After a tricky opening weekend of his 2019 FIA Formula 3 campaign last month, Devlin DeFrancesco proved that he truly is back and fighting after a strong showing this weekend at Paul Ricard, making up 13 places in the first race alone.

Getting his first taste of the track since the tests earlier this year in March, Devlin put in a series of competitive laps during the Friday morning practice session. Ending the session firmly in the midfield, the changes made by the team after the previous round were clearly paying dividends.

Qualifying took place on Friday afternoon in the fantastic French sunshine, and as always, was a closely run affair, with the top 23 drivers separated by a little more than a second.

There was a sense of excitement as the field gridded up early Saturday morning, with Devlin starting firmly in the mid-pack he knew the possibility points were on the cards. Getting off the line cleanly the young Canadian-Italian wasted no time in making his way through the pack making up 10 positions in the first 4 laps alone.

With chaos ensuing around him, the nineteen-year-old kept his focus, holding his own where others faulted, with not only his first points-paying position looking definite but also the opportunity for reverse grid pole, as he rose as high as 8th. Alas, it was not meant to be as a last-lap tangle with Logan Sargeant led to a puncture sending the talented youngster hurtling back through the pack.

“For me, he did not do it on purpose,” Devlin said of the incident.

“It was one of those places where I couldn’t give him any more room and he didn’t really back off as much as he could have, but it was definitely not on purpose, it’s the way it goes. We know we have the pace so we’ll regroup and go again tomorrow”

Starting 21st for Race 2 due to the previous races’ puncture, the Sunday morning race was a completely different challenge for Devlin. Undeterred by this setback, in similar style to the earlier race, Devlin rose through the pack once more. Through a mix of clever driving and keeping his nose out of trouble, so that once more, he was in a promising position entering the latter stages of the race.

However, the youngster was dealt another spell of bad luck, with the severe tire degradation that had been threatening to hinder him since as early as lap five catching up with him, dropping him back down through the order.

However, with no break in between rounds, there is no time to dwell on what could have been as the field heads to Austria next weekend (28th – 30th June) for the third round of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Season.

“I’m excited for Austria, I’m not going to set an expectation, but I think we have the potential to do a big result there, it’s a track I like, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do.

“The championship is so tight, the level is so high, if you make a small mistake you end up P18 instead of P8 or P5. It’s all about consistency’ Devlin commented.

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