Sweden’s Joel Eriksson, second to Lando Norris in the 2017 FIA F3 European Championship, is eyeing the FIA F3 World Cup at Macau on November 19 as his ultimate rematch.
Eriksson claimed seven victories in the 30 race European Championship to Norris’ nine while Callum Ilott scored six and Maximilian Gunther, five.
Between them the four major competitors stood on the top step of the podium for 90 percent of the series.
They have entered the FIA F3 World Cup, along with single round winners Jehan Daruvala and Ferdinand Habsburg, in a bid to further their careers.
The average age of all six is just 19 years 4.5 months.
The youngest is champion Lando Norris who turns 18 on the Monday of Macau race week, while the “oldest” is Ferdinand Habsburg, 20 years and four months.
“Over a long series you only need a bad weekend and you are handicapped for contention,” 19-year-old Eriksson said.
“This year I had too many bad weekends.
“Macau is the opportunity for a rematch.”
Eriksson has been working hard to find an advantage in Macau’s winner-take-all 15 lap (93km) FIA World Cup sprint and he thinks he may have found it.
He scheduled race simulation work in the lead up to Macau seeking to refresh his memory of the road circuit and to find opportunity
“Everyone says Lisboa Corner at the end of the long Mandarin straight is the only passing place on the circuit,” he said.
“But there are two more passing opportunities on the climb up to the top of Guia hill.
“You have to be very committed and opportunistic to pull them off.”
Eriksson is naturally reluctant to reveal tactics but he is pleased that his Motopark with VEB team-mate is Sergio Sette Camara, third placegetter in the inaugural FIA F3 World Cup in 2016.
Camara did not contest the European championship this year but he is something of a Macau veteran with two years’ experience at the track.
“You need to gather all the laps and all the data you possibly can in a very short time and the two of us will work together.
“I expect to learn a lot from and with him.
“It’s quite hard for drivers – there are very few reference points.”
Eriksson experienced a bad weekend in his first attempt at Macau in 2016 – technical issues in practice and a collision in the main race which forced his retirement.
“After all the work you’ve done you still need everything working for you – not against you,“ he said.
“Luck will always play a part in victory – especially at Macau.”
The FIA F3 World Cup field has two 40 minute practice sessions, two 40 minute qualifying periods and then a 10 lap qualifying race before the main event of 15 laps.
