With the 2021 Asian F3 Certified by FIA Championship to start on January 29th, the pressure is on for drivers and teams for the upcoming season in what promises to be the most exciting Asian F3 series yet.
Featuring a highly compressed schedule due to Covid travel concerns, all 5 rounds/15 races of the championship will take place at Dubai Autodrome and Abu Dhabi’s F1 Circuit at Yas Marina over less than four weeks, with varied track configurations at each circuit to add even more challenge for drivers.
The 2021 field features some of the best F3 teams in the world such as HiTech Grand Prix and Prema Powerteam amongst others. There are already 22 drivers confirmed for the first round, with that number likely to increase somewhat before the first race commences on January 29th at Dubai Autodrome. Once again the series promises to be incredibly competitive as this season has attracted some of the top formula drivers in the world. The grid includes F1 test drivers, F2, FIA and British F3 pilots, and juniors from the Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault F1 young driver programs.
While this will be the debut Asian F3 season for the Evans GP Team Oloi outfit, the team comes to the series with the same winning combination that won the 2019/2020 Asian F3 championship: Motorsport-inspired apparel manufacturer Oloi, Inc., Team Manager Josh Evans, Chief Engineer Mihai Marinescu, and Crew Chief Lee Torrie.
Evans GP Team Oloi is the result of the backing of motorsports-inspired apparel maker Oloi, Inc. of San Francisco, as the team’s primary sponsor. Two of the Evans GP Team Oloi cars will be wrapped in full Oloi livery, and driven by Russian Irina Sidorkova of the W Series as well as UK F4 pilot Casper Stevenson.
Joining the duo will be teammates Formula Regional European Championship pilot Patrik Pasma [Finland], and French F4 racer Isack Hadjar [France], with Hadjar racing with Evans GP via the 3Y Technology outfit, under the 3Y Evans GP banner.
DRIVER PREVIEW
Patrik Pasma (Finland) – Car 4
2020: 4th in Formula Regional European Championship
Evans GP Team Oloi’s signing of the 20-year-old Finn will bolster the team though his wealth of experience, namely in the fact that in 2020 he finished 4th in the Formula Regional European Championship – a series which uses the same F3 car [Tatuus chassis/Alfa Romeo powered] as Asian F3. Additionally, Pasma has a history of accomplishments in various formula series such as F4 and the MRF series, amongst others.
Casper Stevenson (UK)– Car 5
2020: 3rd in British F4
The 17-year-old British rising star started his career with British and European Junior X30 karting, achieving National Level podiums, then going on to finish as the second highest rookie driver in the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship in 2019. In 2020 he became the Inaugural British F4 Scholarship winner and finished 3rd in the highly-competitive British F4 Championship, with wins at Silverstone and Croft. Like Sidorkova, he will make his transition up to F3 next week in Dubai with the first Official Test on January 27th at Dubai Autodrome.
Isack Hadjar (France) – Car 6
2020: 3rd in French F4
The 16-year-old French driver, like his teammates, comes from the traditional karting background. Moving up to formula cars in 2019, he made his debut in French F4 where he finished 7th for the season, then 3rd for the season in 2020 in only his second year of formula cars. With good results in winter testing and Renault’s F3R rookie tests over winter, he looks to continue moving up the motorsports ladder in the 2021 Asian F3 Championship. Hadjar will be racing under the 3Y Evans GP banner, as the first race driver to start in the 3Y Technology-Evans GP partnership.
Irina Sidorkova (Russia) – Car 51
2020: 9th in Russian Circuit Racing Series, 3rd in W Series eSports Championship
The 17-year-old Russian female began karting at age six, moving into rallying and ice racing at age 11 and touring car racing at 13. The SMP Racing Junior Team took her on board in 2018, and she raced in Russian and Spanish Formula 4 in 2019. Irina passed the evaluation tests for the all-female F3 W Series Championship, becoming its youngest driver to do so. While the 2020 series was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a 10 round eSports series was held in its place, with Sidorkova taking third overall for the season.
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The 2021 Asian F3 season will start this week, with the first Official Test to take place January 27th at Dubai Autodrome, to be followed immediately after by Round One. Please follow www.EvansGP.com or @evansgrandprix for the latest Evans GP Team Oloi news and updates.