Australian Joey Mawson will be aiming to continue his good momentum when the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship continues in Austria this weekend.

Buoyed in confidence following his maiden podium at the last round, the PODIUM-backed driver heads to the Red Bull Ring will his sights firmly set on more celebrations.

“To get on the podium for the first time meant a lot to me, my team, everyone at PODIUM and all of the people who have supported me on this journey,” said Mawson.

“The first goal of the year was to achieve a podium, it was well overdue, so it felt great to get the ‘monkey off my back’.”

Mawson enjoyed success at the 4.326km circuit on two occasions during his German Formula 4 Championship campaigns with victories in both 2015 and 2016. It is these achievements that provide the Van Amersfoort Racing pilot with an extra boost entering the penultimate round of his 2017 campaign.

“The Red Bull Ring only has eight corners, it sounds easy but it’s far from that. Generally the times are very close, so it comes down to every little detail,” said Mawson.

“I think qualifying will be decided by hundredths of a second rather than tenths, so having everything perfect is going to be the key to success this weekend.

“It is a very enjoyable track and probably the best facilities of any track that I’ve been to in my career. I’m really looking forward to heading back there this weekend.”

With this weekend’s round being held alongside the DTM Championship, Mawson will take to the circuit on Friday afternoon for practice ahead of qualifying for Race One. The opening race will be contested on Saturday morning before qualifying for Races Two and Three is held in the afternoon. A pair of races highlights Sunday.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Local Time

Friday September 22
1:10pm – 1:50pm Free Practice 1
1:55pm – 2:35pm Free Practice 2
5:35pm – 5:55pm Qualifying 1

Saturday September 23
10:40am – 11:15am Race 1
4:15pm – 4:35pm Qualifying 2/3

Sunday September 24
11:00am – 11:35am Race 2
4:55pm – 5:30pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
Friday September 22
9:10pm – 9:50pm Free Practice 1
9:55pm – 10:35pm Free Practice 2
1:35am (Sat) – 1:55am Qualifying 1

Saturday September 23
6:40pm – 7:15pm Race 1
12:15am (Sun) – 12:35am Qualifying 2/3

Sunday September 24
7:00pm – 7:35pm Race 2
12:55am (Mon) – 1:30am Race 3

Australian Joey Mawson has secured his maiden podium in the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship at the Nürburgring in Germany.

The highlight for the PODIUM-backed driver came in the opening race of the weekend that started in very wet conditions.

After starting from eighth position on the grid, Mawson scythed his way up the order to be in fourth place during the opening laps.

He then passed Callum Ilott for third place, but as the circuit began to dry, Mawson didn’t quite have the pace of his rivals that were challenging from behind. Determined not to let his first podium slip from his grasp, Mawson fought gallantly over the closing stages to hold on and finish third.

Race Two was a lonely one for Mawson. After battling with his Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Harrison Newey on the opening lap, Mawson slotted into seventh place.

With no challenges from behind, and unable to close in on sixth, he maintained this position until the chequered flag.

After once again starting from eighth position Mawson emerged from the opening lap of the final race in fourth.

Moments later Tadasuke Makino hit Mawson’s right rear wheel giving him a puncture, just as the safety car was deployed for two cars in the gravel. Mawson had to pit to replace the wheel putting him to the back of the queue behind the safety car.

He proceeded to work his way up the field from 20th and by lap 8, he was up to 15th behind Pedro Piquet and Mick Schumacher. While they were squabbling for position, Mawson passed them both before chasing down David Beckmann over the remaining laps.

On the penultimate lap, he saw an opportunity to pass but they touched causing damage to Mawson’s front wing, ending his race.

“We started the weekend off with an absolute high.  It was such a big relief. I was so happy for the team, everyone at PODIUM, along with everyone who has supported me throughout the year,” said Mawson.

“After my maiden podium in Race One, I had a satisfactory run in Race Two where seventh was the best I could do.

