A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, SAYS SHIHAB
Omani teenager misses a top-ten finish in the third race of the opening round of the French F4 Championship
Oman's talented Formula 4 racer Shihab al Habsi termed his maiden outing in the 2018 French F4 Championship a 'learning experience' as he concluded the three races of the first round Easter Cup at the at the Paul Armagnac circuit of Nogaro in France on Monday.
Having secured a top-ten place among the 19-driver grid on Sunday, Shihab was set for another top-ten finish in the third race but after a close fight among a group of six drivers, the 14 year old Omani had to settle for an 11th place finish with a time of 22min:09.203sec over 14 laps.
His best lap was on No 6 when he clocked 1m:33.291s while the fastest lap was recorded by Brazilian Caio Collet (1:31.980).
With a 12th, 9th and 11th place in the three races on his debut, Shihab was more than satisfied to have emerged with his first championship points after the first round.
In his exclusive remarks to Muscat Daily on Monday night after the race, Shihab said, “This is my first experience in a F4 championship and to have managed a P9 in one of the three races is a good start.
“Handling the car was a big challenge as I did not have much of testing time. But to finish complete my races in dry and wet conditions on my debut is a great feeling.”
The teenager said, “I learned a lot from the first round. It was totally a new experience. I managed decent lap times and grew in confidence after each race. It would have been nice to get another top-ten finish today but I narrowly missed it.
“Having done the qualifying session in wet conditions, where I finished 17th due to issues with my car set-up, it was good for me to get a P9. Overall, it is a great start to my F4 career and I am confident that I can do much better in the remaining six rounds,” said Shihab.
Frenchman Adam Eteki, who finished just ahead of Shihab in race two was the winner on Monday in a time of 21m:40.762s. Belgian Ugo de Wilde and Monaco's Arthur Leclerc had won the first two races respectively.
To encourage the young hopefuls of motor sport, F1 driver Charles Leclerc of Sauber team, presented the trophies on the podium on Monday.
Shihab was thrilled to get a chance to meet him at the venue. “It was great to have a word with the Charles,” he said.
At the end of the first round, De Wilde emerged at the top of the provisional ranking of the 2018 French F4 Championship, but only one point ahead of Eteki, six ahead of Theo Pourchaire of France and eight from Caio Collet of Brazil.
The next round will be from May 11-13 in Pau, France.
Race three results: 1 Adam Eteki, 2 Ugo de Wilde, 3 Theo Pourchaire, 11 Shihab al Habsi.