BMW junior driver, Joel Eriksson has taken his third victory of the season of FIA Formula 3 European championship at Pau, France. Swede finished ahead of Lando Norris and Maximilian Günther.
The first of the three races of Formula 3 scheduled at Pau-Ville track was the seventh of 2017 season. The Prema Powerteam of Callum Ilott started from pole position and keep Joel Eriksson (Motopark) behind him who started third. But the BMW junior took the lead after a crash from the Briton at turn 7.
Immediately, Eriksson pulled a one second gap on second classified Lando Norris (Carlin) who managed to get behind the Swede. Behind the leaders the battle for third was between rookie Joey Mawson (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Jake Dennis (Carlin).
But with 26 minutes to go, the safety car made his first appearance after a crash from Ferrari junior, Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam).
When the green flag returned, Mawson had to defend so aggressively from Dennis. Then both crashed at turn 6 in the same time, causing a safety car. Jake Hughes (Hitech GP) also crashed.
This let Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) join the podium behind Norris and the third victory for Eriksson who extends his championship lead with Norris to 8 points.
Best career result for Nikita Mazepin (Hitech GP) in fourth position, ahead of team mate Ralf Aron and Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing). Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing) was seventh, finishing in front of Mick Schumacher (Prema Powerteam) and Carlin’s of Ferdinand Habsburg and Jehan Daruvala.
Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | |
| 1 | Joel Eriksson | Motopark | 23 Laps | |
| 2 | Lando Norris | R | Carlin | 0,243 |
| 3 | Maximilian Günther | Prema Powerteam | 2,636 | |
| 4 | Nikita Mazepin | Hitech GP | 3,56 | |
| 5 | Ralf Aron | Hitech GP | 3,97 | |
| 6 | Harrison Newey | Van Amersfoort Racing | 4,564 | |
| 7 | Pedro Piquet | Van Amersfoort Racing | 5,383 | |
| 8 | Mick Schumacher | R | Prema Powerteam | 5,825 |
| 9 | Ferdinand Habsburg | R | Carlin | 6,637 |
| 10 | Jehan Daruvala | R | Carlin | 7,201 |
| 11 | David Beckmann | Van Amersfoort Racing | 8,229 | |
| 12 | Keyvan Andres Soori | R | Motopark | 9,071 |
| 13 | Tadasuke Makino | R | Hitech GP | 9,616 |
| 14 | Marino Sato | R | Hitech GP | 10,537 |
| 15 | Joey Mawson | R | Van Amersfoort Racing | Retired |
| 16 | Jake Dennis | Carlin | Retired | |
| 17 | Jake Hughes | Hitech GP | Retired | |
| 18 | Guanyu Zhou | Prema Powerteam | Retired | |
| 19 | Callum Ilott | Prema Powerteam | Retired |
