Australian Joey Mawson will head to the Norisring Street Circuit high in confidence for Round Five of the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship this weekend.

Fresh from a season’s best result at the previous round, the PODIUM-backed driver believes the tight confines of the 2.3km circuit should suit both the characteristics of his driving style and the Van Amersfoort Racing team.

“I really enjoy racing on street circuits and this is another challenge that I’m really looking forward to,” said Mawson.

“The team have shown over the years that they have had some good results on street circuits and hopefully I can continue this trend across the weekend.”

While a relatively simple layout on paper, Mawson believes that the Norisring is a very tricky one.

“The track itself looks like it’s just four corners, two of which are hairpins, but it’s a lot more than that. The long straights make it a very low down force track, probably less than Monza, but that can also affect the way the car handles in the corners,” said Mawson.

“There’s quite a few bumps in the braking areas so making sure that the car is settled into those areas is going to be critical to a good lap time.

“While I haven’t raced there before I’ve done quite a few laps in the simulator to prepare for the weekend and can’t wait to get on track this Friday.”

For the second consecutive round, the FIA European Formula 3 Championship is being contested on the same schedule as the DTM Championship. Mawson will take to the circuit for the first time on Friday morning for practice ahead of qualifying in the afternoon. Race 1 will be contested on Saturday before qualifying for Sunday’s two races will be contested from 4:25pm.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LOCAL TIME
Friday June 30
11:55am – 12:35pm Free Practice
12:40pm – 1:20pm Free Practice 2
5:50pm – 6:10pm Qualifying 1

Saturday July 1
11:10am – 11:45am Race 1
4:25pm – 4:45pm Qualifying 2/3

Sunday July 2
9:10am – 9:45am Race 2
2:50pm – 3:25pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
Friday June 30
7:55pm – 8:35pm Free Practice 1
8:40pm – 9:20pm Free Practice 2
1:50am(Sat) – 2:10am Qualifying 1

Saturday July 1
7:10pm – 7:45pm Race 1
12:25am(Sun) – 12:45am Qualifying 2/3

Sunday July 2
5:10pm – 5:45pm Race 2
10:50pm – 11:25am Race 3

Australian Joey Mawson enjoyed a solid weekend of results in Round Four of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in Hungary.

The PODIUM-backed driver started the weekend by posting the second fastest time in opening qualifying. Unfortunately, a penalty from the previous round dropped him to fifth on the grid but Mawson fought gallantly during the race to record a career-best fourth place finish.

“Qualifying second for race one was a real boost for everyone,” said Mawson.

“Unfortunately I had the penalty from the previous round but I managed to show some good speed and pass Callum Ilott (who won race two of the weekend) to finish fourth.”

After qualifying eighth for the remaining two races Mawson showed consistent speed to cross the line in seventh and eighth respectively. His result in race two saw him as the highest placed Rookie driver.

“Overall I’m very pleased with the weekend and it has given everyone in the team a real boost after a couple of disappointing rounds,” said Mawson.

“I had some good consistent speed all across the weekend which is very pleasing and it should give us some good momentum going forward.”

The next round in the Championship will be contested in two weeks time on the Norisring Street Circuit in Eastern Germany.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After Round 4 of 10)
1. Joel Eriksson – 183 points
2. Maximilian Günther – 178
3. Callum Illott – 162
4. Lando Norris – 158
5. Guanyu Zhou – 65
6. Jehan Daruvala – 61
7. Jake Hughes – 60
8. Ferdinand Habsburg – 52
9. Harrison Newey – 51
10. Mick Schumacher – 49
13. Joey Mawson – 36

Australian Joey Mawson is focused on turning his pace into podium results when the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship heads to the Hungaroring this weekend.

After showing some impressive speed aboard his PODIUM-backed Van Amersfoort Racing entry in the previous round, Mawson is confident of once again competing near the front of the field in Hungary.

“During the last round in Pau I felt comfortable in the car and we had some really good speed but I just wasn’t able to transfer that into a result. I’ve spent a lot of time in between rounds studying the data and working with the team to give us the best possible opportunity this weekend,” said Mawson.

“During this time we’ve identified a couple of key areas that we can improve in and hopefully I’ll be able to use this to achieve my first podium finish in the Championship this weekend.”

The challenging 4.381km Hungaroring circuit is one that Mawson believes should produce some more great racing in the Championship.

“The Hungaroring has a little bit of everything in the layout. It’s got a few very fast sections and then a bit of a technical aspect, so we’ve really got to get a balanced car straight out of the box,” said Mawson.

“There are also a number of passing opportunities, which should produce some very exciting racing.”

Round 4 of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship is being contested on the same schedule as the DTM Championship this weekend. Mawson will take to the circuit for the first time on Friday morning for practice ahead of qualifying in the afternoon. Race 1 will be contested on Saturday morning before qualifying for Sunday’s two races will be contested from 4:15pm.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

LOCAL TIME
Friday June 16
1:30pm – 2:10pm Free Practice
2:20pm – 3:00pm Free Practice 2
6:00pm – 6:20pm Qualifying 1

Saturday June 17
10:40am – 11:15am Race 1
4:15pm – 4:35pm Qualifying 2/3

Sunday June 18
11:05am – 11:40am Race 2
5:00pm – 5:35pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
Friday June 16
9:30pm – 10:10pm Free Practice 1
10:20pm – 11:00pm Free Practice 2
2:00am(Sat) – 2:20am Qualifying 1

Saturday June 17
6:40pm – 7:15pm Race 1
12:15am(Sun) – 12:35am Qualifying 2/3

Sunday June 18
7:05pm – 7:40pm Race 2
1:00am(Mon) – 1:35am Race 3