61° Macau Gran Prix Fórmula 3, Felix Rosenqvist wins Macau Grand Prix qualifying race.

Felix Rosenqvist (Kashbet.com by Mücke Motorsport) made the best of his pole position by winning the ten-lap qualifying race for the Suncity Group Macau Grand Prix. In a race that ran behind the safety car for three laps, the 23-year-old Swede won from his Austrian team-mate Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport). Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) finished third with the reigning FIA Fórmula 3 European Champion, Esteban Ocon (SJM Theodore Racing by Prema) rounding out the top four.

Having started from second on the grid, Lucas Auer overtook his Swedish team-mate, benefitting from the slipstream in the run to the first corner and led the field into the notorious Lisboa right-hander. Some drivers had more problems dealing with the first corner, including Spaniard Alex Palou (Fortec Motorsports) who crashed into the tyre stacks. Auer built up a two seconds’ advantage on the first three laps while Rosenqvist lost second place on lap two to Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing), the Dutchman having made good progress from fifth on the grid in the opening stages of the race.

However, all Verstappen’s efforts proved to be in vain. On lap four, Verstappen lost control of his car after locking up under braking in the Solitude-Esses and hit the tyre stacks. Thus, the Fórmula 1-bound Dutchman saw all his high hopes of bowing out of Fórmula 3 with success in Macau blown. Because Brit Sam MacLeod (Tom’s) also crashed on the same lap, the safety car was deployed. At that time, Auer was leading from Rosenqvist, Blomqvist, Ocon, Roberto Merhi (W66.com Double R Racing), Nick Cassidy (ThreeBond with T-Sport) and Jordan King (GR Asia with Carlin). Racing resumed on lap eight and, as it happens so often in Macau, the driver who led across the line lost the lead on the following straight: Rosenqvist benefited from the slipstream and took first place under braking for Lisboa. Cassidy overtook Merhi for fifth. Once in the lead, Rosenqvist quickly built up a comfortable lead and crossed the finish line as the race winner after ten laps with Auer completing the 1-2 for Mücke Motorsport. Blomqvist took the final podium slot from Ocon, Cassidy, Merhi, Nicholas Latifi (SJM Theodore Racing by Prema), King, Felix Serralles (Team West-Tec F3) and Stefano Coletti (Eurointernational).

“Of course, losing the lead after the start was exactly what I didn’t want to happen, but starting from pole and then losing first place on the long straight is a usual thing here in Macau,” race winner Felix Rosenqvist commented. “Then, fortunately, it worked the other way round after the restart. Once I was back in the lead, I was determined to pull a gap as quickly as possible to prevent Lucas from doing the same on the next lap. In the opening stages, I had a nice battle with Max Verstappen. Then, he made life a little bit easier for me after he crashed. It is a thing that can always happen here in Macau. Victory today makes me quite happy, but generally, any place in the top three is good for tomorrow”. Second-placed Lucas Auer said: “This was another good result for our team. We have an incredible pace. It is always difficult to defend first place into the first corner when starting from pole here, so for me, everything is perfect. I am very confident for tomorrow, we are well prepared”. Tom Blomqvist had the same view: “Tomorrow is the main race, the one we all want to win. Third place is a good position to start from in Macau and I am happy and confident”. The 15-lap Fórmula 3 race in Macau starts on Sunday at 15.30 hrs local time (8.30 hrs CET).

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series/CGPM

61° Macau Gran Prix Fórmula 3, Felix Rosenqvist claims pole position for Macau qualifying.

Felix Rosenqvist (Kashbet.com by Mücke Motorsport, 2:11s506) will be starting from pole position for tomorrow’s ten lap qualifying race for the 61st running of the Macau Grand Prix. In second qualifying, in which 17 of the first 20 drivers managed to set faster lap times than in yesterday’s first qualifying session, Rosenqvist moved up from his ninth place after yesterday’s session to the top of the time sheets and thus claimed pole position for the Macau qualifying race. “Early in the session, I did two laps, then came in to have four new tyres on the car, and I did my fast lap all on my own,” Rosenqvist reported. “In fact, I was quite surprised that the gap was so big. Indeed, the Swede was no less than 0s236 faster than Esteban Ocon (SJM Theodore Racing by Prema, 2:11s742), the reigning FIA Fórmula 3 European Champion. Just with Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing, 2:11s747), who was classified third after qualifying, Ocon will be dropped two places on the grid for tomorrow’s qualifying race for having failed to come in to have his car weighed in free practice yesterday.

