The 2014 race was the 61st running of the Macau Grand Prix and the 32nd for Formula Three cars and it had quite an entry list. Included were future F1 drivers Esteban Ocon (the 2014 FIA Formula Three European champion), Max Verstappen, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kiwi driver Nick Cassidy.
The Grand Prix was not a part of any Formula Three championship, but was open to entries from all Formula Three championships. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main race.
Cassidy had earlier in 2014 won the NZ Grand Prix, part of the Toyota Racing Series, for the third time. The rest of the year was quite a mixture of single seater racing, competing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps with China BRT by JCS (two races), the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Koiranen GP (ten races) and in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with ThreeBond with T-Sport (six races).
In order to compete in Macau, drivers had to compete in an Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)-regulated championship meeting during the calendar year, in either the FIA Formula Three European Championship or one of the domestic championships, with drivers placed high up in the rankings of these respective championships given priority in receiving an invitation to the meeting. Cassidy only became eligible for the first time with his participation in the final two meetings of the European Formula Three Championship with ThreeBond with T-Sport.
Felix Rosenqvist was the driver of 2014. Qualifying on pole, winning the qualifying race and the 2014 Macau Grand Prix. Cassidy qualified well in seventh and went on to finish fifth in the qualifying race.
In the main race it was Austrian Lucas Auer that moved into the lead with Rosenqvist dropping back to fourth behind Tom Blomqvist and Ocon. Auer, Blomqvist and Ocon were to cause an incident that saw damage to Ocon’s suspension and Blomqvist’s retirement. Auer, Rosenqvist and Cassidy got past while other drivers didn’t causing the race to be red-flagged!
The race restarted 70 minutes later under a safety car.
Within a couple of laps Cassidy was up to third behind Rosenqvist and Auer. Cassidy and Auer were to swap positions several times but in the end the Kiwi had to defend his third position from a closing Roberto Merhi, and that’s how they finished. Behind them other incidents happened with a hard-charging Mx Verstappen moving through the field to finish seventh.
Victory went to Rosenqvist but a superb podium finish (third) for Cassidy was to prove beneficial for his career, opening more doors and options for 2015.
Main race results (Top ten)
1 20 Felix Rosenqvist Mücke Motorsport
2 19 Lucas Auer Mücke Motorsport
3 27 Nick Cassidy ThreeBond with T-Sport
4 28 Roberto Merhi Double R Racing
5 3 Nicholas Latifi Theodore Racing by Prema
6 29 Stefano Coletti EuroInternational
7 5 Max Verstappen Van Amersfoort Racing
8 10 Santino Ferrucci Fortec Motorsports
9 7 Kenta Yamashita TOM’S
10 8 Gustavo Menezes Van Amersfoort Racing
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