Devlin DeFrancesco to race in FIA Formula 3 with Trident Motorsport
FOLLOWING AN OUTING AT ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA IN A DPI, DEFRANCESCO RETURNS TO F3 FOR 2019
Having shared a prototype seat with no other than Rubens Barrichello during last January Rolex 24 at Daytona where they finished in seventh place, Devlin is to concentrate his effort in single-seaters with the goal of make it up to driving in Formula 1.
Following a mid-season entry in the FIA GP3 where without any prior test, Devlin impressed with his ability to quickly adapt and matching his teammates. 19 years old DeFrancesco had a successful winter test and pre-season shakedown and was in Magny-Cours last week to discover the new FIA Formula 3 and showed good pace to impress the team enough that he is joining Trident Motorsport for the entire 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship in a three car team effort with teammates Finn Niko Kari and Brazilian Pedro Piquet.
It goes without saying that Devlin is very happy with the what lies ahead. “I’m super looking forward to this year. I started to work with Giacomo (Ricci – Team Manager) and everybody from Trident at the tail end of last year. These guys are pretty unbelievable, I have a great engineer, Andrea Mancini, and the mechanics and really switched on as well. The new car feels quite a bit different to last year. We learned a fair few things at the shakedown and I look forward to making more progress at the official test at Paul Ricard. it’s going to be a hard year it’s such a competitive field but I’m ready to bounce back from a difficult ‘18.”
Giacomo Ricci (Trident Team Manager) echoes: “We are delighted to welcome Devlin DeFrancesco. He really impressed us with the skills and consistency he showed last season. We also had the chance to evaluate him first-hand in postseason testing at Abu Dhabi, and he really impressed the technical staff of Team Trident, so we quickly found the right chemistry together. I am sure that all the best conditions are now in place for a high-quality season.”
Pre-season testing is to take place at Paul Ricard in France on March 20-21, Circuit de Catalunya in Spain on April 9-10 and at the Hungaroring in Budapest on April 17-18.
The new FIA Formula 3 championship will be following the Formula 1 calendar for eight rounds in 2019.
10 – 12 May 2019 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
21 – 23 Jun 2019 Circuit Paul Ricard, France
28 – 30 Jun 2019 Red Bull Ring, Austria
12 – 14 Jul 2019 Silverstone Circuit, Great Britain
2 – 4 Aug 2019 Hungaroring, Hungary
30 Aug 2019 – 1 Sep 2019 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
6 – 8 Sep 2019 Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
27 – 29 Sep 2019 Sochi Autodrom, Russia
Cover image: PMstills Photography
Additional images: James Gasperotti Photography
