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Nikita Mazepin has claimed victory in fine style in this afternoon’s GP3 Series Race 2 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, trailing leader Juan Manuel Correa all race before striking on the last lap to grab the win ahead of ART teammate Jake Hughes and Simo Laaksonen.

The final race of the Series took place under sunny skies and soaring temperatures, and when the lights went out poleman Correa made a storming start to lead the pack into turn 1, with Giuliano Alesi and Mazepin taking advantage of a poor start by Hughes to sweep by the Briton, who managed to hold Callum Ilott, David Beckmann, new champion Anthoine Hubert and Leonardo Pulcini behind him as they headed off towards the top of the circuit.

On the run down the long back straight Beckmann and Hubert were side by side and drifting to the right, when Pulcini appeared then and wanted to hold his line: 3 into 1 doesn’t go, with Hubert the squeezed middle as he and Beckmann broke their suspensions and were forced into retirement. When Pedro Piquet was spun into Jannes Fittje at the marina there was little option but to throw out the VSC signs as the marshals got to work.

The race soon went live once again, with Correa building a small gap over Alesi, Mazepin, Hughes, Ilott and Laaksonen, but it didn’t take long for the group to come together, with the Frenchman looking closely for a way into the lead: Correa made him run to the outside at the marina and was defending well, giving Mazepin a sniff of a position, but the Russian had his own problems when he ran deep at the top chicane and had to cut across the corner to hold on.

Bad news was soon on the wires for the top 2: Correa and Alesi were both handed 5 second penalties for speeding under the VSC, potentially destroying all of their good work. Mazepin saw an opportunity and pounced, slicing by Alesi on lap 8 at turn 9, with the Frenchman dropping further back as Ilott and Laaksonen both mugged him 2 laps later.

Mazepin did find a way by Correa at this stage, by running deep at the marina chicane: the Russian learnt his lesson from yesterday though, rounding the bollard and handing back the position to his American rival before recommencing battle. As the laps rolled down Mazepin held station until the final lap, slicing cleanly into the lead at the marina and storming away, with Laaksonen echoing the move by claiming Ilott’s scalp at the same place for P4 on track.

At the flag Mazepin punched the air with joy, claiming the win that was denied him yesterday and securing his vice champion status ahead of Hughes and Laaksonen, with Ilott a disappointed 4th ahead of Ryan Tveter and Correa (who finished P2 before his penalty was applied), with Richard Verschoor and Tatiana Calderon rounding out the points positions.

With the season coming to a close Anthoine Hubert is the 2018 GP3 Series champion, ahead of teammates Nikita Mazepin and Callum Ilott, while ART Grand Prix claimed their 8th Teams’ title ahead of Trident and Campos Racing.  

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Italian Pulcini battled it out for the top spot both days. Campos Racing delivered a strong performance as Laaksonen and Menchaca also showed competitive form

Campos Racing conducted a positive two-day collective testing of GP3 Series at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Leonardo Pulcini, Simo Laaksonen and Diego Menchaca completed more than 300 laps with their Campos Racing-run Dallara GP3/16.

On Wednesday, after a morning with rain and sometimes snow, Pulcini posted a best lap of 1:49.599 to finish 4th on the timesheets. Laaksonen and Menchaca, they both making their debut in the series this season, clocked lap times of 1:50.653 and 1:51.888 respectively.

Today grip conditions improved and consequently times also dropped with morning session being faster. Pulcini ended 3rd fastest with a lap of 1:49.051, despite some traffic, and Laaksonen took 8th spot with a time of 1:49.643. Menchaca also impressed in the afternoon with his quick adaptation to finish 9th.

The second collective testing will be carried out in Jerez de la Frontera on 14-15 March.

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Leonardo Pulcini claimed his second victory of the season in fine style in this afternoon’s Race 1 at Yas Marina Circuit, fighting off an early challenge before powering all the way to the flag for a popular win, but most eyes were focussed a little further back as Anthoine Hubert did everything he needed to claim the final GP3 Series drivers’ title before easing off at the end to finish on the podium behind David Beckmann.

