Lance Stroll wins and extends points’ lead
With a margin of almost ten seconds, Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam) secured a dominant lights-to-flag victory in the eleventh race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season. At the 4.326 kilometres long Red Bull Ring, Callum Ilott (Van Amersfoort Racing) took the flag in second place. George Russell (HitechGP) finished third. With his second victory of the season, Canadian Lance Stroll extended his lead in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings. The Williams Formula 1 junior driver is now 25 points clear of his new closest rival, Callum Ilott.
At the start, Lance Stroll took the lead and initially came under pressure by George Russell. On the opening lap, however, the second-placed Brit lost his position to Callum Ilott and dropped back to third. On lap two, Ralf Aron (Prema Powerteam) spun, after which the front wing got stuck underneath his car. As some carbon debris were scattered on the track, the safety car was deployed.
Once the track had been cleaned up, racing resumed two laps later and three drive through penalties were issued almost simultaneously. Ben Barnicoat (HitechGP) and Nikita Mazepin (HitechGP) were both penalised for jump starts while Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing) incurred a penalty for causing a collision.
Out in front, a three-way battle between Stroll, Ilott and Russell emerged while the trio in front was already out of reach for Niko Kari (Motopark) in fourth place. He, in turn, had enough work in keeping David Beckmann (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) at bay. After an unsuccessful attack by Russell on Ilott on lap eleven, Stroll was able to pull a slight gap in front while Kari extended his margin over Beckmann at this time, too.
Stroll went on to score an undisputed win from Ilott, Russell, Kari as the best-placed rookie, Beckmann, Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam). Especially in the final third of the race, the battle for eighth position was an entertaining affair, in which Sérgio Sette Câmara (Motopark) eventually came out on top from Alessio Lorandi (Carlin) and Joel Eriksson (Motopark), who finished ninth and tenth respectively.
Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam):“At the start of the race, I was able to pull a slight gap, but then the safety car came out and my margin was gone. After the restart, I first had to defend my position against Callum, but then I was able to pull clear again. From then on, my race was really good and I was able to extend my lead lap after lap. I have also extended my lead in the drivers’ standings, but I am not thinking about the title yet. I am just working from one race to another, because there is still a long way to go to the title.”
Callum Ilott (Van Amersfoort Racing): “In these conditions, second place was the best I could do. The first few laps were still good, but then, my tyres degraded more and more. Thus, Lance was able to increase his lead. Eventually, one of my tyres almost was gone completely and I was lucky that I was still able to bring second place home.”
George Russell (HitechGP): “I was in a battle for second place with Callum for a long time. I was faster in the corners, but Callum’s speed was superior on the straights. Thus, I had no chance to overtake him, even though I think I would have been faster than Callum over a lap. Of course, a podium finish is always nice, but I reckon I could have done even better than third.”
Grid, Race 2
1st – No. 1, Lance Stroll, CAN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
2nd – No. 12, George Russell, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
3rd – No. 6, Callum Ilott, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
4th – No. 10, Niko Kari*, FIN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
5th – No. 8, David Beckmann*, GER, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
6th – No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
7th – No. 17, Maximilian Günther, GER, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
8th – No. 16, Ralf Aron*, EST, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
9th – No. 7, Mikkel Jensen, DEN, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
10th – No. 2, Nick Cassidy, NZL, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
11th – No. 20, Harrison Newey*, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
12th – No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
13th – No. 22, Joel Eriksson*, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen^
14th – No. 24, Ben Barnicoat*, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz^
15th – No. 4, Alessio Lorandi, ITA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
16th – No. 11, Nikita Mazepin*, RUS, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz
17th – No. 23, Guan Yu Zhou*, CHN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
18th – No. 14, Arjun Maini, IND, Threebond with T-Sport, Dallara F312, ThreeBond
19th – No. 21, Anthoine Hubert*, FRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz^
20th – No. 19, Weiron Tan, MYS, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
Withdrawn
No. 3, Ryan Tveter, USA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
No. 18, Zhi Cong Li, CHN, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen
^ Cars 21, 22 and 24 – drop of 3 grid positions
Race 2
1st – No. 1, Lance Stroll, CAN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 24 laps, 35:11.908
2nd – No. 6, Callum Ilott, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 9.909
3rd – No. 12, George Russell, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 12.424
4th – No. 10, Niko Kari*, FIN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Gap: 12.891
5th – No. 8, David Beckmann*, GER, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 15.686
6th – No. 7, Mikkel Jensen, DEN, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 18.938
7th – No. 17, Maximilian Günther, GER, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 19.813
8th – No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Gap: 24.825
9th – No. 4, Alessio Lorandi, ITA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Gap: 28.232
10th – No. 22, Joel Eriksson*, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Gap: 30.261
11th – No. 21, Anthoine Hubert*, FRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 32.026
12th – No. 23, Guan Yu Zhou*, CHN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Gap: 32.273
13th – No. 16, Ralf Aron*, EST, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 33.727
14th – No. 19, Weiron Tan, MYS, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Gap: 34.596
15th – No. 24, Ben Barnicoat*, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 35.689
16th – No. 20, Harrison Newey*, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 38.851
17th – No. 11, Nikita Mazepin*, RUS, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Gap: 43.451
Not Classified
No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Lap 19
No. 14, Arjun Maini, IND, Threebond with T-Sport, Dallara F312, ThreeBond, Lap 17
No. 2, Nick Cassidy, NZL, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, Lap 8
Fastest Lap
No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, Lap 23, 1:23.276, 187.012 kph
- Rookie
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