Armstrong stays strong in FIA Formula 3 at Silverstone

Marcus Armstrong has taken a third and a fourth in the latest round of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship at Silverstone in the UK.

The New Zealander banked valuable points for the podium finish on Saturday in race one, then moved decisively forward in the partial reverse-grid race two to shade the leading three finishers.

“I got a good start, better than yesterday, and then got run a little wide by Robert. I lost a position to Jehan and then the race was in formation because we all had a similar pace and it’s difficult to go forwards when you have two Prema teammates in front of you. In the end, I got lucky with two drivers crashing in front and then I overtook Lungaard,” he said.

There was a post-race inquiry into incidents involving Juri Vips, the second of which saw him tangle with the car of British driver Jake Hughes and then go off the circuit. It did not affect Armstrong’s fourth place in the race or his fourth on points for the series.

“I had clear space on the last lap and the car was really strong, we had so much pace and it has been disappointing not to finish on the podium. Anyway, that’s racing and we will come back strong next time.”

This round is the mid-point in the championship, and Armstrong’s strongest rivals for the title at this point are his Prema team-mates, Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala, along with Estonian Red Bull driver Juri Vips.

Mark Baker has been working in automotive PR and communications for more than two decades. For much longer than that he has been a motorsport journalist, photographer and competitor, witness to most of the most exciting and significant motorsport trends and events of the mid-late 20th Century. His earliest memories of motorsport were trips to races at Ohakea in the early 1960s, and later of annual summer pilgrimages to watch Shellsport racers and Mini 7s at Bay Park and winter sorties into forests around Kawerau and Rotorua to see the likes of Russell Brookes, Ari Vatanen and Mike Marshall ply their trade in group 4 Escorts. Together with Murray Taylor and TV producer/director Dave Hedge he has been responsible for helping to build New Zealand’s unique Toyota Racing Series into a globally recognized event brand under category managers Barrie and Louise Thomlinson. Now working for a variety of automotive and mainstream commercial clients, Mark has a unique perspective on recent motor racing history and the future career paths of our best and brightest young racers.

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