Temperatures were soaring as the lights went out, with poleman and title challenger Nikita Mazepin unable to match Pulcini’s glorious getaway: the Russian cut straight across to cover the challenge, and although Hubert made a strong start he was in no position to risk a move at turn 1 and fell into line behind the front row starters but ahead of Callum Ilott, who mugged teammate Jake Hughes at the first corner, Beckmann and Ryan Tveter.

Pulcini knew he had an advantage, and he played it almost immediately: the Italian outdragged Mazepin on the long back straight for the lead, with Beckmann copying the move on Hughes for P5. The Russian was not finished though, knowing that he needed victory to keep his title hopes alive, and he pushed Pulcini before outbraking for the lead at the marina on lap 4, but a slightly wide line at the hotel complex on the next lap allowed the Italian back into P1.

Mazepin tried the marina move once again on lap 6, but Pulcini was alert to the danger: the Russian went too deep and ran off, but in his hurry to restart the battle he missed the bollard around which he needed to rejoin the track, and the subsequent 10 second time penalty effectively ended his title run.

If the move meant that the front runners could focus on preserving their cars and tyres, further back there was more action to be had: Beckmann run through Ilott at the marina for P4 on lap 9, while Giuliano Alesi started his progression up the points by claiming Tveter’s scalp behind him, while a lap later Hughes repaid his teammate by outbraking Ilott for P5. Beckmann and Hughes squabbled over P4 for a few laps before the German could finally pull away and focus on the target ahead in the closing laps.

With the title in his pocket Hubert had no reason to fight too hard for P3, particularly as it was coming back to him at the end of the race, and gave way to Beckmann at the marina chicane on the final lap, but up front Pulcini was greeted by the flag some 8.6 seconds ahead of the German and the 2018 GP3 Champion, with Ilott hanging on for 4th and Mazepin, who was 2nd on the road before his penalty, was handed P5 ahead of a charging Alesi, who mugged Hughes on the penultimate lap, with Juan Manuel Correa surviving a late squabble for P8 and tomorrow’s pole with Simo Laaksonen and Tatiana Calderon.

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Anthoine Hubert set an overall fastest time in the first 2018 GP3 test in the morning of the second day in a 1:48.674, as ART Grand Prix teammate Callum Ilott topped a truncated afternoon session at Le Castellet, France with a 1:49.144.

Although overcast, dry weather conditions meant that the teams could start their morning running immediately on slick Pirelli tyres. Trident was the first team to hit the track, sending out all four cars as soon as the light went green – Ryan Tveter leading the quartet onto the circuit.

The ART trio of Nikita Mazepin, Ilott and Hubert immediately set about trading best times, but after the first half an hour of running, Trident’s Alessio Lorandi sat atop the standings.

It wasn’t long until the front-running cars were lapping faster than yesterday, with Mazepin the first driver to beat the fastest Wednesday time set by Jake Hughes. Hubert was quick to displace his teammate at the top, leading the way after the first hour.

There was something of a lull approaching the midpoint of the session, but Ilott got the ball rolling once more midway through the morning’s running to break into the 1m48s bracket, holding top spot for almost an hour.

With 40 minutes of the session remaining, Hubert once more returned to head the timesheets with under a tenth in hand over Ilott. The Frenchman remained unchallenged throughout the rest of the morning, once more going into the break on top of the standings.

Ilott remained in second place, and Leonardo Pulcini (Campos Racing) broke ART’s stranglehold on the top three with a late 1:49.051 lap. Mazepin was fourth best ahead of Tatiana Calderon (Jenzer Motorsport), while yesterday’s fastest runner Hughes was sixth best ahead of Lorandi.

Simo Laaksonen (Campos) was eighth ahead of MP Motorsport’s Dorian Boccolacci, while Pedro Piquet (Trident) rounded out the top 10 having completed a session high of 54 laps.

