Once the dust cleared on Formula 3 Armageddon in last November's Macau Grand Prix, once he clambered free of the Carlin Dallara in which he was cocooned as first Esteban Ocon's broken machine veered him into the barrier as they dueled side-by-side for the lead, and then Yu Kanamaru vaulted him Evel Knievel-style before landing on the wall next to his head, the first reaction for Tom Blomqvist was acute disappointment.

But, for pretty much the first time in his four-year F3 career, the 21-year-old wasn't racing for his very future in the sport.

He'd already secured that over the course of 2014, and all the signs were that Blomqvist would be graduating to the World Series by Renault's headlining Formula Renault 3.5 category along with Sean Gelael, son of the Indonesian KFC magnate who rescued Blomqvist's career when he was dumped by Red Bull at the end of 2013.