Nurburgring F3.5: Isaakyan wins as Fittipaldi and Palou collide
Matevos Isaakyan took his second Formula V8 3.5 win of the season as championship leader Pietro Fittipaldi was hit by pole-sitter Alex Palou on the opening lap of first the Nurburgring race.








Isaakyan told Motorsport.com that the engine he used for qualifying on Friday was so down on power that he was losing half a second per lap on the straights, prompting an overnight engine change.
The AVF driver made a lightning start from third on the grid to go through between pole-sitter Palou and Lotus driver Fittipaldi.
Having taken the lead at the first corner, he avoided the contact that took place behind as Fittipaldi was rear-ended by Teo Martin Motorsport driver Palou who outbraked himself at Turn 3.
Palou had to pit for a new front wing and Fittipaldi fell to seventh, just behind the fast-starting Rene Binder, who had picked up four places from 10th.
Also making a positive charge up the field was Alfonso Celis. The Fortec Motorsports driver, who was also suffering from engine problems in the second qualifying session on Saturday morning, avoided the collisions and finished the first lap in second place, but more than two seconds behind Isaakyan.
For the majority of the 40-minute race, positions remained static as significant gaps started forming between the drivers.
In the closing minutes though, Roy Nissany looked like he was in a good position to take the last spot on the podium away from Egor Orudzhev but on the last lap he went too deep at the first turn. That allowed Orudzhev to pull away and take a double podium for AVF.
Celis finished second, unable to eat into the six-second advantage Isaakyan had built up.
Fifth place went to RP Motorsport’s Yu Kanamaru, defending strongly from Binder who had seemingly overcome the "unexplainable" lack of pace he had in qualifying two.
Fittipaldi saw his lead cut in the points standings as he had to settle for seventh.
Joe Hudson
Race 1 results
Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
1 | ![]() |
SMP Racing by AVF | 43'26.086 |
2 | ![]() |
Fortec Motorsports | 6.357 |
3 | ![]() |
SMP Racing by AVF | 19.145 |
4 | ![]() |
Rp Motorsport | 19.792 |
5 | ![]() |
Rp Motorsport | 35.361 |
6 | ![]() |
Lotus | 35.828 |
7 | ![]() |
Lotus | 36.134 |
8 | ![]() |
Fortec Motorsports | 42.254 |
9 | ![]() |
Teo Martin Motorsport | 43.421 |
10 | ![]() |
Rp Motorsport | 55.198 |
11 | ![]() |
Teo Martin Motorsport | 1'08.021 |
12 | ![]() |
Il Barone Rampante | 1'21.699 |
![]() |
![]() |

Nurburgring F3.5: Palou doubles up in second qualifying
Nurburgring F3.5: Debutant Palou scores maiden win

Latest news
Ekstrom defeats Schumacher for fourth Race of Champions victory
Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom took his fourth Race of Champions title at Pite Havsbad in Sweden after defeating Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher in the final.
Ogier eyes WRC Monte Carlo rematch with Loeb
Sebastien Ogier is keen for a Rally Monte Carlo rematch against Sebastien Loeb in next year's World Rally Championship after becoming the most successful driver in event history.
Rolex 24, Hour 18: Cadillac in command, Porsche in spin drama
Chip Ganassi Racing held a commanding net lead in Rolex 24 as dawn broke at Daytona, while Meyer Shank Racing recovered to second to set up a Cadillac vs Acura dash going into the final six hours.
Westbrook: Tire strategy as crucial as reliability in Rolex 24 closing stages
Cadillac Racing’s Richard Westbrook says tire strategy in the closing hours of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona could prove as crucial as reliability in deciding the overall winner.
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.