after fast finish in FIA Formula 3 European ChampionshipADD Motorsports driver Mitchell Gilbert left Hockenheim in good spirits after posting some of his fastest lap times during the final Formula 3 Championship race.The 18-year-old was delighted to see some real progress by the end of another weather-hit weekend.
And the Twickenham racer has now set his sights on securing his first points of the Championship at Brands Hatch in two weeks time. He said: It wasnt as disappointing as the result in the final race looks, we did some things differently and they really seemed to work in that race.I had really, really good pace and was second or third fastest, so its encouraging.We felt a lot better leaving the weekend and we can be really positive going to Brands Hatch.Its all about how you do in qualifying to give yourself the chance later on. I think a realistic target is to finish in the Top 10 during qualifying and aim for a Top 10 finish.
Despite a good start in the first qualifying race that saw Mitchell in fifth and sixth for some time, he dropped positions in the last sector, while in the second his hub broke meaning he finished last. The Australian racer said: We would have had the pace to be in the Top 10, Im sure, but the hub broke. My team had never seen it before it was just a component flaw it happens, but its frustrating.
Race 1 was in the wet and Mitchell found the going slow to begin with, although he did enough at the end to finish in 17th.He finished the second race his first in dry conditions - in 15th but the car was struggling for pace.It meant Mitchell started the third race in last and a crash between a couple of cars on the second lap caused him to spin out early on. He added: Starting last meant the race almost became like a test session. Although the crash caused me to spin I avoided any damage and got back on track.
But we wanted to try something different on the car and it seemed to work. I was getting some really good pace later on and it was a really good finish to the race where I was second or third fastest.With Mitchells Mcke teammate Felix Rosenqvist winning Race 3, the team left the weekend in good spirits.He added: Weve had a couple of things that have gone wrong over the weeks, but this has left everyone in a far happier mood and gave everyone a lift.Brands Hatch is a long race and its difficult to overtake, so its essential to have a good start in qualifying.But Id really like to get some points on the board.
