Photo: Formula Motorsport Limited
Lirim Zendeli will return to the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Charouz Racing System in Barcelona, replacing David Schumacher.
Schumacher himself had replaced Ayrton Simmons in the Barcelona test and the series’ second round at Imola, but will be competing in the clashing DTM round at the Lausitzring this weekend for Mercedes-AMG Team Winward.
Zendeli is no stranger to the Charouz team, having taken a dominant ADAC Formula 4 title for the Czech team’s tie up with US Racing in 2018, before stepping up together to FIA F3 under the Sauber Junior team by Charouz banner in 2019.
After moving to Trident for 2020, the German driver of Albanian descent scored his only victory in the category in the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps.
“I’m really happy to be back and drive again,” said Zendeli, who has not raced since the Sochi round of the 2021 Formula 2 championship, when his rookie campaign with MP Motorsport was cut short by a lack of budget.
“We have to be realistic, I haven’t been in a car for ten months and it will not be easy having only have 45 minutes of practice before quali, but I’ll do my best and try to help the team as much as possible.
“You can never leave out some surprises but let’s focus on the weekend and get the best possible result.”
Team owner, Antonin Charouz said: “I’m glad to welcome back Lirim to the team. It will be nice to race together once again and to have a talented driver like him in one of our cars. It’s going to be a very interesting weekend.”