The Formula 3 World Cup reigning champion Daniel Ticktum topped yesterday’s qualifying session for the FIA Formula 3 World Cup, one of the major events of the Macau Grand Prix.
Ticktum’s performance confirms that he is up to defending his titles earned in previous years and to the challenges presented by several racers, including the European Formula 3 Champion Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott, two of the most serious candidates this year.
In the qualifying session held yesterday afternoon, Ticktum topped the timesheets with a 2:11.004 lap, only 0.132 of a second faster than the Carlin man, Ilott coming in second.
To prove how close these drivers are to each other, the gap between first and fourth (Jake Hughes, Hitech GP) was less than half a second (0.494) with Mick Schumacher placing third between Ilott and Hughes.
The German driver racing under the colors of Theodore Racing by Prema confirmed himself to be the on-track favorite coming out of his performance this year. In wishes he expressed earlier this week he acknowledged feeling confident and willing to give his best shot at reaching the top spot on the podium.
It is expected that, today, the battle between the front trio (Ticktum, Ilott and Schumacher) will continue at this elevated level during the two sessions scheduled for the day, pushing the pack of all other young and talented drivers to follow. The pack will be reaching for the stars to win what was once considered the “ultimate test” for drivers aiming for the major category of single-seater racing, the Formula 1.
Earlier in the day, Schumacher lead on the timesheets during the first Free Practice Session when he clocked the best time at 2:12.168 followed by Ilott (just 0.030 of a second away) and with Juri Vips from Motopark Academy not far behind.
F3 action will be on track at the Guia Circuit from 11:30 a.m. for a 40-minute Free Practice session, followed in the afternoon by another 40-minute Qualifying session at 3:10 p.m. that will define the start grid for the 10-lap Qualification Race to be held on Saturday from 9 a.m.
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