Australian star Christian Mansell finished his brilliant maiden full season in Euroformula Open by securing a 15th podium of the year at Barcelona this past weekend (15/16 October). The 17-year-old, backed by AJM Transport, Castrol, Vawdrey Trailers, VISA Global Logistics and Infinity Sports Management, clinched his final podium finish in the season finale at the Circuit de Catalunya, extending his final total of podium finishes to 15 for the season alongside three victories in '22. Mansell had his eyes firmly set on the top step once more in a bid to seal second in the championship potentially, and the CryptoTower Motopark driver showed solid pace to put himself in contention to do that throughout practice. Fog cover delayed qualifying on Saturday morning after which Mansell challenged for second place throughout, finishing the session third after his tyres struggled in the Barcelona temperatures. The BRDC Rising Star and Motorsport UK Academy talent instantly made up a place at the start of race one to move into second place, holding off the close attentions of Francesco Simonazzi. The latter did slipstream his way by Mansell into turn one in the second half of the contest, after which the Australian was untroubled on his way to third overall. On Sunday, Mansell - supported by Dexcom, Rush Performance, IOR Petroleum, Locker 27, NTI Australia and AMSL Diabetes Australia - started race two from position four on the grid. A good start put him in the centre of a four-car sprint into turn one, Mansell emerging third before losing a place three bends later. Mansell then displayed his best defensive skills to keep year-long rival Oliver Goethe safely at bay, pulling clear late on to finish fourth. Mansell's final effort came from fourth on the grid once more and he squeezed up into third again early on, only to be eased wide at the turn four right-hander. Contact ahead gifted him fourth place, a position he held until the chequered flag to secure third place in the final championship standings. Christian Mansell: "A tough final weekend for us here, but a lot of it was just down to getting the tyres working. "We gave it everything we could to stay in the mix and to come away with another podium was a good result I think. We've had a mega season for our full first crack at it, and three wins and 15 podiums is a nice tally to show for ourselves. "We'll now look at what we can do for next season in terms of options and hopefully we'll be in a good position. I'd like to thank the Motopark team for everything this season and giving me a great car, and for all my amazing sponsors for allowing me to go racing."
Image from Euroformula Open.