INDIA in F1

Tag: F3

  • Lundgaard claims maiden pole; Jehan Daruvala P17

    Christian Lundgaard followed up his dominant Free Practice form to secure his first pole position in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, with a stomping tour of the Hungaroring circuit. The ART Grand Prix man finished ahead of Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips and teammate Max Fewtrell, as ART ruled the morning session.

    Marcus Armstrong was the first out on track in dry conditions, but remained wary on his first lap of the circuit, with the tarmac still damp in spots. Once the PREMA man got going, he set the pace at just under 1m 33s, ahead of Alex Peroni.

    The Kiwi was able to further secure the position with a storming sector 2 and fend off an assault from stablemate Robert Shwartzman and Championship rival Vips who missed out by a tenth. The Estonian had another shot, but wobbled slightly wide at Turn 10.

    Following this, the cars ducked into the pits for a fresh set of medium compounds. Two warm-up laps followed for the majority of the field as they ensured the tyres were at their maximum.

    Pedro Piquet was the first to take the lead in the second half, before being quickly usurped by Vips. Out of nowhere, Lundgaard turned on the style when it mattered, and bettered the lot of them, bombing around the Hungaroring in 1:31.761.

    With the times flying in, things went sharply downhill for PREMA, who appeared to be suffering a rare off-day. All three drivers were chucked down the order and only Shwartzman was able to make the top ten, netting fourth fastest. Armstrong could only achieve 13th, while Jehan Daruvala’s final lap left him in lowly 17th ahead of Race 1.

    This saw Lundgaard’s searing time unbeatable at the chequered flag as he finished ahead of Vips and Fewtrell. Niko Kari managed fifth, behind Shwartzman in fourth. Pedro Piquet, Jake Hughes, David Beckmann, Yuki Tsunoda and Felipe Drugovich completed the top ten.

    The cars will hit the track again this afternoon when racing gets underway at 4.45pm local time. Lundgaard will look to hold on and seal a potential first win of the season, but Vips and teammate Fewtrell will be hot on his heels around one of the shorter tracks of the F3 calendar.

     

    FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 5 Qualifying provisional classification

     

    DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS
    1 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:31.761 13
    2 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:31.886 13
    3 Max Fewtrell ART Grand Prix 1:31.897 13
    4 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:31.903 13
    5 Niko Kari Trident 1:31.074 14
    6 Pedro Piquet Trident 1:31.987 13
    7 Jake Hughes HWA RACELAB 1:32.037 12
    8 David Beckmann ART Grand Prix 1:32.077 13
    9 Yuki Tsunoda Jenzer Motorsport 1:32.197 13
    10 Felipe Drugovich Carlin Buzz Racing 1:32.356 14
    11 Leonardo Pulcini Jenzer Motorsport 1:32.375 13
    12 Sebastian Fernandez Campos Racing 1:32.376 13
    13 Marcus Armstrong PREMA Racing 1:32.385 13
    14 Alex Peroni Campos Racing 1:32.402 13
    15 Raoul Hyman Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 1:32.486 12
    16 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:32.565 14
    17 Jehan Daruvala PREMA Racing 1:32.593 13
    18 Ye Yifei Hitech Grand Prix 1:32.621 13
    19 Logan Sargeant Carlin Buzz Racing 1:32.692 13
    20 Liam Lawson MP Motorsport 1:32.695 16
    21 Teppei Natori Carlin Buzz Racing 1:32.727 13
    22 Fabio Scherer Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 1:32.873 13
    23 Simo Laaksonen MP Motorsport 1:32.945 11
    24 Lirim Zendeli Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 1:32.987 14
    25 Devlin De Francesco Trident 1:33.047 14
    26 Bent Viscaal HWA RACELAB 1:33.064 12
    27 Keyvan Andres HWA RACELAB 1:33.093 12
    28 Giorgio Carrara Jenzer Motorsport 1:33.372 15
    29 Andreas Estner Jenzer Motorsport 1:33.469 15
    30 Alessio Deledda Campos Racing 1:35.016 13

