Reigning Cooper Tires British F3 Champion Daniel Ricciardo today underlined his growing potential as a Grand Prix star of the future when he claimed his maiden World Series by Renault race victory.
And for good measure the 20-year-old from Perth took the win in the glare of the media spotlight at Monaco, on his first competitive visit to the Principality. “I came to Monaco with my family when I was eight,” said Daniel. “I never dreamed that I would one day come back and win a race here.”
Jean-Eric Vergne in action
British Formula 3 teams begin a hectic spring tour of European racetracks next weekend (22/23 May) at the French Grand Prix circuit of Magny-Cours, venue for rounds seven, eight and nine of the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series. A week later they will be at the home of the German Grand Prix, Hockenheim, for another triple-race weekend and, the week after that, many will make the trek to the Dutch seaside circuit of Zandvoort for the European ‘Grand Prix of F3′, the RTL Masters.
It’s a busy schedule but one which championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne is relishing, not least because the tour starts in his home country, on a circuit he knows well. “I have done a few races at Magny-Cours; in Formula Campus I won the championship there, in the wet, so it’s a really special track for me. And then I raced there over two seasons in Formula Renault, so I know it very well. It’s one of my favourites in France, after Le Mans. It’s a really nice track and I think it will be very exciting for F3, especially through the chicanes.”
Parisian Vergne, who turned 20 last month, is looking to bounce back from a quiet weekend at Silverstone at the beginning of May; he scored useful points in Northamptonshire to maintain his championship lead, but there were fewer flashes of the brilliance which netted the Red Bull-backed Carlin driver twin wins at Oulton Park at the start of the year.
Jean-Eric says he will be a dutiful host to his five team-mates: “There are no great secrets to driving Magny-Cours, but if I can help my team-mates I will, of course; that is my job, to help the team move forward.”
Jean Eric Vergne
After a solid career in karts, French driver Jean-Eric Vergne made the tried and true step up to Formula Renault in 2007 taking ten podium places in 13 races to be crowned French Formula Renault Campus champion. These successes lead to an invitation to join the Red Bull Junior Team and a move to Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup in 2008.
He achieved considerable success in Formula Renault in 2008 where he finished sixth in the Eurocup standings and fourth in the West European Cup. Because the French Formula Renault Championship is part of the West European Cup, his results as the best French driver in the series resulted in him being crowned French Formula Renault 2.0 champion as well as being named the top rookie in both series.
He remained in both series in 2009 where he finished second in both before announcing a move to the British F3 International series in 2010 as well as the Formula Renault 3.5 series. Unfortunately, despite some excellent testing results Vergne’s Formula Renault team SG Racing pulled the plug on their program at the last minute. This in my opinion is not a bad thing. Now he can fully concentrate on the British series which is highly competitive and races on mainland Europe as well as in the UK.
Vergne is consistently fast and has proved his mettle in the rough and tumble world of Formula Renault. So far in pre-season testing in both F3 and Formula Renault 3.5 he has been showing that his speed continues unabated and he has proven his point with two wins in the first three races of the British F3 season. He will definitely be somebody to watch in 2010 and I fully expect him to be racing in Formula Renault 3.5 or GP3 next year.
Check out video of Jean-Eric’s thoughts on the Formula 3 season ahead here.
Official website of Jean-Eric Vergne
Stats of Jean-Eric Vergne on Driver Database
With a thrilling new event format, 30 races a year and a grid swollen with talent from both home and abroad, the 2010 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series – which gets underway at Oulton Park over Easter (3-5 Apr) – promises to provide a spectacular feast of track action – and maybe a future Grand Prix driver or two.
Talented drivers are flocking to British F3 from South America and Asia, as well as from closer to home, because it provides the best grounding and experience that money can buy for a young track star. It’s no accident that the 2008 British F3 Champion, Jaime Alguersuari, was propelled into F1 last year as the youngest-ever Grand Prix driver, nor that the reigning British F3 title holder, Daniel Ricciardo, is already an F1 reserve pilot.
Mindful of world economics and the threat posed by newly introduced single-seater series, the championship has moved swiftly and decisively to improve the cockpit time, race experience and value for money offered by British F3, and those decisions have paid off handsomely in terms of attracting new and returning teams and the talent to drive their cars.
“With 30 races and a bold new format, the Cooper Tires British F3 is on the threshold of a superbly exciting season,” said Stephane Ratel, the Chairman of the championship promoter, SRO Motorsports Group. “The teams are to be congratulated on their efforts in assembling such an impressive entry. It bodes well for the continuing growth and stability of British F3.”
Carlin’s Jean-Eric Vergne was today once again the quickest of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 testers, the Frenchman one of a handful of drivers to sneak beneath the unofficial lap record at Oulton Park.
Jean-Eric Vergne in action at Oulton Park today Image by Jakob Ebrey Photography
The Cheshire circuit – venue for the championship’s opening rounds at Easter (3-5 April) – provided a chilly but ever-quickening venue for the 21 drivers taking part today, with Vergne setting the best time of the day which, at 1m 27.444s, was 1.4s better than Max Chilton’s 2008 pole position time. Jean-Eric was quickest last week also in the Rockingham official tests.
Raikkonen Robertson Racing’s Carlos Huertas was on top in the morning session, and the Colombian improved his pace after lunch to 1m 27.797s to run Vergne closest. Brazilian Adriano Buzaid was third fastest overall. Knutsford’s Oli Webb wound up fifth fastest on his home circuit, just behind the quickest of the Brits, Carlin’s James Calado.
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