F3 Austria test round-up: Collet breaks track record at the Red Bull Ring
Alpine Formula 1 junior Cai🤪o Collet ended Formula 3 pre-season testing fastest at the Red Bull Ringܫ.
The Brazilian set an F3 track record in the process w✤ith a 1m18.592s in the afternoon session on day two of the test in Austria.
Collet ended the day just under 0✱.2s cle✱ar of Prema’s Dennis Hauger in second place.
Jenz☂er Motorsport’s Calan 𒐪Williams initially broke Alexander Smolyar’s record lap – set on day one - during a qualifying run in the morning session on day two.
Collet🥃, Hau🌜ger, Crawford and Jonny Edgar all posted faster times in the final afternoon session.
Day 1
S𝓡molyar was the man to beat on day one of testing at the Red Bull Ring.
The ART Grand Prix returnee set his table-⛎topping 1m18.894s with just 19 minutes left on the clock in the afternoon session.
He was the only driver to dip into the 1m1✤8s as Jonny Edgar was his nearest challenger for Carlin, 0.142s back in second.
Just 0.867s separated the top 23 on the first 🔥afternoon of the season highlig♑hting F3’s tight, competitive nature once again.
The good news story of the test was the return of Ju💫an Manuel Correa after his accident 18 months ago in F2 at Spa-Francorcha🐭mps.
Correa ended the first day 14th fastest o📖verall, just over 0.5s shy of Smolyar’s top time.
Day 2
Day two of 🌱pre-season testing🥃 got off to a slow start as a sprinkling of snow halted proceedings.
Once conditions improved, the track action got underway as꧋ Victor Martins bettered Smolyar’s benchmark from the first day b🗹y 0.058s.
The final afternoon sess🅺ion is where the times𝄹 picked up as 15-year-old American driver Jak Crawford broke the lap record with a 1m18.775s.
Crawford 📖eventually dropped to third at the end of the day as Collet and fellow Red Bull junior Hauger set new lap records of ♊their own.
Edgar, Matteo Nannini, Frederik Vesti, Clément Novalak, Michael Belov and Olli Caldwell all set times in the 1m18s b🔯racket in the afternoon - completing the top nine in the final classification.
F3 will return for another two-day pre-season test at the Circuit-de Barcelona-Catalunya oꦇn April 21-22, ahead of the season-opene♍r in May.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat ⛦of our unbiased reporting.
