F3 in Australia will boast a home driver, Christian Mansell. The fans expect a lot from him. Will he live up to it?
The home race is never like any other. It is a return to the origins, where the passion for the sport began to take root in the drivers. It is gratitude to those who brought you there. Christian Mansell knows this, and that is why he is feeling the pressure all the more for the second round of F3 being held at home: in Australia. The expectations rising don’t help him. On the other hand, after a season that ended twelfth and a second place in Bahrain, it is also logical to expect a lot from him.
However, the question arises: should we consider him one of the protagonists of the season?
P2 in Bahrain: Mansell is among the leaders
The opening weekend of the 2024 Formula 3 season was a mixed bag for the Australian racing driver. The 19-year-old suffered from tyre degradation which caused him to finish 14th in the Sprint Race. In the Feature Race however, Mansell made up positions that allowed him to fight for the victory. His second place behind Luke Browning places him third in the Formula 3 Championship standings.
Love this job. Life is great 🏆
Awesome car under us today, and came so close to winning the thing. We'll call that a really good day I reckon!
Thanks everyone ✌️#FIAF3 I @ARTGP pic.twitter.com/HSlPSkYjfk
— Christian Mansell (@CMansell_Racing) March 2, 2024
A positive start for Mansell, as the winter brought major changes. After 2023 as a rookie in Campos Racing, the move to Art Grand Prix for this new F3 season has brought him new expectations:
My goal is to be at the top. But realistically, I think it’s just trying to maximise the best performance out of the ART car and myself.
From a solid 2023 to a new challenge
His 2023 campaign with the Spanish team was promising. Certainly the second half of the 2023 season was impressive. Mansell proved himself to be a top 10 driver. Eventually scoring 60 points in the Formula 3 Championship. The Australian driver says he is ready to take on a more important role in the championship.
However, he has arrived in a team that last year did not live up to its past successes. It is up to him and his teammates to bring ART GP back to the high standards where it belongs. In the past ART Grand Prix proved to have a great eye for talent. Drivers like George Russell, Alex Albon and Nyck de Vries. More recently drivers like Callum Ilott, Frederik Vesti and Theo Pourchaire showed their for ART GP.
Change always brings new challenges. You have to understand the car, get in tune with engineers, mechanics… the Spanish and French trams then operate differently. Christian has had time to integrate himself both at the post-season tests and at Macau, both of which were held with ART.
From this first round, he seems to have settled in well.
But now it is time to get back on track. The possibility that Christian Mansell could become one of the protagonists of this F3 season is there. It is up to him to realize it already in Australia.
Will he give continuity to the excellent performances in front of his fans?
