Antonio Giovinazzi celebrates maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship race win

At the 4.326 kilometres long Red Bull Ring, 20-year-old Italian Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) celebrated his maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship race win. His team-mate Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) took the chequered flag in third place from Lucas Auer (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), the only Austrian in the field. Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam) remains in the lead of the drivers’ standings. The French Lotus Formula 1 junior driver finished 13th in the race following a drive-through penalty for driving too fast under yellow flags and thus failed to score any points.

At the start, Antonio Giovinazzi benefited from his pole position and took the lead. Tom Blomqvist followed in second place. Soon after that, Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) spun into the gravel trap and retired. On lap three, a collision involving Alexander Toril (ThreeBond with T-Sport) and Jules Szymkowiak (Van Amersfoort Racing) brought the safety car out. The accident meant the end of the race for Spanish driver Toril.

After the restart, Antonio Giovinazzi remained in front. In the laps until the end, the Italian pulled clear from Tom Blomqvist more and more and eventually drove an undisputed victory home. Tom Blomqvist and Lucas Auer also had a rather uneventful race while numerous position fights in the midfield entertained the spectators. Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) battled with Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam) for fourth place. The two tangled in the process, for which Fuoco paid the price with a damaged front wing of his car. The Italian, a protégé of the Ferrari driver Academy, had to turn into the pits while Verstappen was given a drive-through penalty for his move. The Dutchman eventually was classified twelfth, Fuoco concluded the race in 19th place.

Nicholas Latifi (Prema Powerteam) inherited third place from Jake Dennis (Carlin), Edward Jones (Carlin), Jordan King (Carlin), Gustavo Menezes (Van Amersfoort Racing), Tatiana Calderón (Jo Zeller Racing) and Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin).

Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “I am very happy with this victory and the fact that my team-mate Ton Blomqvist came second. It is a great performance by our team Jagonya Ayam with Carlin. My start was good and I managed to keep Tom Blomqvist at bay. During the safety car phase, I really paid attention to ensure that the gap to the safety car wouldn’t get too big, because that was my big mistake in the second race of this weekend. This time, I managed and I am really happy with my maiden race win in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.”

Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “Our team Jagonya Ayam with Carlin has done a tremendous job, we secured first and second place. Antonio showed a perfect performance, he has deserved this win. For me, things went really well with my second place, too and I am happy.”

Lucas Auer (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport): “I had a good start and managed to overtake Antonio Fuoco straight away. After that, I had some problems, but because the guys behind me were fighting, I was able to hold on to third place. Generally, I am very happy with the progress we have made from Friday to today. My team kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport really has done a very good job.”

FIA F3