David Schumacher will be the fourth in the German family of motor racers to compete in the Formula 3 race of the Macau Grand Prix taking place from November 14-17, the MGP Organising Committee announced on Thursday.
David, who just contested the final round of this year’s FIA F3 Championship in Sochi, will take on the Guia Circuit next month. His father Ralf is the 1995 MGP winner, his uncle Michael is a seven-time F1 world champion and 1990 Macau winner, and his cousin Mick has raced in the city in the past two years. Mick finished fifth last year and 16th in 2017.
The announcement was made during a press conference at Macau Science Centre, where it showed a video of FIA President Jean Todt saying that the entry lists for this year’s FIA GT World Cup and FIA F3 World Cup in Macau boast some of the world’s best drivers, teams and cars.
This year’s FIA F3 World Cup will use FIA’s more powerful specification car, which has a 3.4-litre V-type six-cylinder, a naturally aspirated engine with a maximum output of 380 horsepower.
Todt said the introduction of the new F3 car would bring “a further dimension to this thrilling event”, adding that the MGP organising committee, the Automobile Association of Macau – China (AAMC) and FIA continue to make the Guia Circuit safer, including making a number of upgrades and developments.
MGP Committee Coordinator Pun Weng Kun, also director of the Sports Bureau (ID), said that upgrades on the street circuit would be completed next week, and safety or crash barriers would be installed early next month, according to the Macau Post Daily.
David, who is turning 18 on Wednesday next week, is among the line-up of drivers that includes 2019 champion Russian Robert Shwartzman, championship runner-up Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand, third placed Jehan Daruvala of India, and Estonian driver JüriVips, fourth in the title race.
Brazil’s Enzo Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time world champion Emerson and a cousin of Christian who finished third in the F3 MGP in 1991, will be making his F3 debut in Macau.
Reigning and two-time Macau champion Daniel Ticktum from Great Britain is returning aiming for his third successive win, and Callum Illot is stepping down from the F2 Championship for his fifth attempt at the city’s street circuit.
According to the committee statement, no driver in the F3 category has won it three times in the race’s 37-year history.
Local driver Charles Leong Hon Chio will also be returning for his second attempt of the 6.2-km Guia Circuit.
The line-up for the Macau GT Cup FIA GT World Cup includes defending champion Augusto Farfus Jr., Maro Engel, runner-up last year, and Edoardo Mortara, known as “Mr. Macau”, among others.
This year’s 53rd Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix will see the return of last year’s Macau champion Peter Hickman, with runner-up in 2018 and eight time local champion “King of Macau” Michael Rutter as well as John McGuinness, Gary Johnson and others competing.
According to Pun, nearly 90 per cent of tickets at the Grand Stand and Lisboa Bend Stand have been sold, and tickets for the Reservoir Stand, are usually for “walk-ins”.
