After long winter months of waiting, next weekend we’ll finally be able to put into practice everything we’ve been working on. In a few days time we’ll be in Spain for the first European Formula 1 round of the season at Barcelona, where the GP3 series, the category in which I’m competing this year, will stage its first two races of the season. Nine teams and 27 drivers, with at least 15 of them potential winners. The battle that will ensue in Spain will continue to be fought in Germany, England, Belgium, Hungary, Italy and the United Arab Emirates. The format for the race weekend is very simple: the first and only free practice session on the Friday evening, and then qualifying on the Saturday morning to establish the grid position for Race 1. The first race will be staged on the Saturday evening while on the Sunday, the leading positions in Race 1 will be inverted for Race 2, with all the others starting as they finished the first race. Every round will have wall-to-wall coverage (even free practice on the Friday being transmitted live!) on Sky Sport F1 or in streaming on the Internet. In one interview I was asked what GP3 drivers were like when racing; I answered “like gladiators”. So, sword in hand, it’s time to enter the arena.