Carlin’s five strong team have made their way east ahead of the 64th Macau GP and are ready and excited for the upcoming challenge as they prepare to race between the infamous barriers in the Blue Riband event. The 2017 running of the Grand Prix will see Carlin take on the Guia circuit with recently crowned FIA Formula Three European Champion Lando Norris, Ferdinand Habsburg, Jehan Daruvala, Devlin DeFrancesco and Sacha Fenestraz. The young squad, a mix of rookies and second-time Macau attendees, are all in fine spirits ahead of the racing action

As reigning champions with Antonio Felix da Costa in 2016 Carlin take a young and talented group to Macau for the 2017 event which is held on the iconic Guia circuit in the unique Macau peninsula. Taking to the 6.2km circuit for the first time on Thursday morning the five Carlin drivers will look to make the most of the short Free Practice session before heading in to the first Qualifying session later in the day. Another chance comes on Friday with the second Free Practice and Qualifying attempts before the Qualification race on Saturday which leads up to the main event itself – the 64th Macau Grand Prix on Sunday.

Making his second appearance at the circuit will be newly crowned FIA Formula Three European Champion Norris who will be looking to round off his incredible season on a high. A multiple race winner in the 2017 Championship Norris however had an unlucky outing in Macau last year which saw him crash out of the qualification race. Now, with a year of F3 action now experienced, the recently announced 2018 McLaren Formula One reserve driver is fully prepared to take on the circuit again and aims for the highest accolade.

Norris said, “I’ll be signing off from Formula Three this weekend and, having won the Euro F3 title in my first attempt this season, it would be great to go back to Macau and win it. Last year I learnt that it’s a very tough circuit with no room for errors! You need to be inch perfect if you want to be the best. Last year I crashed in the qualification race and started right at the back so to finish 11th after that was pretty good on a track with limited overtaking places. This year, I will be much more confident because I have a year under my belt in the car and our performance on street circuits this season has been good so we’re looking forward to the weekend.”

Also taking to the circuit for his second appearance will be Habsburg who has already sampled the streets of the Macau in the past. A regular podium finisher this season, Habsburg looks ahead to racing at the infamous street circuit following a season which has seen him win brilliantly at Spa. The Austrian racer has already experienced the perils of the Macau circuit following a DNF in 2016 and looks to finish his season on a high.

Habsburg added, “The hard work is done now; we’ve prepped together as a team and now we’re ready to get to Macau and enjoy some great racing with my friends here at Carlin and hopefully fly back with a trophy in my hands.”

Rounding off the 2017 FIA Formula Three European Championship with second place in the Rookie Championship, sitting only behind overall Champion Norris, Force India Junior Driver Daruvala will be making his debut at the Guia circuit. Daruvala has already mastered one street circuit this season with a fantastic race win around the Norisring in his Volkswagen Carlin Dallara – once again racing between the barriers, the 19-year-old looks to replicate his strong pace.

Daruvala said of the upcoming weekend, “It looks pretty cool out there and I can’t wait to experience the circuit for the first time. I don’t fully know what to expect but realistically I would love to start in a good position and take it from there. To be fair, I think the corners will suit my driving style from what I’ve done on the simulator so far however it’s hard to say having not driven here before especially because the simulator doesn’t fully prepare you for the elevation changes and the bumps. It’s all about building up the speed and from the first session through the weekend.”

Also making his debut off the back of a busy season will be DeFrancesco who clinched the 2017 Spanish F3 Championship title while competing in the Euroformula Open Series which saw him round off the season in third position overall and a win in Barcelona. DeFrancesco also spent the latter half of the season racing in the FIA Formula Three European Championship ahead of the Macau GP so is up to speed in the car as he rounds off his season with the big event itself.

DeFrancesco said of his expectations, “Macau is obviously a very big event – it’s very challenging but something that I’m really looking forward to. It’s going to be a fantastic experience for me and will stand me in good stead for whatever happens next year too. I’m really looking forward to seeing what it brings.”

Finally, joining the team for his second race will be Fenestraz who has already raced with the team at the Nurburgring earlier in the season. Since then he has gone on to win the Formula Renault 2.0 title taking an incredible seven victories – including a win at fellow street circuit Monaco – and 17 podiums over the course of the season. Fenestraz will return to his Formula Three car this weekend as he makes his debut at the Guia circuit.

Racing in his Vaillante branded car for the weekend complete with a new livery, helmet design and race suit Fenestraz said, “I’m pretty excited now and really looking forward to my first time in Macau; it’s going to be completely different to anything I have ever done. It’s one of the hardest street circuits in the world so it will be a challenge. I don’t really have any expectations, I just want to get a decent qualifying and stay on track – building session by session. If things go well, I’d like to be in the top 10 or 15 but I’m not thinking about results right now. I’ve been doing a lot of simulator work in preparation so just want to get on the circuit now.”

The five Carlin drivers will be out on track on Thursday at 09.35 (local time) for the first practice session of the weekend.