Felix Rosenqvist became only the second man to win the Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix in consecutive years with a dominant performance on Sunday. Kiwi driver Nick Cassidy finished 12th after starting 17th. Third in last year’s race, a run of bad luck saw the double Toyota Racing Series champion having to fight his way back up the field.
Having started from pole position, Rosenqvist got away well at the start, but front row starter Charles Leclerc managed to draft past him on the run to Lisboa – and pulled off a breathtaking move around the outside to grab the lead.
Rosenqvist was back in the lead at the start of lap two though, when Leclerc lost momentum after making a mistake at the final corner. However, Leclerc repeated his earlier move to get around Rosenqvist once again in to Lisboa and set about trying to build a lead.
The race was red flagged at that point after a huge crash involving Gustavo Menezes, Yu Kanamara, Mitsunori Takaboshi and Ryan Tveter left debris all over the track at Fishermen’s Bend.
Leclerc led away at the safety car restart, but the van Amersfoort driver was swallowed up by both Rosenqvist and the third-placed Sam MacLeod on the run in to Lisboa.
That moment gave Rosenqvist some breathing space at the front and he was able to edge himself clear over the next few laps. By the time Leclerc had got past MacLeod, with another brilliant pass around the outside in to Lisboa on lap seven, Rosenqvist was 2.5 seconds up the road.
Leclerc was able to cut in to Rosenqvist’s advantage but not at a quick enough rate – and the pair crossed the finish line 1.1 seconds apart.
“It feels even better to win it the second time,” said a delighted Rosenqvist. “In the beginning of the race I felt confident with the car, so even though Charles got ahead of me on the first lap I was sure I could get him back.”
MacLeod’s hopes of a podium finish were dashed on lap eight when he brushed the wall at Police, which meant Alexander Sims grabbed a top three place.
Antonio Giovinazzi made a brilliant recovery from his 10th place start to finish fourth with Markus Pommer fifth, ahead of Santino Ferrucci and Alessio Lorandi.
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