In front of the FIA World Endurance Championship contenders and Gerhard Berger (the President of the FIA Single-Seater Commision), the stars of tomorrow will have but a single aim: to beat Rafaelle Marciello (Prema Powerteam) winner of two of the three races at Monza and the current leader of the championship. The Ferrari Driver Academy ace will be at a considerable disadvantage in Northampton, as it will be his first outing on the former airfield circuit that his British rivals starting with his Prema Powerteam team-mate, Alex Lynn, all know inside out. 

 

“Like Monza, Silverstone is a circuit on which we reach high speeds,” explains the winner of the 2011 Formula Renault UK 2.0 Championship. “But it’s a track on which you need a lot of downforce. It’s a real challenge to get the best out of a Formula 3 on this layout. I bagged a big haul of points in Italy and I’ll have to do as well here on home soil as Rafaelle did in his back garden!” 

 

Lynn, though, won’t be the only Brit in search of a victory in front of his home crowd. Harry Ticknell (Carlin) in third place is currently the highest-placed English driver in the championship ratings. The Carlin team leader used his experience and opted for consistency in Italy. He is one to be watched on a circuit he knows like the back of his hand as are rookies Jordan King and Jann Mardenborough. King, runner-up in the 2012 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, has mastered the art of driving an F3 single-seater very quickly. Mardenborough doesn’t have much single-seater experience as he has arrived in motor racing by winning the Nissan Playstation GT Academy Prize in 2011, despite which he’s already impressed the pundits! 

 

Will Buller, who was very quick in pre-season testing, now has to confirm the hopes that the Threebond with T-Sport team have invested in him. Josh Hill (Fortec Motorsport), son of F1 World Champion Damon, will continue learning the ropes on a circuit on which his father won the F1 GP in 1994.

 

In addition to the seven British drivers, this rendezvous will be a special one for the Carlin, Fortec Motorsports, Threebond with T-Sport and Double R Racing squads who will help their drivers thanks to their knowledge of the Silverstone layout. 

 

Finally, Michael Lewis (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) has been given Pascal Wehrlein’s seat as the young German has moved up to the DTM with Mercedes-Benz. The American, winner of a race in last year’s F3 Euro Series, will race against with his friend from the 2012 FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy class, Alex Lynn. 

 

Like every weekend of the FIA F3 European Championship there are three races on the programme. The first two will take place on Saturday at 10h20 and 13h20, and the third on Sunday morning at 09h15. They will be shown in live streaming on the site www.fiaf3europe.com.