A Brazilian driver on the path to Formula 1, Pedro Clerot made his official Formula 3 debut in the early hours of this Friday (6). The Rodin Motorsport driver was seventh after showing strong performance in the weekend’s only free practice session at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia, but suffered from traffic in qualifying and will start from 19th position in both of the weekend’s races.
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Clerot showed good performance in the weekend’s only free practice session, improving lap by lap to finish among the ten fastest. The driver admitted that the result made him more confident, but his attempt at a fast lap in qualifying was hindered by traffic, preventing him from finishing among the top positions.
“We had a good free practice, I had a lot of confidence in the car, with a good balance, and in the team. There were some things to improve, but it was good. In qualifying, I suffered a lot with the car’s balance and with traffic on my last lap. I lost two to three tenths in the last sector, and that would have put me in eighth. We don’t want that, but it’s part of F3. It was my first qualifying and it’s good as a learning experience. Let’s go to the races now,” said Pedro Clerot, who is sponsored by Banco BRB.
Clerot also praised the Australian circuit. It is the first time the driver has competed in a round at Albert Park, and before heading into his F3 debut weekend, the first champion in the history of F4 Brazil worked on the simulator for the track located in Melbourne. According to the Brazilian, it is one of his favorite tracks on the entire calendar.
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“The track is very cool. One of my favorites of the year. I think it will be one of the ones I’ll enjoy the most because it’s a street circuit. I’m really enjoying it here. Being in a weekend alongside F1 and racing on tracks as iconic as this one is always good. I’m happy and very excited to be able to continue my work this year and seek good results,” Clerot added.
Still this Friday, starting at 21:15, the Sprint race will be held. The main race is scheduled to start at 18:50 on Saturday. F3 activities can be followed in Brazil on F1TV.
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