BARCELONA, Spain (4 May 2021) – Young American racing phenom Jak Crawford till take another significant step on his road to Formula 1 this weekend as he makes his FIA Formula 3 debut at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Red Bull Junior Team driver will race for Hitech Grand Prix for the 2021 campaign, which will see the F3 championship stage the full season as part of Formula 1 events.
Crawford, who has moved to Europe full time in pursuit of an opportunity at the top level of the sport, will have an intensive weekend schedule with practice, qualifying, and three races to open the season.
As he readies for his F3 competition debut, Crawford will look to make the most of pre-season testing with Hitech, where the Houston-based racer showed impressive form as he prepares for his first full season campaign in F3. It will mark his second competition outing in 2021, having taken a seventh-place finish last Sunday on his 16th-birthday in his Euroformula Open Championship debut at Portimao, Portugal after starting the race from last on the grid.
“I’m feeling good for next weekend already, starting in the F3 series,” Crawford said following Sunday’s race. “I feel good and confident in my ability this year, so it should be good.”
Age restrictions prevented him from competing in the two Saturday races, but his Sunday performance in the No. 52 Motopark Dallara 320 Volkswagen earned Crawford his International B license, which is needed to compete in F3.
“I just had to catch up on some school work and relax between the races,” said Crawford about his post-birthday plans. “I am hoping to get up to speed quickly and start the championship off strong. It is always better to be leading the way than to be trying to catch up in a championship. It will be down to the qualifying and with the reverse grids, just making your way to the front.”
Crawford had the opportunity to test the F3 car in an official session at Barcelona less than two weeks ago. Earlier in the month, he was an impressive fourth and third in the pre-season opening two-day test at Spielberg, Austria’s Red Bull Ring.
Practice for the F3 opener begins Friday with a 45-minute session at 4:05 a.m. (all times ET). Qualifying begins its 30-minute session at 7:35 a.m. Race 1 is on Saturday at 4:35 a.m., followed by Race 2 at 10:45 a.m. The weekend wraps up with Race 3 at 6:05 a.m., which precedes the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
