Dutch revelation Joey Alders leads charge to spectacular Abu Dhabi F1 track
Top five drivers on leaderboard entered with four different teams
Dubai 24H 2020 winner Khaled AlQubaisi makes series debut with Abu Dhabi Racing UAE
While Alders may have a healthy 37-pointlead over closest challenger Jack Doohan, who turns 17 on January 20, with nine races remaining the Australian Pinnacle Motorsport driver has ample opportunityto catch and passhis title rival. Just 15 points adrift of Doohan is quick Russian protégé Nikita Mazepin with reigning and two-time team champions Hitech Grand Prix, while 19-year-old Italy-based Canadian newcomer Devlin DeFrancesco has impressed with his consistently strong performances on the Absolute Racing squad.
With three more rounds in which to bagall-important super license points head of the start of the traditional racing season, several drivers will be fighting hard to pocket championship points this week. Among them are W Series champion, Absolute Racing’s Jamie Chadwick, for whom an increased role as Williams Racing development driver has recently been announced, and Alfa Romeo F1 reserve driver Tatiana Calderón of Seven GP and Haas F1 reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi of Pinnacle Motorsport, both of whom will contest the Japanese Super Formula series later this year.
Khaled Al Qubaisi joins Zen Motorsport’s PaulWong and Thomas Luedi of BlackArts Racing in the Masters category, thesuccessful Emirati driver making his championship debut hot on the heels of histhird Dubai 24 Hour victory on Saturday.