Christian Mansell "delighted" with Australian Grand Prix points

Christian Mansell says he is “delighted” to walk away from the Australian Grand Prix with his first points in the FIA Formula 3 championship.

Christian Mansell at the Australian Grand Prix. (Dutch Photo Agency)

The Australian took home four points from the two Formula 3 races at Albert Park.

“This was a weekend I was really excited for as an Australian, and the crowds certainly didn't disappoint,” said Mansell.

“It has been an amazing experience and I'm delighted to have brought home two top-10 finishes and my first points for them.”

The 18-year-old narrowly missed reverse-grid pole position when he qualified 13th, but kept clear of drama in the sprint race and was rewarded when the trio of MP Motorsport cars were disqualified.

Mansell was promoted to ninth and received an extra point for the fastest lap of the race.

"It was frustrating to miss out on that sprint race pole position for the second time in a row by such a small amount, especially here, but to fight hard and come back in what was a tough race to make progress in on Saturday with the safety car periods - I'm happy and the team did a great job all weekend,” he said.

Christian Mansell prepares for FIA Formula 3 at the Australian Grand Prix. (Dutch Photo Agency)

Sunday’s feature race brought more action and Mansell made it through two safety car restarts to the fringe of the top ten, finishing eleventh after a final lap scuffle for the final points-paying positions.

Further post-race penalties brought the Novacastrian back into the points, finished tenth in the final order and claiming one point.

"Sunday was a race with plenty of battles and there was a lot going on around us, so to almost match the result and get more points was a good end to the weekend.”

“Thank you again to the fans, Campos Racing and all of my sponsors this weekend. We can now look to go one better in qualifying at Imola and mix it up front."

Mansell is 15th in the standings and the highest-ranked Aussie, with the FIA Formula 3 championship returning 20-21 May in Imola.

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