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