Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) claimed victory in the ninth season round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the 4.574 kilometres long Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. At the start, the Swede took the lead and defended it until the finish. Behind him, Félix Serrallés took the chequered flag in second place. Guest driver and Red Bull junior driver Daniil Kvyat (Carlin) was delighted with his third-place finish at his first Formula 3 outing, ahead of points’ leader Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam).
At the start, stalwart Felix Rosenqvist came to the fore, followed by Félix Serrallés, Jorden King (Carlin) and Daniil Kvyat. On lap three, Richard Goddard (ThreeBond with T-Sport), Roy Nissany (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), André Rudersdorf (ma-con) and Sean Gelael (Double R Racing) collided, which led to a safety car intervention. At the restart, Rosenqvist defended his lead, while Serrallés was overtaken by Jordan King. A few laps later, the Brit also attacked Rosenqvist for the lead, but this attempt was in vain. Instead, he lost his second place to Serrallés and one lap later, he had to surrender third place to Daniil Kvyat. On lap 13, rookie driver King also had to let Raffaele Marciello past, who made good progress from tenth on the starting grid to finish fourth.
Alex Lynn (Prema Powerteam), Sven Müller (ma-con), Tom Blomqvist (Eurointernational), Eddie Cheever (Prema Powerteam) and Luis Felipe Derani (Fortec Motorsports) rounded out the top ten, which Lucas Wolf (URD Rennsport) just missed out in his home round, finishing eleventh from 29 drivers.
Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport)
“I had a good start and was able to pull a gap from the drivers behind me right away. Then, the safety car came out and my margin was gone again. After the restart, Félix Serrallés was very closely behind me, but I was able to pull away quickly. I am happy that I have won this race. However, I am not looking at the title. I made that mistake last year and it didn’t bring me anything.”
Félix Serrallés (Fortec Motorsports)
“I had a good start and I am happy that I am on the podium here. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the restart after the safety car intervention, which was the reason that I got massive pressure from behind after that. Fortunately, I still managed to bring second place home.”
Daniil Kvyat (Carlin)
“My race was good, but I still have to work on the start when I want to win a Formula 3 race. After the start, I quickly found to my rhythm and I was able to stay behind Félix for second place. All in all, it was a great debut weekend in Formula 3 for me with a pole position and a podium finish. I really hope that this wasn’t my last outing in Formula 3.”