but Macau Grand Prix awaits.

ADD Motorsports driver Mitchell Gilbert’s hopes of ending the European season on a high were dealt a blow - as engine problems and torrential rain wrecked his weekend.The 19-year-old racer was left disappointed after failing to make an impression at Hockenheim in the final round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. He was left on the back foot from the first practice session and found it difficult to recover.

But he hopes to be back in form in time to put on a positive performance at the Macau Grand Prix next month.

He said: “It was a bit of a depressing way to finish the season but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

“My engine blew up before the first practice and by the time we had got it sorted and gone through all the checks we had lost most of the session.“It set the whole tone for the rest of the weekend to be honest. We need to find out why it was so bad and try to sort it out before Macau.”Mitchell finished in 19th, 17th and 17th in Qualifying and so was fairly pleased with a 14th place finish in Race 1.

He said: “I wasn’t able to get to my normal speeds at all, and it was difficult to hang on to what you had. There wasn’t much more I could have done.”Race 2 had a similar feel to the first, with Mitchell unable to find any great speed.

The final race was in the wet and after spinning, things went from bad to worse as his clutch went, leaving him finishing the race early.Mitchell is now aiming to get back in form for the season’s final showpiece – the Macau Grand Prix – in China, next month.

He added: “I couldn’t believe they let us race in weather like that in the final race, I couldn’t see a thing and I wasn’t comfortable out there at all. I was in 12th position early on, but I span.

“It’s not the way I wanted to finish the season. I started the year better than I finished, so I’m hoping we can sort things out for Macau and finish the whole season in a positive way.”ends