“In Race Three it was really unfortunate.  I was in fourth position on the opening lap and Makino slid into me and I got a puncture which meant that I had to pit.  After pitting I drove through the pack but unfortunately I got caught up in an incident that put me out of the race.

“The weekend was very positive, I really felt that I made a big step forward.  I look forward to finishing the year off with a bit of spark and getting some good results over the remaining six races.”

Lando Norris won two of the three races at the Nürburgring with Jake Hughes claiming the other.

Mawson’s next event will be at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on September 23-24.

Australian Joey Mawson will head to familiar territory for Round Eight of the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship at the Nürburgring this weekend.

Having competed at the venue on two occasions as a part of the German Formula 4 Championship, the PODIUM-backed driver is looking forward to returning to the 3.629km circuit.

“It’s good to be heading back to a circuit where I have competed at before. I finished on the podium in the Formula 4, hopefully I can replicate that in the Formula 3 this weekend,” said Mawson.

“We haven’t done any tests there in the Formula 3 car, but I know the circuit and we have done a lot of preparation in the workshop to provide us with the best opportunity and a good result.”

With the circuit being one of the tightest on the schedule, Mawson believes it is one that should suit the Van Amersfoort Racing outfit.

“We’ve struggled this year to get the most out of the car on the high-speed circuits, but have been pretty good on some of the tighter circuits,” said Mawson.

“I’m continually learning on how to improve my driving and the team is continually working hard to improve the set-up of the car. We’re not far off but in this Championship every little bit counts.

“The track is notoriously hard on brakes, so that is something we’ll need to keep in mind. Because it is quite a short lap, there are limited passing opportunities, so qualifying well will again be very  important.”

This weekend’s event will be contested alongside a round of the DTM Championship. Practice for the Formula 3 drivers will be contested on Friday from 11:45am ahead of qualifying for Race One at 5:50pm local time. Saturday will feature Race One in the morning, and qualifying for Races Two and Three in the afternoon. Two races, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, will highlight Sunday.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

LOCAL TIME
Friday September 8
11:45pm – 12:25pm Free Practice 1
12:30pm – 2:10pm Free Practice 2
5:50pm – 6:10pm Qualifying 1

Saturday September 9
10:45am – 11:20am Race 1
5:45pm – 6:05pm Qualifying 2/3

Sunday September 10
11:05am – 11:40am Race 2
4:55pm – 5:30pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
Friday September 8
7:45pm – 8:25pm Free Practice 1
8:30pm – 9:10pm Free Practice 2
1:50am (Sat) – 2:10am Qualifying 1

Saturday September 9
6:45pm – 7:20pm Race 1
1:45am (Sun) – 2:05am Qualifying 2/3

Sunday September 10
7:05pm – 7:40pm Race 2
12:55am (Mon) – 1:30am Race 3

Australian Joey Mawson showed fighting spirit during Round Seven of the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands.

After battling engine issues early in the weekend, the PODIUM-backed driver fought gallantly to overcome his lowly qualifying positions during each of the three races.

The highlight of the weekend came in Race Three for Mawson. After carding a pair of 14th place finishes in the opening two races, the Australian was engaged in a titanic battle that involved nine cars running nose-to-tail for the majority of the race.

Mawson started the final encounter 12th and quickly set his sights on recording a finish inside the championship points. On a circuit that had limited passing opportunities, Mawson made the most of any opening that led him to record a ninth place finish.

The result was Mawson’s ninth top ten finish of 2017 and the tenth time he has finished on the podium in the Rookie Championship.

“After a very challenging start to the weekend it was good to finish on a positive note with a points finish in the final race,” said Mawson.

“We found an issue with the engine after qualifying which meant that we had to change engines leading to a grid penalty for Race One. From there the focus for the remainder of the weekend was on trying to move up the order as much as what we could.

