By Andy Stobart
The breeding ground of future
Formula One drivers, the British Formula Three championship, kicks off for 2004 at the East Midlands circuit of
Donington Park.
F1 pilots such as
Jenson Button,
Rubens Barrichello and
David Coulthard honed their trade in the British F3 series and there's no shortage of up and coming drivers in the series this season.
Last week saw two tests for the F3 runners. A media day test session at
Brands Hatch on Wednesday was followed by a test at Donington itself the following day. With many of last year's frontrunners off to pastures new, and with the top fourteen cars at Donington last week separated by a mere second, all is to play for in what should turn out to be one of the most exciting open wheel race series out there this year.
Sixteen runners are listed in the entry list for the Championship class and that includes the late confirmation of the ever popular Danny Watts, fifth in last year's championship, in the British Lola chassis; a sole British tub up against the all-conquering Dallaras in the series.
Carlin Motorsport currently sport three drivers with Clivio Piccione, Alvaro Parente and Danilo Dirani plus there's a spare chassis at the back of the workshop should you have the requisite £400,000 or so to secure a drive with the squad who won the championship last season with Alain van der Merwe.
Monacco-born Piccione comes from the Manor Motorsport squad, who have left the series for this season, and is one of only two drivers who can boast of a race win in the British series. Brazilian team-mate Danilo Dirani can boast of winning the South American F3 series, and is the driver that insiders pick as being the one most likely to be the one to watch of the Carlin trio.
Whilst Carlin might not be able to boast of a four car squad on the grid for the season-opener, one team that can is Hitech Racing who have Scot Andrew Thompson, Englishman James Walker, Estonian Marko Asmer and Brazilian Lucas di Grassi on their books.
