A stronger weekend for Kiwi Marcus Armstrong has seen him retain third overall in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with just two more rounds to complete. Having to start the first race from 18th on the grid, the PREMA Theodore Racing driver salvaged sixth in the first race and went on to finish fourth and fifth in the remaining two.
“The car was better today compared to yesterday and I felt good,” commented Armstrong. “In the final race, our start was very good but we were forced into going to the outside because we had so much momentum. If I maybe had a worse start, I would have been better off in the first few corners. Not an ideal weekend, but life goes on and there are six races to go with lots of potential.”
Mick Schumacher (PREMA Theodore Racing) won all three races at the 3.629 kilometres long Nürburgring sprint circuit. Schumacher crossed the finish line almost five seconds ahead of second-placed Robert Shvartzman (PREMA Theodore Racing) in the third race. In the 200th race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, third place went to Alex Palou (Hitech Bullfrog GP). With his sixth season win, in the presence of FIA president Jean Todt, Schumacher moved up to within three points from leader Daniel Ticktum (Motopark) in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings.
Race 3
Mick Schumacher started the race from pole-position and managed to take the lead from Robert Shvartzman. Meanwhile, Daniel Ticktum had to admit defeat to Alex Palou in the duel for third place. Schumacher quickly pulled a gap of around two seconds to his teammate Shvartzman. The 19-year-old then extended his lead to 4.985 seconds at the finish and drove an undisputed victory home. Jean Todt handed over the winner’s trophy.
Shvartzman finished second behind Schumacher. For the Russian rookie driver, it was his third second place of the weekend. He is heading home from the Eifel as the leader in the rookie classification. For Palou, third place was his fifth podium finish of the season, his first year in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Ticktum, Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Theodore Racing), Jüri Vips (Motopark), Sacha Fenestraz (Carlin), Ralf Aron (PREMA Theodore Racing), Enaam Ahmed (Hitech Bullfrog GP) and Guanyu Zhou (PREMA Theodore Racing) rounded out the top ten.
Race 2
At the start, Mick Schumacher took the lead. Daniel Ticktum and Robert Shvartzman battled for second place that eventually went to the Russian. A collision between Jüri Vups (Motopark) and Enaam Ahmed (Hitech Bullfrog GP) in the first corner after the start saw the Hitech driver ending his race in the gravel bed. The safety car was deployed as a result.
Racing resumed at the start of lap three and Schumacher immediately pulled clear from Shvartzman. On lap 16, Marino Sato (Motopark) collided with Ben Hingeley (Hitech Bullfrog GP) after which both youngsters retired. A brief safety car intervention followed and Schumacher successfully defended his lead at the restart. He then went on to drive an undisputed victory home while Shvartzman had to defend his second place from a charging Ticktum in the final stages of the race. There were no more position changes in the top three, so that Schumacher won from Shvartzman and Ticktum.
Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Theodore Racing) came fourth from Ralf Aron (PREMA Theodore Racing), Alex Palou (Hitech Bullfrog GP), Jonathan Aberdein (Motopark), Guanyu Zhou (PREMA Theodore Racing), Sacha Fenestraz (Carlin) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin).
Race 1
A few metres after the start, Mick Schumacher already pipped pole-sitter Robert Shvartzman. A little bit further down the field, Jehan Daruvala (Carlin) locked up under braking and slid into Alex Palou’s car (Hitech Bullfrog GP), after which the safety car was deployed. Marino Sato (Motopark), Fabio Scherer (Motopark) and Jüri Vips (Motopark) also retired due to the accident on the opening lap, after which the safety car was deployed.
At the restart, Schumacher remained in front while Shvartzman had to defend his position from a charging Ralf Aron (PREMA Theodore Racing). The Russian successfully held on to his second place. Meanwhile, Sophia Flörsch (Van Amersfoort Racing), who was in eighth place behind the safety car, parked her car with a technical failure a few metres after the restart. On lap nine, Daniel Ticktum and Enaam Ahmed (Hitech Bullfrog GP) overtook Aron for third. Artem Petrov (Van Amersfoort Racing) lost his sixth place as he was called into the pits for a drive-through penalty for a jump start.
The final minutes of the race then saw Schumacher, Shvartzman and Ticktum bunch up again. However, there were no position changes until they crossed the finish line, so Schumacher claimed victory from Shvartzman and Ticktum. Ahmed, Aron, Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Theodore Racing), Guanyu Zhou (PREMA Theodore Racing), Ben Hingeley (Hitech Bullfrog GP), Jonathan Aberdein (Motopark) and Keyvan Soori Andres (Van Amersfoort Racing) rounded out the top ten.
The thrilling battle for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship title goes into the next round at the Red Bull Ring in a fortnight.
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