Aussie F1 hopeful takes in flying trip to Bathurst
Aussie F1 hopeful takes in flying trip to Bathurst
Christian Mansell takes passengers for ride in Safety Car
Teenager fifth in 2024 F3, completing final rounds of F2
Australian rising star Christian Mansell is a keen spectator at Mount Panorama, with the teenager taking in the best of Bathurst, including taking passengers for a hot lap.
The Novocastrian is set to graduate to Formula 2 next season, the second rung on path to Formula 1.
Mansell has impressed in two seasons in FIA Formula 3, with the youngster climbing onto the podium on seven occasions. The Aussie finished fifth overall in the recently-concluded F3 season, and recently made his F2 debut in Baku.
Ahead of his final two rounds of 2024 with Trident, Mansell has made a flying visit to Bathurst, and realised a dream on Saturday morning by taking spectators for hot laps in the bp pulse Porsche Taycan Safety Car.
He has also caught up with sponsors, and has caught up with friends across the Triple Eight and Erebus Motorsport garages.
“Essentially, I can't keep my hands to myself. I knew that there were some hot laps and stuff going on,” Mansell told Supercars.com.
"I was like, ‘Oh, I'll offer my service as a joke'. That quickly progressed into, alright, you’re driving tomorrow morning. And I was like, ‘Ok, okay, rightio'. So did some hot laps this morning.
“Obviously first ever laps at Bathurst in anger, which was pretty sensational to say the least. It was unreal. I'll never forget it.
“I’ve wanting to go have a crack for years, so it’s quite cool we managed to make it happen."
Mansell is hoping to follow in the footsteps of countryman Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan and reach F1, with Piastri already a two-time winner in just his second season with McLaren.
Doohan, meanwhile, will debut for Alpine next year, continuing the legacy of Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo in modern F1 competition.
While keen to finish his year off strongly, Mansell is keen to see the Mountain come to life with the Great Race before he returns to Europe.
"I think we've made a very strong progression this year with myself and ART Grand Prix, obviously with Trident for the last three races of the year, two more races to go in Qatar and Abu Dhabi,” he said.
“Just going to make the most of that, and then sort of looking into the future, sort of see what happens.
“The Aussies in F1 at the moment, it gives me a lot of hope because it's possible. And, for a long time, it seemed impossible with only Mark, only Daniel.
“But now we've got Oscar and Jacko coming through and it's just amazing. It paves such a way for me and a lot of other young blokes and it's awesome.
“But I’m pumped to be here in Bathurst, I had a bit of time off, so cool to come to the track, catch up with a couple sponsors of mine, sort of shake hands, kiss babies, that kind of fun.
“I'm so, so excited for the big race tomorrow. These cars are very, very cool."