In opening 30 minutes of the afternoon session, Ilott was the first to exit the garage and followed out of the pits by Hubert. Jenzer pairing Calderon and Juan Manuel Correa were next to hit the circuit, while Boccolacci leaped to the top of the timing board. Piquet briefly led the session, before Calderon was the first of the pack to dip below the 1:50s mark in the afternoon.

Focus was once more on the longer runs across the afternoon, although newcomer David Beckmann (Jenzer) found half a tenth over teammate Calderon to lead the session at the halfway point.

ART were able to hit back, which allowed Ilott and Hubert to trade fastest laps before the conditions worsened. With an hour of the session left, a smattering of drizzle relegated most of the teams back into the pits, with Ilott ending the afternoon’s dry running with the best time after the break.

The rain briefly worsened, with new team MP Motorsport using the opportunity to send Boccolacci, Niko Kari and Leonard Hoogenboom out for some wet running. The majority of drivers followed suit, but Ilott’s time was left untouched for the final hour. Hubert’s time of 1:49.193 was enough for second, as Calderon, Piquet and Hughes completed the top five. Beckmann was sixth ahead of Tveter, as Mazepin, Diego Menchaca (Campos) and Lorandi finished inside the top 10.

This concluded the opening pre-season tests of the 2018 season. The GP3 paddock will gather next at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain on March 14-15.

Day 2 morning session times

 Pos

Driver

Team

Time

Laps

1

Anthoine Hubert

ART Grand Prix

1:48.674

37

2

Callum Ilott

ART Grand Prix

1:48.761

41

3

Leonardo Pulcini

Campos Racing

1:49.051

37

4

Nikita Mazepin

ART Grand Prix

1:49.180

37

5

Tatiana Calderon

Jenzer Motorsport

1:49.209

38

6

Jake Hughes

ART Grand Prix

1:49.326

31

7

Alessio Lorandi

Trident

1:49.434

53

8

Simo Laaksonen

Campos Racing

1:49.643

37

9

Dorian Boccolacci

MP Motorsport

1:49.721

28

10

Pedro Piquet

Trident

1:49.729

54

11

Julien Falchero

Arden International

1:49.760

40

12

Niko Kari

MP Motorsport

1:49.777

29

13

Giuliano Alesi

Trident

1:49.861

35

14

Ryan Tveter

Trident

1:49.892

48

15

Juan Manuel Correa

Jenzer Motorsport

1:49.902

45

16

Gabriel Aubry

Arden International

1:49.969

35

17

Diego Menchaca

Campos Racing

1.50.017

25

18

David Beckmann

Jenzer Motorsport

1:50.096

45

19

Joey Mawson

Arden International

1:50.146

39

20

Leonard Hoogenboom

MP Motorsport

1:51.132

24


Day 2 afternoon session times

 Pos

Driver

Team

Time

Laps

1

Callum Ilott

ART Grand Prix

1:49.144

43

2

Anthoine Hubert

ART Grand Prix

1:49.193

40

3

Tatiana Calderon

Jenzer Motorsport

1:49.684

21

4

Pedro Piquet

Trident

1:49.687

32

5

Jake Hughes

ART Grand Prix

1:49.750

37

6

David Beckmann

Jenzer Motorsport

1:49.928

19

7

Ryan Tveter

Trident

1:50.038

18

8

Nikita Mazepin

ART Grand Prix

1:50.039

37

9

Diego Menchaca

Campos Racing

1:50.173

26

10

Alessio Lorandi

Trident

1:50.260

16

11

Niko Kari

MP Motorsport

1:50.312

30

12

Joey Mawson

Arden International

1:50.362

18

13

Gabriel Aubry

Arden International

1:50.379

21

14

Leonardo Pulcini

Campos Racing

1:50.424

11

15

Dorian Boccolacci

MP Motorsport

1:50.616

20

16

Simo Laaksonen

Campos Racing

1:50.623

7

17

Giuliano Alesi

Trident

1:50.671

19

18

JM Correa

Jenzer Motorsport

1:50.718

26

19

Leonard Hoogenboom

MP Motorsport

1:51.680

26

20

Julien Falchero

Arden International

2:10.444

8

 

source: gp3series.com

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Nikita Mazepin has set sail on his championship fightback with a fine pole position in this afternoon’s GP3 Series qualifying session at the Yas Marina Circuit, grabbing P1 as the chequered flag dropped to deny title rival Anthoine Hubert a vital chance to pull away in the points: the Frenchman will line up behind his teammate and Leonardo Pulcini in P3 on tomorrow’s grid.