As a result, Ocon and Verstappen will be starting from fourth and fifth place respectively. That promoted Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport, 2:11s838) to second on the grid alongside Rosenqvist to lock out the front row for the Mücke Motorsport team. Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 2:11s922), who was fastest in yesterday’s first qualifying and failed to post a faster time today, will be starting from third place.

Competing in the prestigious event in Macau for the fifth time, Rosenqvist clearly was the fastest driver at the 6.12 kilometres long Guia circuit on Friday. In the morning, he was first in free practice with 2:11s743, making him the only driver to post a sub-2:12 lap time. In second qualifying, the Swede doubled up by claiming pole position. The only blot on his copybook was a crash at Maternity in free practice in the lap after the one in which he set his fastest time. “That was quite stupid, also because I lost two tyres there, which is not very good for the weekend,” Rosenqvist admitted. “But being on pole position makes me quite confident for tomorrow and Sunday. We know that the speed is there”.

Second-fastest qualifyer Esteban Ocon commented: “Today, things were going much better than yesterday. We finally found the speed. Of course, it is a pity that I will be dropped two places, but I am still starting from the second row and we all know that you can overtake in Macau”. Ocon, who made an impressive Fórmula 3 debut with a top ten finish at Macau last year, is well aware of the significance of the event. “This is the one everybody wants to win, and the race so many great drivers have won in the past. It is the best race in the world”.

Third in qualifying and fifth on the grid, Max Verstappen is the best-placed Macau rookie. “The circuit is really cool,” the Dutchman commented. “Yesterday, I had some problems as the tyres started overheating, but today, I was a able to run faster and faster and I am quite pleased with the result”. Austrian Lucas Auer wasn’t too happy with his fourth fastest time: “I could have gone faster, but starting from the front row obviously is a good position and the performance of Felix and myself shows how strong we are as a team. Now, hopefully, we can convert that into good race results tomorrow and Sunday”. The qualifying race starts tomorrow at 13:45 hrs local time (6:45 hrs CET) and will determine the starting grid positions for the Sunday’s main race, the Suncity Group Fórmula 3 Macau Grand Prix.

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series

61° Macau Gran Prix Fórmula 3.

Year by year, the tradition-rich Macau GP is the final Fórmula 3 race of the year, representing the unofficial world finale. And the grid for this year’s edition of the prestigious event that was won by future Fórmula 1 aces such as Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, in the past, once again will feature numerous FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship drivers.

It goes without saying that the new European Champion Esteban Ocon (SJM Theodore Racing by Prema) will be the spearhead of the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship fraction on the grid. Last year, the Frenchman made his Fórmula 3 debut, at Macau’s demanding street circuit. And already then, the now 18-year old Frenchman delivered in fine style and convinced by setting fast lap times and finishing 10th. Just like Ocon, his toughest rivals in the championship also will travel to the South China Sea: Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin), vice-champion behind Ocon, as well as Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport) also want to battle it out for the win, in Macau.

Altogether, 12 of the 15 best young FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship drivers will race in the former Portuguese colony, among them Tatiana Calderón (JZR/Mücke Motorsport). The 21-year old Colombian will be the first woman to contest the Macau GP since Cathy Muller back in 1983. Meanwhile, three FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship teams succeeded in signing prominent drivers, for the prestigious event: W66.com Double R Racing will be represented by Spain’s Fórmula Renault 3.5 frontrunner Roberto Merhi, Eurointernational relies on the services of Monaco’s GP2 driver Stefano Coletti and Signature will contest the race - as they did at Imola - with William Buller. Just as Merhi, the Briton also contested the 2014 Fórmula Renault 3.5 season.

Photo: GCS