“The final race of the weekend was the only one that we didn’t have some sort of an issue in and I was able to get a decent result as a consequence. I had some good battles in a train of cars and it was pleasing to be able to get some points in the end.

“We’re still not where we want to be as a team but I feel as though we made some improvements across the weekend. We’ll now focus on finishing the year on a high over the remaining three events.”

McLaren Formula 1 Junior Driver Lando Norris won two of the three races contested across the weekend to move into the Championship lead with three rounds remaining.

The next event on the FIA Formula 3 European Championship schedule is at the Nürburgring on September 8-10.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
(After Round 7 of 10)
1. Lando Norris – 313 points
2. Maximilian Günther – 302
3. Joel Eriksson – 258
4. Callum Ilott – 221
5. Jehan Daruvala – 140
6. Jake Hughes – 132
7. Ferdinand Habsburg – 131
8. Guanyu Zhou – 115
9. Harrison Newey – 94
10. Ralf Aron – 85
14. Joey Mawson – 50

Australian Joey Mawson will gear up for the next challenge in the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands this weekend.

With the PODIUM-backed driver residing less than an hour from the circuit, this weekend’s round is a ‘home’ round for him and the Van Amersfoort Racing team.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to have a home round for the team and have the track only 55 minutes from the team base,” said Mawson.

“The Zandvoort round is very important for everyone in the team as we pretty much have every employee coming out to show their support across the weekend.”

While it may be the closest circuit to Mawson’s base, the strict testing restrictions means that he has only driven on the circuit on three occasions since moving to Europe three years ago.

“I have only driven at Zandvoort on three occasions, two of which has been test days in the wet and then one race weekend, but it’s probably my second favourite circuit on the calendar.  It’s a very old school type of track,” said Mawson.

“It’s very fast and we run a high downforce set-up which is really noticeable in the high-speed corners. Having so many high-speed corners is always challenging because there is no room for error, but this always separates the drivers a bit more.

“Overtaking is very difficult, it’s probably the hardest circuit that we compete at to overtake on – even harder than Pau or Hungary. Qualifying well will go a long way towards a successful weekend.

“Hopefully the weather is good so we can have a really good atmosphere around the place and we can enjoy some good results.”

This weekend’s event will be contested alongside a round of the DTM Championship. Practice for the Formula 3 drivers will be contested on Friday from 12:30pm ahead of qualifying for Race One at 5:50pm local time. Saturday will feature Race One in the morning and qualifying for Races Two and Three in the afternoon. Two races, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, will highlight Sunday.

Australian Joey Mawson secured three finishes inside the top ten at Round Six of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in Belgium.

Competing at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the PODIUM-backed driver once again showed his racecraft in each of his three races.

After a challenging two qualifying sessions, Mawson found himself starting outside of the top ten for all three encounters. Mawson fought gallantly to move his way up the order in each race.

Race One was the highlight for the Sydney-sider, having charged forward from his 11th placing on the starting grid, to record a fifth placed result at the chequered flag.

Mawson also moved forward in the remaining two races of the highly-competitive championship around the 7.004km circuit. In Race Two he was engaged in a close battle with Mick Schumacher, before crossing the line 10th. After being pushed wide in the opening laps of the final race and dropping several spots, Mawson fought back to again record a finish inside the championship points in 10th place.

“It has been a solid weekend at Spa, to have three top ten finishes was a real positive,” said Mawson.

“It was amazing to drive at Spa-Francorchamps in these cars, nice to be able to tackle some of the most famous corners in the world of motorsport.

“Race One was the highlight, after qualifying we didn’t expect that we’d be able to move up so much so it was very pleasing.

“Races two and three we struggled with pace and straight line speed, which made overtaking very difficult as I couldn’t take advantage of the slipstream, but I still managed to move forward and collect some points.

“Overall it was a solid weekend with three points scoring finishes and two podiums in the Rookies Championship. We’ll now put our heads down and aim for the continual improvement as we always do and continue to aim for the front.”

