Juan Manuel Correa will face the second round of the FIA F3 calendar this coming weekend at the Paul Ricard circuit with the usual three races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday morning.
The French round has been delayed one week due to changes in the F1 calendar after the cancellation of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Juan Manuel will start his second competition weekend with the clear intention to be in the points in all three races at this special track, with morale at its highest, better prepared physically and also mentally after spending a few days at home in Miami with his family.
“I come to France with my batteries fully charged, both physically and mentally. All this time since the tests in Jerez after the race in Spain, has helped me improve in my preparation and allowed me to be with my family in Miami. I missed them so much. It had been several months since I had been home and seeing my family helps me to get stronger and to relax. There had been many days together because of the pandemic and suddenly travelling to Barcelona to continue the preparation with the doctors and not seeing them personally felt strange. It’s in these things that you realise that Zoom, Face Time, etc., are of some use, but there’s nothing like being able to hug and feel the warmth of the family”.
A second wekk end with the usual stress of practices, qualifying and three races in which you cannot make even the slightest mistake. Juan Manuel feels much stronger than in Montmeló.
“The physical improvement, both in my legs and in everything in general, has been great. From that point of view, I am much better prepared than in Barcelona and I hope it shows. We have to do everything perfectly to be among the front drivers of the thirty drivers on the grid”.
As he gets into the rhythm of the competition, it is no longer necessary to have different preparation guidelines for each race.
“We have done the usual preparation on the ART simulator for all the races. Nothing special or different in the preparations for a new weekend. On the car there are no more changes to the braking, it is all standard. Just the usual set-up changes for each circuit, which we will be fine-tuning during Friday morning’s free practice sessions.
Paul Ricard brings back all sorts of memories for Juan Manuel. Here he was on the podium alongside Anthoine, who won one of the F2 races in 2019, and at this same track in August 2019 Juan Manuel tested an Alfa Romeo F1 car for the first time as part of the Alfa Romeo test and development driver programme, a role he carried out in 2019.
“It’s a circuit that I’m very fond of. It brings back very good memories of my second place, especially because I shared the podium with Anthoine. I would like to be fighting for the podium, but I think it’s going to be too early in the season. I hope to do better than in Barcelona, but without raising false expectations. I will fight for the podium and the victory, but a lot of things would have to happen for that, you never know. If there is a chance, I’ll be ready”.
Miami is bidding to be one of the F1 races in the United States already next year. Juan Manuel lives in that beautiful Florida city and we are curious to know if the track is close to his home, as it happens with many drivers in Monaco (the surface of the Principality makes the track an integral part of the city, which is not the case in Miami).
“The track will be around the HardRock stadium, which is about 30 minutes from my house, so my family won’t be able to cheer me on from home,” jokes Juan Manuel.
Weekend schedule in central European time
FRIDAY 18th JUNE 2021
10H05: Formula 3 – Practice session 45 minutes
13H50: Formula 3 – Qualifying session 30 minutes
SATURDAY 19th JUNE 2021
10H10: Formula 3 – Race 1 40 minutes
16H40: Formula 3 – Race 2 40 minutes
SUNDAY 20th JUNE 2021
11H40: Formula 3 – Race 3 40 minutes
