Ticktum gets first race outing since Red Bull exit in F3 level series

Ticktum, the 2017 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner, was suddenly axed by Red Bull in late June after a disappointing opening three rounds to the Super Formula season in Japan.

Now the 20-year old is back on track in the new for 2019 Formula Regional European Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing.

"This is just to do some racing really - that's the main thing," Ticktum told Autosport.

"I haven't been in a race since Sugo [the Super Formula round in June that preceded his exit from Red Bull], and this is a very good opportunity to do some racing with a good team.

"It came out of the blue and it's very last-minute."

Ticktum is also hoping to return to Macau in a bid for a hat-trick of triumphs in the Far East classic, which this year is switching over to the new FIA F3 Championship cars.

"I can't say anything, but I very much hope so," added Ticktum.

"We should know more in the next couple of weeks."

Ticktum already knows the FIA Regional F3 Tatuus-Alfa Romeo car that is the spec machine in FRegional - he raced a similar model in the opening two rounds of the Asian F3 Winter Series in a quest for Formula 1 superlicence points, with a best result of second at Buriram.

He will race at Barcelona this weekend alongside Sophia Florsch (pictured above earlier in the season) and Alexandre Bardinon, bringing the VAR Regional squad up to three cars for the first time. Florsch is its highest driver in the standings in sixth.

Team boss Frits van Amersfoort, whose team competed against Ticktum when he was at Motopark on his way to the runner-up spot in the 2018 Formula 3 European Championship, said: "For the moment it's just Barcelona, but we hope to put him in for the remaining races at Mugello and Monza.

"We started the season with Sophia, and then later on came Alexandre, and now our trio is complete.

"We have already known Dan for a long time, and we will do our utmost and best to give him a quick car where he can shine."

Prema Racing's Frederik Vesti leads the Formula Regional European standings with three events remaining in the championship.

Enzo Fittipaldi - also of Prema and grandson of two-time Formula 1 champion Emerson - is second, 75 points off Vesti with over 200 points left on the table.