  • Lundgaard impresses in the opening session ahead of Piquet and Hughes: F3

    Hungaroring, 2 August 2019: Christian Lundgaard led the way in the F3 Round 5 Free Practice, topping the timings for the first time this season, at the Hungaroring. The ART Grand Prix ace was followed by Trident’s Pedro Piquet and HWA RACELAB’s Jake Hughes, in a new look top three.
    Giorgio Carrara – in just his second round at this level – set the standard on an overcast morning in Hungary, racing round the tight and twisty circuit in under 1m 38s. It wasn’t to last as the glistening red trio of Robert Shwartzman, Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala flexed their muscles to go 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
    The PREMA trio was broken up by Leonardo Pulcini, who dipped amongst them in 3rd, pushing back Daruvala, who started to freefall, as he headed to the pits, alongside teammate Shwartzman. Armstrong remained out on track and had three goes at bettering the Russian’s time, finally toppling him at the third attempt, lapping at 1:33.859.
    With all three drivers of the Italian squad back in the pits, Raoul Hyman and Hughes edged in front to take P1 and P2 with 11 minutes to go. However, the trio soon returned to the track and quickly handed us an all PREMA front three once more.
    Again, it wouldn’t last. Felipe Drugovich, Hyman, Pulcini and Piquet all leapt ahead in the final few minutes of Practice, before Lundgaard seared around the track to top the pack, with a hot time of 1:32.771.
    All hung in the balance when the chequered flag was waved, as nearly the entire field had the chance to set one final lap. The shake-up ensued, as Piquet and Hughes rose to second and third, with Fewtrell climbing more than ten places to take fourth. Shwartzman and Armstrong managed to recover enough for fifth and sixth, ahead of Pulcini. Jüri Vips leapt from 24th to 8th, while Alex Peroni and Niko Kari completed the top ten.
    None could run faster than Lundgaard today though and the Danish driver claimed his first P1 position of the season. He will be hoping to maintain his early form when it counts tomorrow, as the cars hit the track at 9am for qualifying.
    FIA Formula 3 Round 5 – Free Practice Provisional Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:32.771
    16
    2
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:32.805
    17
    3
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:32.902
    19
    4
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:32.916
    16
    5
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:32.971
    20
    6
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:33.017
    20
    7
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:33.091
    18
    8
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:33.178
    18
    9
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:33.203
    19
    10
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:33.245
    18
    11
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:33.291
    19
    12
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:33.302
    20
    13
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:33.477
    16
    14
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:33.487
    21
    15
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:33.491
    19
    16
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:33.535
    19
    17
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:33.594
    20
    18
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:33.677
    19
    19
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:33.778
    20
    20
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:33.822
    21
    21
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:33.848
    16
    22
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:33.876
    18
    23
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:34.030
    18
    24
    Giorgio Carrara
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:34.052
    23
    25
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:34.218
    19
    26
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:34.264
    20
    27
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:34.332
    17
    28
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:34.439
    19
    29
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:34.442
    20
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:34.950
    21