British driver Lando Norris, who will next week test with the McLaren Formula One team, won two races with Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg winning the other.

The next round in the Championship will be contested at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands on August 18-20.

Australian Joey Mawson is ready for the next challenge in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

The PODIUM-backed driver believes previous success of the Van Amersfoort Racing team at the venue should bode well for this week’s event.

“We had a test day at the circuit on Tuesday, which was soaking wet all day so it was very difficult to get a really good gauge.  The team has enjoyed success here in the past so there’s no reason why we can’t have a good round this weekend,” said Mawson.

“The weather conditions for the weekend are expected to be a mixed bag so we’ve really got to be on top of the set-up when it matters most.

“The circuit is just so cool. No matter what you are driving around here you really enjoy it and I can’t wait to get on track on Thursday.”

After a challenging couple of rounds to start his championship campaign, Mawson has shown impressive speed during the recent rounds and is aiming to continue this momentum this weekend.

“Over the past couple of rounds we’ve shown some good speed and we’re right on the verge of some really good results. In the short break everyone in the team has been working very hard on continuing the progress and hopefully I can reward them with a podium this weekend,” said Mawson.

Mawson competed at Spa-Francorchamps during his 2015 German Formula 4 campaign where he finished second behind Lando Norris in the final race.

With this weekend’s racing being contested alongside the 24 hours of Spa GT race, practice will begin on Thursday morning ahead of two qualifying sessions in the afternoon. Races one and two will be contested on Friday before the action for the Formula 3 drivers concludes on Saturday.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LOCAL TIME
Thursday July 27
9:00am – 9:40am Free Practice
9:45am – 10:25am Free Practice 2
1:30pm – 1:50pm Qualifying 1
5:10pm – 5:30pm Qualifying 2/3

Friday July 28
12:15pm – 12:50pm Race 1
3:40pm – 4:15pm Race 2

Saturday July 29
12:40pm – 1:15pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
Thursday July 27
5:00pm – 5:40pm Free Practice 1
5:45pm – 6:25pm Free Practice 2
8:30pm – 8:50pm Qualifying 1
1:10am(Fri) – 1:30am Qualifying 2/3

Friday July 28
8:15pm – 8:50pm Race 1
11:40pm – 12:15am Race 2

Saturday July 29
8:40pm – 9:15pm Race 3

Australian Joey Mawson fought gallantly throughout the fifth event in the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship at the Norisring Street Circuit in Germany.

On Friday the PODIUM-backed driver qualified eighth fastest on the challenging 2.3km circuit before making a good start in the opening encounter.

While holding down seventh position he was hit in the back by Jehan Daruvala in the chicane. The contact pushed him wide into the wall on the exit ending his race with damage to the car.

After some repair work by his Van Amersfoort Racing crew, Mawson returned to the circuit for the second qualifying session, which decided the grids for Races Two and Three. Unable to extract the maximum speed out of the car, Mawson qualified 16th and 15th. Such is the competitiveness of the category, a mere half a second covered the entire field.

In Race Two Mawson got another good start and during the first few laps moved up to 13th place. He would hold this position until the chequered flag.

With plenty of action around him, Mawson was forced to take evasive action on a number of occasions during the opening few laps of Race Three. Despite this, he continued to fight hard and move up the order before passing Guanyu Zhou on the last lap to finish 11th.

Mawson said “The weekend once again taught me a lot. It was good to finish strongly in Race Three to move up the order.”

“It was disappointing to crash out of Race One when I was well inside the top ten and then we had to continually fight to get on top of everything from there.

“I had some good speed in the final two races but it was very difficult from being so far back on the grid to get a good result.”

