. Then on lap 12 Max ran a little wide on the exit of Clearways and had little choice but to lose places on the run up to Paddock Bend. He dropped down to 12th, but gained a place back on the final lap of the race to finish 11th.

A good drive but Max was a bit disappointed not to have scored his first points;

“I should have been 10th and got the point, but I was struggling as the car’s handling went off during the race. It took me a couple of laps to work out how to change my technique a little and that was when I lost the places. Once I got used to the car though, I put in quick laps again, but I couldn’t get both the places back.”

The second race was certainly disappointing and right from the start Max was in difficulties as he explained;

“I had a problem with the clutch right at the start and I had to put up with it slipping for the whole race. Then on the exit of Graham Hill Bend I got knocked off onto the grass and that filled the radiators up with grass, so the engine overheated through the race as well.”

Max lost a few places at the start due to the clutch, then lost several more when he was knocked off. He ended the first lap in 22nd place and could not compete as he would wish due to the loss of power from the overheating engine. He did gain another couple of places as other drivers had problems and eventually crossed the finish line in 20th place.

At this halfway point in Max’s debut F3 season he has shown how much he has progressed. He is finding the pace to be able to run easily in the top half of the extremely competitive field and is looking now to score points in all the races, that is to finish inside the top ten. There are ten races still to go and when you consider that Max started the season only three months ago on his 16th birthday, with no previous single seater experience, then to be aiming for top ten finishes in the world’s foremost Formula 3 series is impressive. The next challenge that awaits him is another classic circuit, the Spa Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit in Belgium. Another new experience for Max, the races are going to be held on Saturday 28th July.