Joel Eriksson powers to Hungaroring podium double

Joel Eriksson followed up his Paul Ricard podium with a further two visits to the rostrum as the FIA Formula 3 European Championship set camp at the Hungaroring for round two of the 2016 season this weekend.

The Swedish F3 rookie came through to take third in a highly entertaining opening race at the Hungarian Grand Prix venue, before going one better with second place in Sunday’s concluding Race 3 – which was run in atrocious wet-weather conditions.

17-year-old Eriksson underlined his pace by setting the fastest lap of Race 1, half a second up on his nearest competitor, and leaves Hungary having now snatched third in the overall championship standings. He remains the leading rookie and continues to spearhead the Team Motopark charge.

“It’s hard to believe I’m actually going away from here in third place in the overall standings, but it’s still very early in the season and it doesn’t really matter too much at the moment,” says Joel Eriksson. “It’s been a good weekend. We’ve had great pace, the car has been kind on the tyres, and we managed to make the podium in both wet and dry conditions. I’m really pleased and I get more and more comfortable in the car with every race.”

The only major setback for Eriksson came in the second race of the weekend, which he was forced to retire with a damaged front wing. It marked the first time the 2015 ADAC Formula 4 runner-up has failed to score during his rookie F3 campaign so far.

“I can’t be entirely satisfied with this weekend given what happened in Race 2,” Eriksson continues. “I lost some valuable points there. The front wing simply broke – it was probably damaged over a kerb – but that’s just motor racing sometimes. All in all, however, the beginning to this season has been great, and I will keep on working as hard as I can to get my first win.”

From the first six races of his burgeoning Formula 3 career, Joel Eriksson has claimed three podiums, two fastest laps and amassed a total of 58 championship points. He will travel to the next round of the season – the tradition-steeped Grand Prix de Pau street race in southern France – just 12 points shy of the overall FIA F3 European Championship lead.

Eriksson also maintains his advantage in the rookie classification.

The forthcoming Pau round – set to take place on May 13-15 – will provide another brand new challenge for Joel Eriksson, who has previously never driven on a street circuit.