More Points for Newey After Challenging Weekend

Harrison Newey experienced a weekend of mixed fortunes during round four of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season held at the Hungaroring last weekend.

The young Englishman, driving for Van Amersfoort Racing, arrived in Hungary on the back of his best ever F3 outing – at the Pau Grand Prix where he achieved a brace of fourth places. His high hopes were boosted by the fact that he topped the timesheets during pre-season testing held at the very same venue located just north-east of Budapest.

Friday’s qualifying session was held in wet weather conditions. The 18-year-old managed to qualify in ninth position. The first of the three races was scheduled for Saturday, this time however the conditions were much improved compared to Friday and the race was held on a bone-dry track.

Newey managed to make good progress in the opening stages of the race and soon found himself in sixth place, applying pressure on team-mate Joey Mawson. He ultimately brought his VAR Mercedes-powered Dallara home in sixth place, extending his streak of finishes in the points to four consecutive races.

Sunday’s events turned out to be less satisfying for Newey however. Tyre issues left him 17th on the grid for race two of the weekend but he managed to put in a gritty drive to progress up to 15th place at the chequered flag.

The final race of the weekend turned out to be another frustrating one, as he was struggled with more tyre issues and his 16th place in qualifying was followed by 18th in the race.

Despite difficulties experienced over the course of the weekend, Newey once again proved that he’s capable of scoring solid points and run in the mix with the front-runners.

Points scored in race one allowed him to remain in the championship’s top ten, as he’s currently ranked ninth in the standings with 51 points to his name.

From now, Newey’s focus switches to round five of the championship held at the Norisring, Germany, on July 1 and 2.

The last time out he raced on a street track resulted in Newey’s best F3 result to date, and a strong performance can be expected on the iconic venue located in the heart of Nuremberg.

“Friday’s qualifying was OK; I made a couple of mistakes that was a bit annoying. It was very close and I could have been a couple of places higher.

“I think it (race 1) went well, the pace was reasonable. I made a very good start and had very good first couple of laps.

“(Second) qualifying two was really screwed up. On my first fast lap I compromised the tyres and it ended there really. The race itself was fine, but obviously when you’re starting at the back at a place like Hungaroring, it’s never going to be an easy task. I didn’t really make many places despite giving it everything.

“The last race of the day was again really tough due to the tyres. Everything was gone, so I had to use sets from the other races and it was really a struggle and I didn’t make any progress.

“I’m a bit disappointed, I was hoping for more, but it is what it is. It was a challenging weekend for us, but we have to move on and focus on Norisring, making sure that we will turn things around and make it a positive one for us.”