The Russian stopped the clocks at 1:54.885, less than a tenth ahead of his closest rival, but more importantly for him the lap meant that the title fight closes to just 27 points, with 44 on offer for the remainder of this final race weekend of 2018.

With temperatures increasing from this morning’s free practice session, this afternoon’s qualifying was white hot from the start. Callum Ilott led his ART teammates and the rest of the field out when the lights went green, with Mazepin, Hubert and Jake Hughes swapping the top spot between them as the times tumbled.

Hubert led the way as the entire field returned to the pits for fresh rubber and new ideas, setting the fastest times in the first two sectors in the process. With 8 minutes remaining the pack emerged looking refreshed, and soon recommenced battle for the top spot.

Richard Verschoor and then Hubert and then Pulcini briefly sat on the top of the pile, and with one minute remaining the Dutchman led his rivals on track for the one remaining lap.

As the chequered flag dropped Verschoor didn’t have enough for P1, then Pulcini got one hand on pole until Mazepin crossed the line just behind him: when Hubert and Ilott were unable to improve enough the Russian pumped his fist with joy as he toured back to the paddock.

Hughes had done just enough to usurp Ilott in P4, with Trident drivers David Beckmann, Giuliano Alesi and Ryan Tveter filling out the top 10 ahead of Simo Laaksonen and Juan Manuel Correa. With 16 drivers within a second of pole there was little in the fight today, which promises to promote the one to come in Race 1 tomorrow.

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Anthoine Hubert opened the second day of GP3 Series testing at Le Castellet, France with the fastest lap of the morning session, setting a 1:48.674 to wrest top spot from ART Grand Prix teammate Callum Ilott.

Although overcast, dry weather conditions meant that the teams could start their running immediately on slick Pirelli tyres. Trident was the first team to hit the track, sending out all four cars as soon as the light went green – Ryan Tveter leading the quartet onto the circuit.

The ART trio of Nikita Mazepin, Ilott and Hubert immediately set about trading best times, but after the first half an hour of running, Trident’s Alessio Lorandi sat atop the standings.

It wasn’t long until the front-running cars were lapping faster than yesterday, with Mazepin the first driver to beat the fastest Wednesday time set by Jake Hughes. Hubert was quick to displace his teammate at the top, leading the way after the first hour.

There was something of a lull approaching the midpoint of the session, with teams prioritising longer runs and data assessment rather than chasing outright laptimes. Ilott got the ball rolling once more midway through the morning’s running to break into the 1m48s bracket, holding top spot for almost an hour.

With 40 minutes of the session remaining, Hubert once more returned to head the timesheets with under a tenth in hand over Ilott. The Frenchman remained unchallenged throughout the rest of the morning, once more going into the break on top of the standings.

Ilott remained in second place, and Leonardo Pulcini (Campos Racing) broke ART’s stranglehold on the top three with a late 1:49.051 lap. Mazepin was fourth best ahead of Tatiana Calderon (Jenzer Motorsport), while yesterday’s fastest runner Hughes was sixth best ahead of Lorandi.

Simo Laaksonen (Campos) was eighth ahead of MP Motorsport’s Dorian Boccolacci, while Pedro Piquet rounded out the top 10 having completed a session high of 54 laps.

