Site icon FormulaRapida.net

Günther wins the last race of the season

3 Maximilian Günther (DEU, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 – Mercedes-Benz), FIA Formula 3 European Championship, round 10, race 2, Hockenheimring (DEU), 13. - 15. October 2017

Maximilian Günther has won the last race of the season from Pole and with no problem or difficulty. Despite that, he hasn’t managed to get the second place on the championship. Eriksson has finished second and Zhou third.

The race started and Maximilian Günther held the lead. Guanyu Zhou improved to second place, followed by Jake Hughes, Joel Eriksson, Lando Norris and Callum Ilott, who was the driver who started the worst among the top ones. There were no major incidents on the start.

On second lap, Eriksson overtook Hughes for third position. Mick Schumacher, who had made contact on lap 1 with Ralf Aron, pitted to fix his front wing. The Estonian driver also pitted, due to a puncture. On front, Eriksson only needed one lap to pass Zhou for second place.

With 22 minutes to go, Ferdinand Habsburg made contact with Marino Sato and ended up into the wall. Jehan Daruvala was also involved and had to pit to repair damage. FCY was deployed.

The race restarted with 20 minutes to go. Norris passed Hughes for fourth place. The champion wanted to end the season on the podium and took advantage from a driving mistake by Zhou to get close to him. Behind them, Ilott overtook Hughes for fifth position.

Nothing changed until the end and Günther won the last race of the year. The German driver wins for the 5th time this season and wins for the first time since Norisring, ending the season on a high spot after a disappointing last rounds. On the other hand, Eriksson, who has finished second, ends the season with great last rounds. Zhou finishes third and equals his best of the season. Norris, Ilott, Hughes, Pedro Piquet, Nikita Mazepin, Joey Mawson and David Beckmann are the points scorers.

That marks the end of another European F3 championship season. Norris was won the title with 441 points. Eriksson ends as the runner-up with 388, followed by Günther with 383. Prema Racing is the champion team, with Carlin second and Motopark third; and Norris takes the rookie title ahead of Daruvala and Schumacher. The next season, the last one before the series merges with GP3, will start in April next year.