Henry Arundel endured a 'baptism of fire' in his first qualifying sessions in the British F3 International Series after a difficult day at
Oulton Park for the entire Raikkonen Robertson Racing team.
The Formula BMW UK front-runner qualified in 15th and twelfth places for the two races at the Cheshire venue after two sessions held in cold and tricky conditions, although his more experienced team-mates also found the going tough.
Indeed, Atte Mustonen viewed as one of the early season favourites for the title in his second season had to settle for tenth and ninth for the two races, with no Double R driver managing to qualify higher than seventh John Martin leading the challenge in first qualifying and Ali Jackson heading the pack in the second session.
It didn't go as well I hoped and not as well as I maybe expected, Arundel reflected to
Crash.net. It's a baptism of fire and it is more competitive on every level than F
BMW. There is a lot to learn and a lot to get used to and nothing can really prepare you for that first qualifying session. It should have been better but it's all experience and as long as I learn from it, then that's the main thing.
Double R as a team is struggling a bit but we are getting there and making good progress. I feel happy in the team and it is a really good environment to be a part of. We will get there for sure, but if we are all struggling I can only compare myself to my team-mates and I'm close to them. I'm not too disappointed with my speed today, but just with how it all worked out with traffic and the conditions.
Arundel will now aim to break into the points in his first races on Easter Monday, and he admitted he had no intention of simply sitting back and enjoying the ride.
