Lucas
Auer became the winner of the 27th season race of the FIA Fórmula 3
European Championship. In a tight battle, the Austrian came out on
top from Tom Blomqvist and thus claimed the first win for his team
Mücke Motorsport since the weekend at Pau, early May. Max
Verstappen, (Van Amersfoort Racing), who was dropped ten places on
the grid following an engine change and thus started twelfth, ended
up third at the 3.629 kilometres long Nürburgring sprint circuit. In
the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings, the
16-year-old Dutchman remains in second place behind Esteban Ocon,
(Prema Powerteam). The Frenchman already retired after a collision on
the opening lap, but still has a 77 points’ lead from Verstappen,
who recently was integrated into the Red Bull Junior Team.
The
opening stage of the race already provided plenty of action with an
accident in the first corner. Antonio Giovinazzi, (Jagonya Ayam with
Carlin) and Esteban Ocon collided and spun. Nicholas Latifi, (Prema
Powerteam) couldn’t avoid the two cars and Dennis van de Laar,
(Prema Powerteam), damaged the rear of his car after contact with
Latifi. After the incident, the safety car was deployed.
Racing
resumed at the start of lap five. Lucas Auer took the opportunity and
mounted an attack on Blomqvist, after which he was able to overtake
him. On lap ten, the Austrian briefly had to slot in behind Blomqvist
again, but he successfully countered straight away and claimed back
the lead. He defended his first place until the chequered flag was
out. Behind Auer and Blomqvist, Max Verstappen kept Antonio Fuoco
under pressure in the battle for third, but initially, the Italian
stayed in front. Only two laps before the end, Verstappen managed to
overtake Fuoco and bring home third place. Behind Fuoco, the protégé
of the Ferrari Driver Academy, in fourth, Jordan King crossed the
line to finish fifth.
The
battle for the positions in the midfield was also highly
entertaining. Roy Nissany, (Mücke Motorsport) attacked Felix
Serralles, (Team West-Tec F3), several times and eventually managed
to overtake the driver from Puerto Rico to finish sixth. Behind
Serralles, Tatiana Calderón, (Jo Zeller Racing), the only lady racer
in the field, took the flag in eighth place. Jake Dennis, (Carlin)
and Jules Szymkowiak, (Van Amersfoort Racing) rounded out the top
ten.
Lucas
Auer, (Mücke Motorsport): “I made a good start, after which I was
able to move up into second place right away. During the safety car
phase, it was clear that my only chance to overtake Tom would be to
mount an attack right after the restart, and that is what I did. But
even though I have won here, we are still lacking the speed to be in
contention for victory on a regular basis”.
Tom
Blomqvist, (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “Second place is a nice
result for us, although I am slightly disappointed with it. After
all, I would have liked to win the race after starting from pole
position. I briefly overtook Lucas, but then I ran wide and Lucas
went past again”.
Max
Verstappen, (Van Amersfoort Racing): “My engine blew in the second
race, so that the engine had to be replaced and I was dropped ten
places on the grid in accordance with the regulations. In the race, I
had a really good pace and I tried everything to move up through the
ranks. I reckon that I can be happy with having made it all the way
from twelfth on the grid to a podium finish”.
Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series
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