Richardson Racing will return to the British Formula 4 championship with Romanian teenager Alexandra Marinescu. Marinescu will compete in the remaining five rounds, starting with the team’s home race at Snetterton.
Richardson Racing has competed in the Formula Ford and MSA Formula championship, but didn’t have a driver signed by the time the 2016 season started.
Marinescu intended to join the series in 2015, but funding problems meant she had to sit out the season.
Now, she’s completed tests at Snetterton, Rockingham, Silverstone, and Brands Hatch in preparation of her Formula 4 debut.
“Alexandra has basically had five days of testing to tru to catch up with rivals who have been racing for half a season, and have done numerous tests on top of that,” said team boss Gwyn Richardson. “With that in mind, we’re delighted with how she has done so far, especially considering the amount of experience she has.”
“I’m really pleased to have agreed a deal to race in the remainder of the British F4 season and I can’t wait for this weekend,” said Marinescu. “Testing has gone well and, to be honest, it’s not taken me as long to get back up to speed as I thought it would having been out of a race car for 18 months.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy to jump in the car and be right on the pace, but I think the lap-times I have posted in testing have been encouraging when you consider the amount of experience that I have. I’ve also managed to build a good relationship with the team really quickly and we are all getting on well, which is important. They have given me a good car, and that gives me confidence going into my first race weekend.”
Coming into the championship so late, Marinescu isn’t holding out any hopes to take race wins this season, and is simply aiming to make improvements this season.
“What I want to do is improve my performance on a race-by-race basis and get into a position where I am able to fight in the middle of the pack. If we can do that before the end of the season, then I think I will have done well.”
“We are under no illusions about the challenge ahead,” Richardson said. “But as Alexandra’s knowledge and experience increases, we have no doubt that she’ll soon be working her way up the grid.”
Feature image credit: Caroline Rhea
