Silverstone Circuit | England
Photo Credits: ©James Gasperotti Photography
2023 FIA F3 | Silverstone Circuit
Northamptonshire, England
Round 6 | Races 11 & 12
July 7-9 | 2023
Silverstone Highlights
Practice: 28th Place
Qualifying Position: 18th Place
Race 1: 22nd Place
Race 2: 19th Place
Championship: 18th Place
Practice | July 7th: 28th Place
The practice began well for Kaylen Frederick on a track he knows following winning the British F3 Championship here, sitting in the top 7 in the early minutes. After pitting for new tires and on his 1st hot lap, Kaylen crossed the line 3rd as the green track began to build grip. After a cool-down lap and into his 2nd fast lap, Kaylen headed into Turn 16 with five drivers stacked up on the racing line. Off line and in the marbles, Kaylen struggled to slow the car down and locked up the tires. O’Sollivan turned into the racing line and into the slowing Kaylen. Kaylen struck O’Sullivan at the apex ended his session with a damaged right front and wing. This placed Kaylen and car No. 7 on the back foot for the weekend with only two flying laps and headed into qualifying. Stewards subsequently assigned O’Sullivan a warning for impeding drivers on the fast lap.
Qualifying | July 7th
Qualifying: 18th Position
Under blue skies and afternoon warmer temperatures, Kaylen placed 16th on his first hot lap, with teammates Saucy in 12th and Tsolov in 17th. With setups with overheating rear tires, the team struggled for fast times with Kaylen finishing 18th, and teammates Saucy in 13th and Tsolov in 23rd.
Race 9 | July 8th | Saturday Sprint Race
Starting Position: 18th Place
Finish Position: 22nd Place
In this reverse grid sprint race and beginning in 18th place at start, there was much work to do in the race ahead. Conditions were mixed and changing just before the race with radar indicating rain was imminent. The race was not declared wet at race start, placing decisions with teams & drivers. Kaylen’s teammate Saucy opted for wets as race start was delayed and was the only driver opting to do so. Kaylen and fellow ART team member Tsolov remained on slicks for the race start. At this point the engineers opted to disconnect the sway bar, a compromised setup that allows reasonable grip in wet and dry with a lazier rear, however not optimal. Silverstone is a high-grip track affording slicks a reasonable grip if the track is not too damp. As this is also a high-speed track, the risk level was high. At race start, boxed in by drivers on both sides, Kaylen remained in 18th. On lap 3, Kaylen was caught in a tangle with multiple cars and forced off track and dropped to 24th. On lap 8, rain arrived. While Gregoire Saucy had by this point dropped to ½ lap behind the field, Kaylen’s teammate Tsolov dove into the pit for wet tires, followed by Kaylen the lap afterward. Rejoining at the back, the tire gamble was on. As racing resumed, rain had stopped and three laps behind the safety car helped to dry the racing line. As less rain occurred than strategized, dry laps became a struggle as the car gained more understeer and was slower in the high-speed corners. Unfortunately for those that pitted late, all drivers in the back were stuck in behind a driver circulating slowly and not catching up to the field at restart, ½ lap behind the field as they crossed the start line. With five laps to go, grip turned into the favor of those on slicks. Although Kaylen bettered his position, he finished 22nd.
Race 10 | July 9th | Sunday Feature Race
Starting Position: 18th Position
Finish Position: 22nd Position
Temperatures were much cooler for the Sunday feature race. The track was dry and rain wasn’t forecast until after the race. At race start, Kaylen was again boxed in with six cars that braked for an incident and was unable to advance. On lap two another tangle ensued however with Kaylen finding passing opportunities and moving into 15th place. A safety car rolled for four laps and racing resumed on lap 7, with Kaylen overtaking in lap 8 and into 14th. Attempting a pass on Tsolov ahead, Kaylen was briefly ahead however overtaken several turns later. Running wide on an attempted overtake into Luffield, Kaylen dropped wheels into the gravel but held 14th position. Hot on the tail of his teammate Tsolov, Kaylen stayed within 4/10 of Tsolov. In lap 15, Kaylen dived and moved into 13th, however overtaken again briefly later. Finally securing 13th at the early part of lap 16, Kaylen at this point suffered a slow puncture, ending his charge and dropping slowly through the field to finish 22nd. The stewards investigated the incident in which Beganovic forced Kaylen off the track however later deemed this a racing incident.
Championship Round-up: 18th Position
Next on the Calendar:
2023 FIA F3 | Round 8 | Races 13 & 14
Budapest | Hungary
Hungaroring Circuit
July 21st – July 23rd
Circuit Length: 4.381 KM | 2.722 Miles
About Kaylen Frederick
For more information visit:
https://KaylenFrederick.com/
About Pilot ONE Racing
Pilot ONE Racing supports and assists young race drivers in developing professional driving careers, seeking funding, and reaching the highest level of motorsports in both the USA and Europe.
For more information visit ‘Contact Info and Partnerships’ at:
https://PilotONERacing.com
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