Alessio Lorandi has said that his late switch to GP3 from European Formula Three was a positive thing to do for his racing development.
The Italian racer spent the last two rounds of the 2016 season with Jenzer Motorsport with a best result of ninth in the Malaysian sprint race.
His period in GP3 came after leaving Carlin’s F3 team after seven rounds of the championship and claiming one win in the final Pau race. He finished in 14th place in the Drivers’ Championship with 96 points.
Lorandi said that the switch was a surprise after a difficult year in F3.
“For sure it has not been the year I was expecting, given the goals I had set,” Lorandi said.
“My second season in Formula Three competition was definitely not a lucky one. Despite bringing home some good results, I was forced to split with the team. It is never positive to leave early, but unfortunately, given the situation, it became unavoidable.
“So we decided to go to GP3 for the last couple of races despite not having had the chance to drive the car before. In the end, I think it was the right thing to do rather than continue struggling in F3. The growth between Malaysia and Abu Dhabi was real and the move will be an advantage for 2017.”
He knew that there was a massive learning curve in the final two rounds with minimal time between practice, qualifying and the races to get attuned with the car.
“The goal was to increase my experience and discover a car that I had never even touched before. A bit of a jump in the dark. I took my first laps during practice in Malaysia but there isn’t much track time available in GP3.
“I ended up reasonably close to the points zone, and then at Abu Dhabi the weekend was jeopardized by a gearbox issue that prevented me from running in qualifying. Starting from the back of the pack I recovered pretty quickly so the overall balance overall is positive. I was also able to progress even further in testing.”
Lorandi says that he does not yet know where he will be driving in 2017, but that the GP3-16 chassis is a car which brings the best out of his driving.
“I was already optimistic. I had already realised that I could do a good job. The GP3 Series’ Dallara is a much better fit for my driving style. Now I’m trying to be as prepared as possible.
“I don’t really know where I will be but I can’t hide that I really enjoyed working with Jenzer. We will evaluate ever possibility available.”
