Podium and points for Jazeman in Monsoon Monza
It was another excellent weekend of strong results for Jazeman at the second round of the British F3 International Series, held this weekend at a very wet Monza circuit in Italy. A podium finish in third for the first race yesterday, with fourth and fifth place finishes today added valuable points for the championship, with Jazeman leaving the famed Italian circuit third in the overall Driver’s Championship.
Jazeman’s weekend began smoothly with competitive running in the practice sessions ahead of qualifying, with sixth quickest lap in the first session and fourth fastest in the second session, with the young Malaysian coping well in the wet conditions of the first session. In the second session, with a dry track, Jazeman was the fastest of the Carlin drivers.
The qualifying session proved very close, with less than three-tenths of a second separating the top ten runners. Jazeman’s fastest lap was fourth quickest of the field, to give him this position for the start of the third race. His second quickest lap was seventh fastest, the position he took for the first of the three races at Monza.
As Jazeman and his rivals drove to the grid light drizzle prevailed, but just prior to the start conditions worsened and with heavy rain just after the green flag, Jazeman and the rest of the field had no option but to pit for wet tyres at the end of the first lap.
Jazeman emerged from the pits in seventh place and quickly put his driving skills to the fore, putting in a stream of quick laps and pushing hard, making a series of impressive overtaking manoeuvres to move up to fourth by lap six and then making a pass on Carlin team mate, Fantin to clinch third place and a well-deserved podium finish.
This morning’s second of the three races was once again affected by torrential rain, with the grid taking the green flag behind the safety car. A reversed grid format put Jazeman in eighth place for the start a tough challenge for the PETRONAS-supported driver to net a strong points finish. After one lap behind the safety car the pack were released and with little visibility it was the brave who won through, with Jazeman improving to fourth position after the first lap of green flag racing. Over the course of the race he pushed hard and turned good lap times, battling hard and taking fifth place at the chequered flag.
The final F3 race of the weekend was once again held in monsoon-like rain which dampened the excitement, forcing the race to once again be started behind the safety car. Jazeman had another strong drive, showing good pace and improving his lap times over the course of the race distance. He started from fourth place and finished in this position after forty minutes of hard racing.
Jazeman said of the Monza F3 round, ““The weather has been horrendous, just never letting up which hasn’t made it very easy, particularly in the races when you really need as much visibility as possible. However, it’s been a good weekend. I’ve put in solid performances and been rewarded with strong results, including my third podium in six races. Scoring strong points has kept my title hopes on track and it’s very tight at the top of the championship table, with just a few points separating us. I feel I’m improving each time I’m out on track and that’s always the benchmark for me. I’m still learning about the car, and I’m sure that will be the case all season, but as I gain the experience I expect to be gaining ground and pushing even harder.
Jazeman returns to the track next month with a return to the Pau track in France. The fourth round of the British Formula 3 International Series takes place from 11-12 May.