The FIA Formula 2 pays its first visit ever to Melbourne with Boschung sitting in first place of the drivers’ standings. Similarly, Campos Racing also holds the lead in the teams’ standings. Rookie driver Maini will be fighting for scoring points for third consecutive round
Campos Racing will compete for the very first time on Australian soil this weekend. The Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne will host the third round of the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship season in the frame of the Australian F1 Grand Prix. The Spanish-based racing team will be expecting to continue its strong run of results already seen in Sakhir and Jeddah. Ralph Boschung and Kush Maini are back to drive their Campos Racing-run Dallara F2 cars and the duo will set their sights on continuing fighting for top honors in the second-tier series and feeder division to F1.
After two rounds, both Boschung and Campos Racing sit atop the driver and team standings. Swiss driver Boschung made a sensational start to the season at Bahrain International Circuit as he won Saturday’s sprint race from pole position in dominant fashion. On Sunday, he made his way through the field to finish on the podium in second place. Then in Jeddah, Boschung remained in podium contention and brought a fourth-place finish home during Saturday’s sprint race. Despite he couldn’t make it into the points-paying position on Sunday, Boschung sits first on 33 points ahead of Théo Pourchaire and Ayumu Iwasa.
Indian Maini is playing a key role in the series despite he is completing his very first season in the FIA F2 series. Maini’s debut was sensational as he scored a fourth and a seventh-place finishes in Sakhir, and put himself straight back into the podium battle. Maini was able to score more points in Jeddah two weeks later. On the ultrafast street circuit, the Indian driver secured another top-5 result in the sprint race. Therefore, he is currently lying in ninth place overall on 18 points.
In the teams’ standings, Campos Racing leads with 51 points, a two-point advantage on ART Grand Prix.
Melbourne will be a step into the unknown for everybody as it makes its first appearance on the calendar. The Albert Park Circuit is a typical street circuit, which features low grip land tire degradation. Traditionally, the Australian circuit was quite bumpy but after resurfacing two years ago, it has significantly improved. Besides, there were several layout changes, which modified the circuit for the first time since 1996. The well-known chicane was removed a new long bend took its place. Last but not least, it’s a track with medium downforce charge and average braking/traction levels. Pirelli has nominated the P Zero Yellow medium and P Zero Red soft for Formula 2 in Australia.
Both free practice and qualifying sessions will take place on Friday at 01.00 and 8.30 respectively. Saturday’s Sprint race is scheduled at 5.20 with Sunday’s Feature race taking place at 02.35. All times are CET.
Adrián Campos (Campos Racing Team Principal): “We feel pretty motivated for Australia. We continue restlessly working to defend our leads in both drivers’ and teams’ standings. We have already proved our winning form this season with Ralph and Kush is also another driver with podium potential, so we expect a strong weekend in Melbourne. It looks to be a challenging weekend for everybody but we are looking forward to delivering more strong performances.”
Ralph Boschung (Campos Racing Driver of FIA Formula 2): “I´m looking forward to discovering this new circuit. Melbourne is an all-new place for all of us. It looks quite interesting from a driver’s point of view with its challenging layout, even in the simulator. We are leading the championship at the moment, so we will fight to keep our position in the championship and score as many points as possible.”
Kush Maini (Campos Racing Driver of FIA Formula 2): “I’m super happy racing in Melbourne. It is a new track for F2 so all teams are going into this with zero data. It will be very interesting to see who adapts well.”
