LONDON-based Enaam Ahmed, the runaway 2017 British Formula 3 Champion, started his international motor-racing career in grand style, hustling in the season opener of the 2018 FIA European Formula 3 in the streets of Pau, and emerging in the top three of the championship after three races.

Pau, located in the south of France by the Pyrenees mountains, has a rich racing heritage; names like Juan Manuel Fangio and Jim Clark have been victorious here. Juan Pablo Montoya once lapped the entire field to win a Formula 3000 race. Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton has also seen success here.

For the first of three races of the weekend, Enaam posted the fifth fastest time in his Group ‘B’, his time on his maiden voyage on a street circuit was 1’10 “357, impressive as pole position time, set by Daniel Ticktum, was 1’10” 013.

Guan Yu Zhou, now in his third year in the series, made history by becoming the first Chinese driver to win the European Formula 3. Enaam was sixth in his Mercedes-powered Dallara. He was the second best placed driver, behind Kiwi Marcus Armstrong, among racers making their first appearance in Pau.

In qualifying for race two, French driver Sacha Fenestraz, who raced last year at Pau in the Formula Renault Euro Cup, took pole (1’23”620) after a close battle with Enaam; (1’23”623).

The two went cockpit-to-cockpit at the start, going into turn two Enaam attempted to take the lead but ran out of real estate, and after a love tap from Hitech GP teammate, Spaniard Alex Palou, dropped to 6th at the end of the opening lap. Enaam soldiered on to claim a top five finish.

The third and final race of the weekend, the main event Pau Grand Prix started in wet conditions, with only Sacha Fenestraz on slicks.

Enaam was on pole position but wheelspin when the lights went out allowed Estonian Ralf Aron to take the lead. On lap eight Armstrong hit the barriers, so did the Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg, which brought out the safety car.

The race was later red-flagged, further increase in rainfall led to the race to be declared over. Thus, only half points were awarded.

The opening round of the season saw three different winners, and two rookies in the top three in the championship. Sacha Fenestraz leads (37 points), third-year driver Aron is second (34.5 points) and Enaam is third (27 points).

Speaking to www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk Enaam said, “I am really delighted to have scored a podium finish already in my first weekend of racing in the FIA Formula 3 European championship. Here I am up against the world’s best junior drivers and now I am bringing a pole position and a podium result home that is really great.”

Round two is scheduled for the first weekend of June at the Hungaroring near Budapest.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2018