Qualifying
- The three ART Grand Prix drivers kicked off the opening round of the 2024 season with a solid top 10 finish in the free practice session.
- In qualifying, they secured a cluster performance with Christian in 8th, Niko 11th and Laurens 12th, the three drivers separated by a mere tenth of a second.
Sprint Race
- 1st and 2nd on the reverse grid, Laurens and Niko found themselves in several beautiful fights while also reversing their positions at the head of the race several times.
- Two-thirds of the way through the event, Niko began to suffer from tire wear and slipped out of the top 3 while Laurens took his first F3 podium as well as setting the fastest lap of the race.
- While fighting for the top 10 on the very abrasive Sakhir circuit, Christian suffered even more from tire degradation and slipped from 5th at the start to 14th at the flag.
Feature Race
- The roles were reversed in the second race with Niko and Laurens 11th and 12th on the grid respectively. Battling against numerous opponents while needing to take care of their tires, both fell short of the points.
- Meanwhile, Christian moved up 4 places on the opening lap. He was up to 2nd on the 6th lap where he intelligently sheltered himself from his opponents by taking advantage of the leader’s DRS. This strategy put the leader under pressure while also enabling Christian to defend his position from his pursuers. It also allowed him to save his tires as much as possible on his way to an eventual 2nd place finish.
Christian Mansell:
“The whole weekend was nice, and I really loved working with ART Grand Prix. The performance of the car was good right at the start and even though I’m not sure we could have fought for pole, we were close. The next step will be to be in the mix. I feel confident as I know that we haven’t reached the full potential of the car yet. Starting from P8, the sprint race was far from perfect with tire degradation but the feature race was electrifying. I made some decisive moves and seized every opportunity I could. But, at the same time I had to save the tires and P2 is a fantastic result for my first race together with ART Grand Prix. I can’t wait to be on my home soil in Melbourne!”
Sébastien Philippe:
“Overall, it’s been a very good start to the F3 season, with two podium finishes and a 2nd place in the team championship. Christian, Laurens and Niko found their attacking groove and secured some big points. This very good result validates this winter’s project to get the team back on track after a disappointing 2023 in terms of raw results. We’ve reaped the first fruits of our labour, but we still need to make progress to fight for pole position, win again and, above all, stay consistently at the front.”
Copyright: Dutch Photo Agency
