F3 Barcelona: Looking back at Devlin DeFrancesco’s weekend

FIRST RACE OF THE FIA FORMULA 3 SEASON FOR DEFRANCESCO

Devlin had a good start to his weekend finishing in 13th place during the only practice session. Qualifying has shown the field of 30 drivers to be very competitive and one needed to nail his lap to make it up the field and DeFrancesco managed a 24th place.

Battling hard throughout the first race, Devlin was able to maintain some serious pressure on those drivers ahead of him. With two retirements, virtual safety cars and even post-race penalties, it was by no means a quiet season opener, but the young Canadian-Italian kept his head down and put in a solid first drive with his new team ending the race in 23rd.

Race two started early on a sunny Sunday morning, with race positions set from yesterday’s race, Devlin lined up in 23rd amidst a tight and competitive midfield pack. Whilst everyone got away from the line cleanly, there was chaos by the second corner, with four drivers getting tangled up and bringing out an early safety car. This benefitted Devlin, who kept out of trouble and was promoted three places in an instant.

The safety car was required for several laps to collect the stranded cars, but once the race was restarted, the nineteen-year-old put in some impressive sector times to maintain his position in the frantic laps that followed whilst pressuring those in front of him.

Similarly to race one, there was plenty of drama throughout the field, meaning Devlin’s position in the order fluctuated throughout the closing stages of the race. He crossed the line three places higher than he started – and had shown some great racing throughout.

Next race is to be at Circuit Paul-Ricard on June 21-23.

Image: Dutch Photo Agency