 

 Pos

Driver

Team

Time

Laps

1

Anthoine Hubert

ART Grand Prix

1:48.674

37

2

Callum Ilott

ART Grand Prix

1:48.761

41

3

Leonardo Pulcini

Campos Racing

1:49.051

37

4

Nikita Mazepin

ART Grand Prix

1:49.180

37

5

Tatiana Calderon

Jenzer Motorsport

1:49.209

38

6

Jake Hughes

ART Grand Prix

1:49.326

31

7

Alessio Lorandi

Trident

1:49.434

53

8

Simo Laaksonen

Campos Racing

1:49.643

37

9

Dorian Boccolacci

MP Motorsport

1:49.721

28

10

Pedro Piquet

Trident

1:49.729

54

11

Julien Falchero

Arden International

1:49.760

40

12

Niko Kari

MP Motorsport

1:49.777

29

13

Giuliano Alesi

Trident

1:49.861

35

14

Ryan Tveter

Trident

1:49.892

48

15

Juan Manuel Correa

Jenzer Motorsport

1:49.902

45

16

Gabriel Aubry

Arden International

1:49.969

35

17

Diego Menchaca

Campos Racing

1.50.017

25

18

David Beckmann

Jenzer Motorsport

1:50.096

45

19

Joey Mawson

Arden International

1:50.146

39

20

Leonard Hoogenboom

MP Motorsport

1:51.132

24

 

source: gp3series.com

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Giuliano Alesi has set the pace for the final round of the 2018 GP3 Series by grabbing the top spot in this morning’s free practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit with a time of 1:55.676, going purple in all 3 sectors late in the session for a lap which was 0.892s faster than teammate David Beckmann and Gabriel Aubry, who both set the same best time earlier in the day.

The session opened to the expected blue skies and building heat so familiar to everyone at the circuit, with most of the runners heading out when the lights went green but ART and Trident holding fire for a while: Beckmann was the last driver on track at the 15 minute mark just as ART annexed the top 3, with series leader Anthoine Hubert leading the way ahead of Callum Ilott and Nikita Mazepin.

Hubert went quicker still next time round, laying down a marker for his title intentions, while Beckmann slotted in a tenth behind him to show that his late season form was continuing.

With most of the field having a wealth of experience at the circuit there was little in the way of off-track activity, although Alesi briefly slowed half an hour in before getting underway once more.

Leonardo Pulcini was also determined to show that his recent good form reflected his true ability by setting the pace with 15 minutes remaining, setting a new target for his rivals.

Hubert improved but not by enough, while Mazepin ran well wide before regaining the track at the Viceroy section. All eyes were on Aubry as he was setting purple sectors, but just ahead of him Beckman claimed the top spot with a concise and flowing lap, while the Frenchman ran wide at the final corner to match the German’s time to the thousandth, with rookie Jehan Daruvala slotting just 0.02 behind the pair.

With 2 minutes remaining Alesi struck, setting the pace in every sector to bring home a lap that smashed his rivals dreams: Beckmann improved on the first sector but was well off in the second, and the session was done. Behind the top 4 Joey Mawson was the only other driver within a second of Alesi, finishing ahead of Sacha Fenestraz, Pulcini, Hubert, Richard Verschoor, Ryan Tveter, Jake Hughes and Mazepin as they returned to the paddock to plan their qualifying strategies.

source: gp3series.com

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Jake Hughes was fastest overall in the first GP3 test session of 2018, setting a best lap of 1:49.456 to beat ART Grand Prix teammate Nikita Mazepin and Niko Kari of MP Motorsport to the top of the timesheets.

The day was greeted with a mixture of early snowfall and drizzle, and the teams spent the first hour of the session completing their customary installation laps in the wet. New team MP Motorsport were quickest out of the blocks, as Kari took to the circuit first and was shortly followed out by team-mates Dorian Boccolacci and Leonard Hoogenboom.

Following the flurry of activity in the opening hour, the teams waited for warmer conditions at the Circuit Paul Ricard before returning to the track for their first flying runs, Juan Manuel Correa of Jenzer Motorsport eventually breaking the stalemate after half an hour.

