New driver lineup for Charouz Racing System for Round 2 of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship at Imola
After a very positive double testing session at Jerez de la Frontera and Barcelona, Charouz Racing System is ready to resume its 2022 FIA Formula 3 campaign at Imola. On this second race weekend of the year, the driver lineup will see David Schumacher take the place of Ayrton Simmons alongside László Tóth and Italian rookie Francesco Pizzi, that this time will have the extra motivation of racing in his home country.
On his side, the German driver already got a first run with the team last week at the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya, rejoining the Czech squad after their first experience together during the first half of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 season.
With the FIA Formula 3 Championship approaching his first ever race weekend at the legendary Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, every team will have to start from scratch and find the right setup as quickly as possibile. A very demanding task that will most likely be complicated by the weather, which could potentially influence all the sessions on the three days with the rain.
To get the most out of this very unpredictable and difficult scenario, the team will also rely on the experience that Tóth, Schumacher and Pizzi already have with this technical and fast track, having competed here in the past years racing in series like Italian Formula 4 Championship powered by Abarth, Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine and Formula Renault Eurocup.
The Free Practice session, scheduled for Friday morning, could therefore be crucial for the whole weekend, that will then continue with the Qualifying session on the afternoon of the same day. The Sprint Race (20 laps) will start on Saturday morning and the Feature Race (24 laps) will end this second round on Sunday morning.
Antonín Charouz, team owner
“It’s really difficult to make some predictions for this upcoming race weekend at Imola, with the rain and the fact that no one ever raced these cars on this beautiful circuit, but that’s the kind of situation where everything could happen and you have to be ready to catch every single opportunity. I’m glad to welcome back David to the team and I’m sure that his experience will help everyone. I’m also glad that both László and Francesco already raced there, so they can concentrate on putting together all the thing they improved in the last testing sessions and go for it. It’s definitely gonna be an exciting weekend for all of us”.
László Tóth
“Very much looking forward to drive at Imola, it’s an historic track so it’s going to be really exciting. The weather forecast says it’s going to rain and that could mix thing up a little bit make things more interesting. I can’t wait to get back into the car”.
David Schumacher
“I’d like above all to thank Charouz Racing System for this opportunity. It feels great to be back in the car and the two days of testing in Barcelona gave me the opportunity to get reacquainted with the team after our first experience in 2020. I love Imola and to race there is a really fantastic feeling, I’m really pumped up about it. The rain could make things a little messier than usual, so we’ll try our best to take advantage of any possible situation”.
Francesco Pizzi
“We’re going towards the second round and after the three testing sessions we’ve had I think we learned a lot and we can get our development into this race weekend to start the European leg of the season on the right foot. Of course is an important race for me because is the first of the two Italian races on the calendar so we’ll try to get the best out of it”.