Preparing F1 proteges for the biggest race of the year

The Macau Grand Prix is the event that all junior single-seater racers want to win. But how do they prepare?

James Newbold Nov 14, 2017, 10:39 AM

Performance

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Cast an eye over the recent winners of the Macau Grand Prix and you'll quickly form the impression that Formula 3's annual end-of-year jamboree is an event that favours experience. Antonio Felix da Costa took his second victory last year at his fifth attempt, defeating the winner of the previous two contests, Felix Rosenqvist, himself a veteran of seven starts between 2010 and 2016.

Not since Keisuke Kunimoto in 2008 has a rookie ascended the top step of the podium, but with significantly fewer old hands on this year's entry list, there is guaranteed to be a new winner for the first time since 2014. However, if a new face is to make their mark, they can't rely on talent alone.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.