Australian Joey Mawson showed glimpses of his potential in the GP3 Series during the opening event of 2018 in Barcelona, Spain on the weekend.

After the PODIUM-backed driver battled to find the perfect set-up aboard his Arden Motorsport Dallara, he then made good progress in the early laps of race two.

While battling for 11th position, contact with Gabriel Aubry unfortunately damaged Mawson’s front wing who was then forced to battle an ill-handling car for the remainder of the 17-lap journey, which was also interrupted by several safety car periods. He would eventually be classified 15th.

“It was a very challenging weekend, we continually battled understeer and while we made progress, the final result didn’t come our way,” said Mawson.

“While the end result was quite disappointing, it was good to make some forward progress in the opening half of the final race to be on the verge of the top ten.

“Unfortunately with the damage to the front wing, it comprimised my speed and I wasn’t able to maintain my position.

“With a few weeks until the next round we’ll be spending a lot of time to look at the data and analyse it all before aiming to make some good steps forward at Paul Ricard.”

The two race wins across the weekend were split between Nikita Mazepin and Giuliano Alesi. After qualifying 17th, Mawson finished 16th in race one and 15th in race two.

Round Two of the 2018 GP3 Series will be contested at the Paul Ricard circuit in France on June 22-24.

Australian Joey Mawson will begin his GP3 Series campaign in Barcelona, Spain this weekend.

The Podium-backed driver will make his debut with the Arden Motorsport team at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the GP3 Series to be a support race for the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Having completed the three Series tests with his new team, Mawson believes he is coming to grips with the characteristics of the GP3-specification Dallara.

“I’m very excited for the weekend, the first round of a new championship makes you anxious and excited at the same time,” said Mawson.

“I’ve completed three tests in a GP3 car but I haven’t done a race in six months, so it’s very exciting to be back in race mode this weekend.

“Already I’ve learnt a lot in the test days, and then even more in the team simulators. The car and tyres are all new to me but I feel that we’ve made some good progress since the opening test. This year we have DRS (Drag Reduction System) like they do in F1, which is new to me but something I’m looking forward to adapting to.”

Competing on the same schedule as Formula 1 is something that Mawson is looking forward to, as he aims to kick off his 2018 campaign with a solid haul of points

“Sharing the weekend with Formula 1 is going to be something new. While on track it’s going to be great, it’s also good for everyone in Australia as they can watch the races live on Foxtel,” said Mawson.

“My objective is to finish on the podium, that would be a great start to the year. The level of talent in the GP3 Series this year is extremely high, so we’ll have to make the most of our opportunities and hopefully build a good solid base to kickstart our 2018 campaign.”

Mawson will take to the 4.655km Catalunya circuit for the first time at 9:30am Friday morning. He will then contest qualifying later in the day, ahead of two races across the weekend – one each on Saturday (22 laps) and Sunday (17 laps).

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Local Time
Practice – Friday May 11 – 9:30am
Qualifying – Friday May 11 – 5:50pm
Race 1 – Saturday May 12 – 10:15am
Race 2 – Sunday May 13 – 10:25am

AEST
Practice – Friday May 11 – 5:30pm
Qualifying – Friday May 11 – 1:50am
Race 1 – Saturday May 12 – 6:15pm
Race 2 – Sunday May 13 – 6:25pm

TV TIMES (Australia)
Foxtel Channel 506

Saturday May 12
Channel 506
6:10pm – 7:15pm

Sunday May 13
Channel 506
6:20pm – 7:25pm