Mawson’s next race will be at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on July 27-29.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After Round 5 of 10)
1. Maximilian Günther – 236
2. Joel Eriksson – 202 points
3. Lando Norris – 198
4. Callum Illott – 166
5. Jehan Daruvala – 106
6. Jake Hughes – 88
7. Guanyu Zhou – 84
8. Ralf Aron – 70
9. Harrison Newey – 67
10. Ferdinand Habsburg – 56
14. Joey Mawson – 36

Australian Joey Mawson will head to the Norisring Street Circuit high in confidence for Round Five of the 2017 FIA European Formula 3 Championship this weekend.

Fresh from a season’s best result at the previous round, the PODIUM-backed driver believes the tight confines of the 2.3km circuit should suit both the characteristics of his driving style and the Van Amersfoort Racing team.

“I really enjoy racing on street circuits and this is another challenge that I’m really looking forward to,” said Mawson.

“The team have shown over the years that they have had some good results on street circuits and hopefully I can continue this trend across the weekend.”

While a relatively simple layout on paper, Mawson believes that the Norisring is a very tricky one.

“The track itself looks like it’s just four corners, two of which are hairpins, but it’s a lot more than that. The long straights make it a very low down force track, probably less than Monza, but that can also affect the way the car handles in the corners,” said Mawson.

“There’s quite a few bumps in the braking areas so making sure that the car is settled into those areas is going to be critical to a good lap time.

“While I haven’t raced there before I’ve done quite a few laps in the simulator to prepare for the weekend and can’t wait to get on track this Friday.”

For the second consecutive round, the FIA European Formula 3 Championship is being contested on the same schedule as the DTM Championship. Mawson will take to the circuit for the first time on Friday morning for practice ahead of qualifying in the afternoon. Race 1 will be contested on Saturday before qualifying for Sunday’s two races will be contested from 4:25pm.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LOCAL TIME
Friday June 30
11:55am – 12:35pm Free Practice
12:40pm – 1:20pm Free Practice 2
5:50pm – 6:10pm Qualifying 1

Saturday July 1
11:10am – 11:45am Race 1
4:25pm – 4:45pm Qualifying 2/3

Sunday July 2
9:10am – 9:45am Race 2
2:50pm – 3:25pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
Friday June 30
7:55pm – 8:35pm Free Practice 1
8:40pm – 9:20pm Free Practice 2
1:50am(Sat) – 2:10am Qualifying 1

Saturday July 1
7:10pm – 7:45pm Race 1
12:25am(Sun) – 12:45am Qualifying 2/3

Sunday July 2
5:10pm – 5:45pm Race 2
10:50pm – 11:25am Race 3

Australian Joey Mawson enjoyed a solid weekend of results in Round Four of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in Hungary.

The PODIUM-backed driver started the weekend by posting the second fastest time in opening qualifying. Unfortunately, a penalty from the previous round dropped him to fifth on the grid but Mawson fought gallantly during the race to record a career-best fourth place finish.

“Qualifying second for race one was a real boost for everyone,” said Mawson.

“Unfortunately I had the penalty from the previous round but I managed to show some good speed and pass Callum Ilott (who won race two of the weekend) to finish fourth.”

After qualifying eighth for the remaining two races Mawson showed consistent speed to cross the line in seventh and eighth respectively. His result in race two saw him as the highest placed Rookie driver.

“Overall I’m very pleased with the weekend and it has given everyone in the team a real boost after a couple of disappointing rounds,” said Mawson.

“I had some good consistent speed all across the weekend which is very pleasing and it should give us some good momentum going forward.”

The next round in the Championship will be contested in two weeks time on the Norisring Street Circuit in Eastern Germany.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After Round 4 of 10)
1. Joel Eriksson – 183 points
2. Maximilian Günther – 178
3. Callum Illott – 162
4. Lando Norris – 158
5. Guanyu Zhou – 65
6. Jehan Daruvala – 61
7. Jake Hughes – 60
8. Ferdinand Habsburg – 52
9. Harrison Newey – 51
10. Mick Schumacher – 49
13. Joey Mawson – 36