Jasin Ferati Newsletter No. 4 / 2021 (May 10)
Clear step forward
Intensive preparation with a lot of simulator work in Safenwil and Monza brought Jasin Ferati a step forward on the second Formula 3 race weekend in Barcelona. An early accident in the second race prevented the confirmation of 19th place from the day before.
The second appearance of the Formula Regional European Championships by Alpine as part of the supporting program of a Formula 1 World Championship race brought additional stress to the 34 participants of the talent factory on the Circuit de Catalunya with two shortened qualifying sessions after only one free practice session. Jasin Ferati from Winterthur got along well with it. The 17-year-old Monolite driver achieved his best results of the season so far with 21st place in qualifying and 19th place in the race and reduced the gap to the top group compared to Imola by almost a second. He was only 0.12 seconds short of starting position 13, despite a small slide, from which even the first points would have been within reach.
“Things were already encouraging in the only free practice session. Since I got stuck in traffic every time I tried new tires, I didn't manage a good lap time, but I immediately had confidence in the car,” said a happy Ferati. “The additional shifts in the simulator brought me a lot, and we also managed to set the car up much better. If it hadn't been for a slide in the second sector, I would have beaten my best time again in the last attempt.” A change to the brake balance for the second qualifying subsequently turned out to be a mistake. Although Ferati was able to improve by a further four tenths on the ever faster Grand Prix track, this was only enough for 29th starting position in Sunday's race.
"That shot definitely backfired," he fretted. “But mistakes are there to learn from. I was suitably motivated at the start, and I did well again. I overtook two competitors on the start straight and then tried to get past Belén Garcia, who was much slower, in the second corner. I was already at the very edge of the limit, but she didn't leave me any space, touched my car and damaged the left front wheel so badly that, unlike her, I couldn't continue." A typical racing accident that can happen again and again, judged the stewards and pronounced no penalties. Had it not been for that mishap, Ferati could have confirmed Barcelona's first result.
"Something like this no longer upsets me: check off and look ahead," he says. The next, even greater challenge is already waiting in ten days on the streets of Monte Carlo, where the Formula Regional will be in action for the third and, for the time being, last time in the Formula 1 program. After three wins in a row, Ferati's compatriot Grégoire Saucy travels to the Principality as the clear leader. The 21-year-old Jurassic from the ART Grand Prix team was clearly the fastest in every session in Spain and is already 15 points ahead of Mercedes protégé Paul Aron from Estonia. The veterans David Vidales from Spain, the first winner in Imola, and Alex Quinn from England are fighting for 3rd place.
Barcelona, race 1: 1. Grégoire Saucy (Sz) 33:02,305. 2. Gabriele Mini (It) 0.542 behind. 3. Paul Aron (Est) 1,756. 4. Alex Quinn (GB) 3,201. 5. Mari Boya (Sp) 3,300. – Also: 19. Jasin Ferati (Sz) 15,130. 20. Alex Gnos (Sz) 18,602. 25. Lena Buehler (Sz) 23,156. – Launched 34.
Race 2: 1. Saucy 32:14,737. 2. Quinn 2.555. 3. Isaac Hadjar (Fr) 5,546. 4. Aaron 9:323. 5.minimum 10,422. – Further: 14. Gnos 22,494. 27. Buehler 35,083. – DNF: Ferati (accident, 1st round).
classification after 4 of 20 races (34 drivers): 1. Saucy 60 points. 2nd Aron 45th 3rd David Vidales (Sp) 31st 4th Quinn 30th 5th Hadrien David (Fr) 27th 6th Mini 20, first in the rookie classification. 7. William Alatalo (Fi) 26. 8. Zen Maloney (Barbados) 17. – Further: 17. Pietro Delli-Guanti (It) 0. 21. Gnos 0. 24. Ferati 0. 31. Buehler 0. – Team classification ( 12): 1st ART Grand Prix 121. 2nd Prema Powersport 89. 3rd Arden Motorsport 80 – Also: 9th Monolite Racing 0.
Next races: 22./23. May Monaco.