MIM driver saves tyres and confirms qualifying position with P10

Monaco Increase Management driver David Vidales scored his first championship point on his maiden FIA Formula 3 race with Campos Racing at Bahrain International Circuit. The 19-years old from Leòn, Spain, had been consistently quick during the pre-season testing, but was facing hard competition from more experienced drivers on his debut in the new, challenging series. Nevertheless, Vidales managed to be the best in his team by entering the Top 10 qualifiers on Friday, meaning that he would start from second row in the first race this morning. The new format has the first 12 drivers start in inverted order for Race-1, whereas Race-2 will form the grid according to qualifying times. Like other drivers, Vidales and Campos chose to save a set of fresh tires for the Sunday race. David paced himself in the first stages of the 20-lap event, then, despite his #20 car suffering a drop in performance, he managed to hang on to tenth place with a comfortable margin over former F.Renault team-mate William Alatalo. The issue was later traced back to a malfunctioning differential, and the relevant component was replaced ahead of the second race. Thus, Vidales gained his first Formula 3 point on his racing debut and collected valuable experience for the next – and last – race of the weekend.