Which marks his transition from the UK scene to compete against the best in Europe.
After finishing fourth in last years British Formula 3 Championship, the 19-year-old Englishman is contesting the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and is among a field of 30 of the worlds best young drivers.
The season kicks off at the historic and high-speed Monza circuit in Italy on 22nd-24th March, before which Lynn will have completed eight days of testing with Prema Powerteam, the top Italian team he is driving for in 2013. This represents a big change for Alex, who until now has spent virtually his entire career with British team Fortec Motorsport.
I think Ive settled in quite well, he said. Prema have a completely different approach to Fortec so I had to get used to it, but after spending some time with them Im really enjoying it. Were moving along quite nicely.
Lynn is using the same-spec Dallara chassis and Mercedes engine as he did last year in Britain. He ended last year on the crest of a wave after taking his maiden top-class F3 win at Silverstone and scoring pole position for the prestigious Macau Grand Prix. Added to an impressive runner-up ranking in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand at the beginning of this year, he is being tipped by many as a prime contender for the European F3 title.
Thats something I quite enjoy, he said. It feels nice to go into a championship with people expecting me to do wellespecially as Im with the team that won the title the past two years. It brings out the best in me.
With a new French engineer at the Italian Prema team, Alex has no problem with operating in such an international environment. It reminds me a lot of my karting days, he added. And as far as people wanting to get the job done properly while still enjoying their racing, which is very important, an Italian team is probably the closest you could get to British.
I get on well with all my team-mates [Italian Ferrari protg Raffaele Marciello, Austrian Lucas Auer, who is the nephew of ex-F1 star Gerhard Berger, and Italian-American Eddie Cheever, son of the Indy 500 winner of the same name]. Raffaele is another of the championship favourites and won a lot of races in European F3 last year, and in last weeks Barcelona test we worked really well together. We are singing off the same hymn sheet as far as balance of the car is concerned, and that allows us all to move forward quite a lot. Were really strong from that point of view.
That could be crucial. Competition is fierce this season and there are two circuitsthe A1-Ring in Austria and Germanys Nurburgringwhere Lynn has never driven. Its going to be tough but really good fun, said Alex, who is a member of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy, the MSAs Team UK and the British Racing Drivers Clubs SuperStars programme.
What is particularly exciting is that the two British rounds are early in the seasonApril on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit and May on the Brands Hatch Indy circuitand Ive had quite a bit of success on both. And the last time Prema raced at Silverstone they were pretty dominant. Without trying to jinx it, Im feeling pretty confident!
