Strong pace and a maiden podium finish for Alpine Academy drivers as FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 race in Australia for the first time 05.04.2023: Five Alpine Academy drivers took to the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne across a weekend of mixed fortunes in Round 3 of FIA Formula 2 and Round 2 of FIA Formula 3 on the Australian Grand Prix support bill.

Five Alpine Academy drivers took to the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne across a weekend of mixed fortunes in Round 3 of FIA Formula 2 and Round 2 of FIA Formula 3 on the Australian Grand Prix support bill.




Jack Doohan (Invicta Virtuosi Racing) – racing on home turf - showed strong pace over the weekend in FIA Formula 2, running the fastest in Free Practice by over 0.3secs. Unfortunately, a late pitstop and an ill-timed red flag in qualifying meant he was unable to finish his final flying lap, putting him on the back foot to start both the Sprint and Feature Races in 15th place.



The Sprint started positively with Jack making his way through the pack before contact with Juan Manuel Correa forced an early retirement. The home hero again made his way up the grid with a well measured drive in Sunday’s Feature Race to go from 15th to eighth place, collecting four points despite a rear-left puncture and two pit-stops.



Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) once again dominated in Friday’s qualifying, putting in a lap time of 1min 45.736secs to claim third place, just 0.004secs off team-mate Theo Pourchaire in second. Starting from eighth place, Victor was competing for points in Saturday’s Sprint Race until light rain started and he took a gamble on wet tyres under Safety Car conditions.



With a two-lap dash to the end, the Frenchman was unable to reclimb the order before the chequered flag, finishing in 15th. Unfortunately, despite a strong start in Sunday’s Feature from third place, a lock up into Turn 12 caused Victor to tumble down the order, ultimately finishing the race in 16th. Another weekend of great pace for the rookie in Formula 2, without reward.



In FIA Formula 3, Gabriele Minì (Hitech) had a great weekend, consistently finishing in the top-10 and collecting his first podium in the series in Sunday’s Feature Race. Qualifying in third place on Friday, Gabriele started the reverse grid Sprint Race in 10th place, moving up the order to finish in fourth. His Feature Race was relatively straightforward, starting and finishing in third whilst defending a DRS train. Collecting 22 points over the weekend, Gabriele moves up to fourth in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship standings.  



Nikola Tsolov (ART Grand Prix) had a difficult weekend in Melbourne after qualifying 15th in a red flag-stricken session. With four Safety Car periods in Saturday’s Sprint Race, Nikola had an even harder challenge in moving up the order with limited running in green flag conditions. Capitalising on the disqualification of all three MP Motorsport cars he finished 11th, just one place away from points. In Sunday’s Feature Race, Nikola had a good start, but a series of unfortunate crashes meant he fell down the order, ultimately finishing in 21st place.



Sophia Floersch and her PHM Racing team took the opportunity to test various elements of the car and managed to gain more than a handful of places in the process across the weekend. Finishing 25th in Friday’s qualifying session, Sophia pushed hard throughout both the Sprint and Feature races, finishing 16th and 18th respectively. Running the fastest out of her team-mates she looks ahead to the coming test days, hoping to utilise them in preparation for the remaining rounds of the championship.



Overall, it was a weekend of mixed results for the Alpine Academy drivers, but with the show of pace and the coming opportunities for improvement our drivers now look ahead to Round 4 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Azerbaijan, and Round 3 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship in Imola.





Jack Doohan, Invicta Virtuosi Racing: “It was not the ideal weekend for us. We were very fast in practice, three-tenths clear of anyone. I felt very comfortable and had a good feeling with the car. We spent the best part of qualifying in the top three, feeling strong but we probably pitted a little too late. Those who had pitted earlier were able to put down some good times, so we were falling outside of the top-10 before we were able to get a lap down.


I was coming on a very good lap which would have put me in the fight for pole, but the red flag came out before I was able to finish the lap and they didn’t restart the session, so we ended up in 15th. Unfortunately, being out of place we then got taken out of the Sprint Race whilst in 12th and on Sunday on the alternative strategy, although we had a good start, I had a rear-left puncture whilst making a really good move which meant we had to do two full pit stops losing us 25-30 seconds. I’m still very happy that we were able to come back and finish eighth and score four points.”




Victor Martins, ART Grand Prix: “It’s been a mixed weekend for me. Once again, we showed great pace in qualifying, fighting for pole in wet conditions, which is something I haven’t experienced in Formula 2 before. We had good speed in both races, fighting for a podium in the Feature Race but another mistake cost us scoring big points.


We need to analyse and point out the problems as soon as possible to link our performance to the points we know we have the capability to score! We are just looking ahead now, and we will bounce back in Baku.”




Gabriele Minì, Hitech Racing: “Overall I think it was a positive weekend. We were really quick in Free Practice, and even though we were missing a bit of pace in qualifying we still managed to finish in the top-three. In the Sprint Race, we maximised every single point we could because we went from 10th to fourth, so I think it was a really positive race.


Then in the Feature Race we set up third, we tried to attack the top-two, but it was really hard since we were missing a bit of pace so once again I just stayed in my position. I think we maximised everything. Overall, I think it was a really positive weekend, so we just have to keep pushing and keep working hard and hope for the best for the next races.”




Nikola Tsolov, ART Grand Prix: “It was a difficult weekend in Melbourne for me after having to start 15th in both of my races. In Saturday's Sprint Race, we made some mistakes under the Safety Car periods which made my tyres cold for the restarts and then it was difficult to move forward, nevertheless I was just a position away from points.


Sunday's Feature Race was much better in terms of the driving side, and I managed to get a good start and be in the fight for points but unfortunately, I was involved in a lot of unavoidable crashes. Now, we are looking forward to the next test days so we can do a little step forward ahead of Round 3 in Imola, which will help me to start in the front pack”



Sophia Floersch, PHM Racing: “Well first of all it was amazing to be racing in Australia. The Albert Park Circuit is such a cool and quick track and the number of fans who were there over the weekend was insane. In the races, the pace wasn’t really there so again it was important to really finish the races and try some things on the car.


Coming from 24th in both races we finished 16th and 18th, and we were the best in the team the whole weekend. There are positives to take and some things where we know we will still need to work for the test days in two weeks. We are looking ahead to utilise these as best we can to help prepare for Round 3 in Imola.”


 

 Alpine Racing also photos and Formula Motorsport Ltd