Christian Mansell on Australian GP optimism, his F3 experience, and friendship with Pepe Marti
Australian Christian Mansell is optimistic that his experience in his sophomore year of Formula 3 will make him a contender at his home grand prix.
The 19-year-old from Newcastle enters his second Australian Grand Prix confident in his knowledge of the circuit, as well as a positive result in the season opener at Bahrain.
“I’m very, very optimistic for Melbourne, for sure,” he said, bounding around the FIA Formula 3 paddock after taking second place in the feature race in round one.
“It was always quite hard to tell [in Bahrain] because the rookies had three days of testing to get used to the track, get used to the car.”
“But Melbourne, I have a feeling that it’ll be proper.”
Qualifying eighth in round one, Mansell could only manage fourteenth in the sprint race after a lack of pace saw him drop through the field in the late stages but made up for it with a triumphant podium in Saturday’s feature race.