As the sun came out, the times quickly began to tumble. With 15 minutes left on the clock, Trident’s Alessio Lorandi broke into the 2:00s before Hubert eclipsed the field with the first laptime below the two minute mark, ending the morning on top of the timesheets. At the end of the morning session, Lorandi and Alesi were second and third, followed by Trident stablemate Pedro Piquet.

Mazepin went into the break fifth fastest, ahead of Tatiana Calderon (Jenzer) and Hughes, while Boccolacci, Leonardo Pulcini (Campos Racing) and Joey Mawson (Arden International) completed the initial top 10.

With the afternoon’s track conditions much clearer compared to the morning’s running, the drivers were lapping far quicker than they had managed earlier in the day.

The circuit was buzzing with activity in the opening 30 minutes – Jenzer’s David Beckmann first to break ground – as all the teams sought to maximise their time on-track. Hubert immediately picked up from where he left off in the morning to set the early pace, heading fellow ART teammates Mazepin, Callum Ilott and Hughes after half an hour.

Newcomer Mawson leapfrogged the ARTs at the hour mark, becoming the first driver to drop into the 1m50s laptimes, before Hubert once again returned to the top of the timesheets half-way through the session.

The circuit was quiet at the midpoint of the session as the teams geared up for the final hour of the session. A number of drivers traded fastest times, with Boccolacci first to set a lap in the 1m49s bracket before being displaced by Hubert and Pulcini.

Hughes then surged to the top of the standings with 15 minutes remaining, jumping ahead of teammate Mazepin, and remained unchallenged for the rest of the session. Kari beat Pulcini to third fastest, while Hubert dropped to fifth overall.

Boccolacci was sixth fastest, ahead of Gabriel Aubry (Arden), while Trident trio Lorandi, Ryan Tveter and Piquet completed the top 10.

Day 1 Morning Results

 

Driver

Team

Laptime

Laps

1

Anthoine Hubert

ART Grand Prix

1:59.549

21

2

Alessio Lorandi

Trident

1:59.799

19

3

Giuliano Alesi

Trident

1:59.996

19

4

Pedro Piquet

Trident

2:00.391

16

5

Nikita Mazepin

ART Grand Prix

2:00.539

19

6

Tatiana Calderon

Jenzer Motorsport

2:00.548

27

7

Jake Hughes

ART Grand Prix

2:00.554

18

8

Dorian Boccolacci

MP Motorsport

2:00.569

17

9

Leonardo Pulcini

Campos Racing

2:00.621

15

10

Joey Mawson

Arden International

2:00.822

20

11

Simo Laaksonen

Campos Racing

2:00.957

28

12

Ryan Tveter

Trident

2:01.005

19

13

Juan Manuel Correa

Jenzer Motorsport

2:01.342

20

14

Niko Kari

MP Motorsport

2:01.630

9

15

Leonard Hoogenboom

MP Motorsport

2:02.103

18

16

David Beckmann

Jenzer Motorsport

2:03.042

17

17

Diego Menchaca

Campos Racing

2:03.490

15

18

Callum Ilott

ART Grand Prix

2:03.508

8

19

Gabriel Aubry

Arden International

2:03.752

13

20

Julien Falchero

Arden International

2:03.969

12

Day 1 Afternoon Results

 

