Marcus Armstrong is the new leader of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship after the third round at the Norisring in northern Bavaria, Germany. The Kiwi PREMA Theodore Racing driver won the opening lap on Saturday and went on to finish second and third in the following two races on Sunday.
The Formula three rookie had earlier taken a sensational double pole position, for the first and third races. For the second race he started from P3.
“To be honest, I am not doing anything differently here than on the first two race meetings, but here, things are going really well. I am learning from one race to another and I am acquiring more and more experience in Formula 3. In Hungary, my performance was very good already, but I wasn’t able to convert it into optimal results yet.”
For Armstrong the opening race was a lights to flag victory with a gap of almost three seconds to second-placed Ralf Aron.
“This race was nearly perfect,” commented Armstrong. “This season, I have been having some bad luck, so I am particularly happy with this victory now. Of course, the facts that I started from pole position and that my team has done a great job were already helpful.”
For the second race Jüri Vips (Motopark) won from Armstrong. Third place went to Keyvan Soori Andres (Van Amersfoort Racing). For Estonian driver Vips, it was his maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship race win while Soori Andres claimed his maiden podium finish in the series
“I reckon that Enaam and Jüri had a more exciting race than I did,” said Armstrong. “Nevertheless, I am happy with second place, because it gives me many valuable points.”
Finishing third in the final race has given Armstrong a one point lead in the championship from the race 3 winner Daniel Ticktum.
Marcus Armstrong races with the Prema PowerTeam and is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. The next round will take place at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands 14-15 July.
Overall Points after 9/30 races
1 Armstrong 101
2 Ticktum 100
3 Ahmed 85
4 Zhou 79
5 Aron 76,5
6 Vips 70
7 Daruvala 56,5
8 Fenestraz 55
9 Schumacher 53
10 Palou 51
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