Nick Cassidy has moved into third place in the overall standings in the 2016 FIA European F3 Championship after the first two of three races at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Cassidy finished fourth in the opening wet race but dropped out of points scoring contention in the second race. However 12 points from race one has put him in front of Callum Illot.
Race 1
17-year-old Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam) remained unfazed by the initially heavy rain at the 7.004 kilometres long Spa-Francorchamps circuit and won the 19th race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season. Behind the Williams Formula 1 team junior driver, Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) took the flag in second place, followed by Ben Barnicoat (Hitech GP), who was the best-placed rookie driver in third place. With his seventh season win, Stroll extended his lead in the drivers’ standings. The Canadian now has 63 points more than his nearest rival, Maximilian Günther. In the rookie standings, Ben Barnicoat took the lead from Ralf Aron (Prema Powerteam) after his third overall podium finish of the year.
Due to the heavy rain, the race got underway behind the safety car. On lap six, the drivers were allowed to take on the Formula 1 circuit in the Belgian Ardennes at racing speed. Leader Lance Stroll immediately pulled a gap. A little bit further down, Ben Barnicoat came out on top with a strong manoeuvre in the battle for third with Nick Cassidy (Prema Powerteam). One lap later, George Russell (HitechGP) overtook Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing) for fifth place.
Although rain became less intense as the race went on, conditions remained difficult. However, the young drivers from the FIA Formula 3 European Championship generally showed a rather disciplined race. On lap ten, Weiron Tan (Carlin) spun and hit the tyre stacks with the rear of his car. To allow for his single-seater to be removed from the track, the safety car was deployed and led the field until the end of the race after twelve laps.
Thus, Lance Stroll claimed victory from his team-mate Maximilian Günther, Ben Barnicoat, Nick Cassidy, and George Russell. Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing) finishes sixth, the best FIA Formula 3 European Championship result to date for the British rookie driver. David Beckmann (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Ralf Aron (Prema Powerteam), Ryan Tveter (Carlin), and Alessio Lorandi (Carlin) rounded out the top ten.
Race 2
At the 7.004 kilometres long Formula 1 circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, George Russell (HitechGP) scored his second win of the season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. The best-placed rookie, Joel Eriksson (Motopark), and Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) accompanied the 18-year-old Brit, who had started from pole position, onto the podium. For Jensen, third place in sunny conditions in the Belgian Ardennes meant his first podium finish of the season. In the drivers’ standings, Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam) remains on top. The 17-year-old junior driver of the Williams Formula 1 team didn’t score any points in the 20th race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season after a puncture of the right rear tyre.
At the start, George Russell was able to convert his first starting grid position into the race lead, but lost this position to Joel Eriksson at the end of the long Kemmel straight. Only on lap six, Russell was able to claim back first place when he mounted a successful attack on the same straight. Later on, Russell pulled clear from Eriksson more and more and eventually drove an undisputed victory home.
Behind Russell and Eriksson, Mikkel Jensen followed in third place. At the end of the opening lap, the Dane benefitted from the fact that the car driven by Nikita Mazepin (HitechGP) came to a halt due to a technical problem. Jensen brought the third place he had inherited home in a safe way. Anthoine Hubert (Van Amersfoort Racing) crossed the finish line in fourth place from Callum Ilott (Van Amersfoort Racing), and Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing). For the Brazilian, who won his domestic Formula 3 championship title in 2014 and 2015, sixth place was his best FIA Formula 3 European Championship result to date. Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam), Guanyu Zhou (Motopark), Ryan Tveter (Carlin), and Niko Kari (Motopark) rounded out the top ten.
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