Driver

Team

Laptime

Laps

1

Jake Hughes

ART Grand Prix

1:49.456

39

2

Nikita Mazepin

ART Grand Prix

1:49.563

41

3

Niko Kari

MP Motorsport

1:49.575

41

4

Leonardo Pulcini

Campos Racing

1:49.599

35

5

Anthoine Hubert

ART Grand Prix

1:49.786

39

6

Dorian Boccolacci

MP Motorsport

1:49.846

36

7

Gabriel Aubry

Arden International

1:50.003

39

8

Alessio Lorandi

Trident

1:50.197

35

9

Ryan Tveter

Trident

1:50.267

37

10

Pedro Piquet

Trident

1:50.335

37

11

Joey Mawson

Arden International

1:50.528

32

12

Tatiana Calderon

Jenzer Motorsport

1:50.568

41

13

Simo Laaksonen

Campos Racing

1:50.653

42

14

Juan Manuel Correa

Jenzer Motorsport

1:50.706

43

15

David Beckmann

Jenzer Motorsport

1.50.928

38

16

Julien Falchero

Arden International

1:50.943

25

17

Giuliano Alesi

Trident

1:51.264

41

18

Leonard Hoogenboom

MP Motorsport

1:51.849

31

19

Diego Menchaca

Campos Racing

1:51.888

37

20

Callum Ilott

ART Grand Prix

1:52.117

19

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The opening round of the GP3 Series, scheduled for the second weekend of May at Montmelò in conjunction with the Spanish Grand Prix, is getting closer and closer, and Team Trident announced the final addition to the 2018 driver roster.

The Italian team, headed by Maurizio Salvadori, announced that nineteen-year-old Brazilian Pedro Piquet will drive one of their four GP3 Series racecars this season.
 
The South American driver will wear the Trident colors for his first year in the series after posting excellent results at his debut in the collective test held last November at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Then, he continued to show a remarkable level of performance in  2018 preseason testing. Piquet finished 2017 with a good sixth place in the challenging Macau Grand Prix of Formula 3, a category in which he won the Brazilian title in 2015.

Born in Brasilia, Piquet started racing go-karts at the age of eight with the guidance of his father Nelson, a three-time Formula 1 World Champion.

 
Maurizio Salvadori - Team Principal and Team Owner: "It is with great satisfaction that we announce the agreement signed with Pedro Piquet, a highly-talented driver who will certainly impress and aim for some prestigious results in our team's colors. I am sure that, within Team Trident, Pedro will find the right chemistry to show his full potential".
 
Pedro Piquet: "I am very enthusiastic about my first GP3 Series season under the Team Trident banner. It is a winning squad that, year after year, confirmed its position among the series' frontrunners. I am sure I will find everything I will need to be a contender even in my debut season in the series".

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Campos Racing announced a new addition to the GP3 Series driver line-up for 2018 as Diego Menchaca will race under the banner of the Alzira-based team. Menchaca (20 October 1994, Mexico City) will make his debut in the Formula 1 support package to further strengthen his established career.

Menchaca’s racing career began in his native country before moving to Europe. After two seasons in England contesting the Formula Renault and the BRDC Formula 4 series, he graduated to the Euroformula F3 Open with Campos Racing. Menchaca came home with five podiums during this period in Formula 3. Finally, the new Campos Racing signing took part in the World Series Formula V8 3.5 also securing podium results in the championship.

Diego Menchaca: “I’m very happy to be back with Campos Racing, in such a competitive environment as GP3 is. My relationship with the team has been built over the past four years, so basically they’re my family.”

“We evaluated many different scenarios for the 2018 season which included Japan and also the USA, but in the end together with Escuderia Telmex and my backers we decided that what Adrián offered was the best program available for me this year. I know the team went through a couple of difficult seasons, but after being at the workshop over the past week it’s very clear to me that the potential for good results is there, I can’t wait for testing to begin.”

“I’d like to thank my backers; Unifin, Escuderia Telmex, Interproteccion, Betroom & TMA for their continuous support. And of course to Adrian Campos and his organisation for the opportunity they’re giving me.”

Adrián Campos: “We are proud to announce that Diego is making his comeback to our racing family at Campos Racing. For sure, he is making a step forward in his racing career and both parties have high expectations for the season ahead. Diego perfectly knows how Campos Racing works and we now have a strong trio of drivers to fight for ambitious goals in the 2018 GP3 Series. For our part, Diego will have our professionalism and commitment to meet his targets and achieve brilliant results together.”

Diego Menchaca will carry out their first testing of the year with Leonardo Pulcini and Simo Laaksonen at Paul Ricard on February 21-22.

 

         

 

 

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