  • All of the vital information ahead of F3’s fifth round at Hungary

    The Stakes       
    Budapest, 1 August 2019: After the drama of Silverstone, the FIA Formula 3 Championship visits beautiful Budapest for Round 5.
    Briton Max Fewtrell pleased the passionate home support by going quickest in his ART Grand Prix machine during Friday morning’s practice, and those cheers continued throughout the weekend as Jüri Vips led the charge for home team Hitech Grand Prix to grab pole position in qualifying. Vips continued his fine form to keep PREMA Racing’s Jehan Daruvala at bay and win a second successive Race 1 with a stunning lights-to-flag victory. Hitech looked to have closed the performance gap on a PREMA outfit who had dominated the early season, and that seemed to be confirmed during Sunday’s Race 2. Italian ace Leonardo Pulcini charged through the top order to take the lead with two laps left to secure a maiden F3 victory.
    Robert Shwartzman (114 points) remains on top of the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of teammate Daruvala (102) in second. Third-placed Vips’ (92) Silverstone success now sees him just 10 points behind. Despite not tasting victory at a race weekend for the first time this season, PREMA (293) bagged more points than any other team to increase their lead at the head of the Teams’ Championship. Hitech (127) have moved up to second, opening up a 35 point gap to ART Grand Prix (92) in third place.
    The Hungaroring hosts the fifth round of the championship, providing the 30 drivers battling wheel-to-wheel out on track a tough, technical test. The heat of the Hungarian summer could also prove challenging to both man and machine. Pirelli are supplying teams with the medium compound, and the drivers will have to keep one eye on their tyres if they’re to maximise their chances of success in what is sure to be another blistering weekend of F3 action!
    Warm-Up // Yuki Tsunoda – Jenzer Motorsport
    “The Hungaroring is my favourite circuit so I’m really looking forward to going back and racing there. Last year I was doing European F3 testing there and that was the first time I came to Europe. At that time I didn’t have any experience of Europe at all, I only had experience of driving in Japan, and now I think I have driven more laps around that circuit than any other track on the continent. Because of that, I have very special memories of Budapest. The test was also very good for me personally and is a big part of the reason why I’ve come to Europe to compete this year.
    “There are many challenges at the circuit. There are high-speed corners and lots of ups and downs which is quite nice. It’s fun to drive, especially Turn 5. It feels like a really fast corner considering it’s quite tight. It provides a real challenge but I like that. It’s probably my favourite corner in the world – it’s that good!
    “It can be difficult to manage the tyres at Budapest because there are so many corners and there’s no real opportunity to rest them. If you push too much at the beginning, the tyres can really drop away, so you have to try and save them more in Hungary than you perhaps do at other circuits. It’s physically tough to drive too, so you need to be fit.
    “The last testing session I did at Budapest was quite good. I think our car looks strong, we just need to improve the balance, but hopefully, I can get the top three or top five in qualifying. I’d love to take P1 in the race so hopefully, I can do that.”
    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
    “This the last FIA Formula 3 round before the summer break but we’re already entering the final stages of the championship, which provides even more pressure to obtain a strong result in Hungary. It’s a track that many of the drivers will be familiar with from their karting days and testing: very tight and narrow, with the tyres constantly working. As a result, managing the medium compound in hot conditions will be vitally important, while maintaining a focus on strategy will be key too because it’s very tricky to overtake. It’s also going to be one of the most important qualifying sessions of the year: finding a gap on what’s often a crowded circuit will be essential.”
    Season Stats
    12 The gap between Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing teammate Jehan Daruvala at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
    29 The number of points Jüri Vips took from Round 4, more than any driver despite not scoring a point in Race 2.
    7 The number of different drivers who have set the fastest lap so far this season. Christian Lundgaard has set the most with two.
    28 The average high temperature (in Celsius) in Budapest during a race weekend in August.
    Noteworthy
    Jüri Vips has led more laps (40) than any other driver on the grid this season. Jehan Daruvala is second with 34 laps led.
    Between them, PREMA Racing trio Marcus Armstrong, Daruvala and Robert Shwartzman have stood on the podium 13 times this season, more than every other team combined.
    Armstrong, who is fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, has completed 97 laps inside the top three places – the most of any driver on the grid. Teammate and championship leader Shwartzman has ‘only’ spent 71 laps in the P1-P3.
    Leonardo Pulcini and Liam Lawson both led an FIA Formula 3 race for the first time at Silverstone. Both drivers earned their first podiums of the season, with Pulcini grabbing his first F3 win.
    Lawson’s third-place finish at Silverstone was also MP Motorsport’s first podium of the season.
    Out of eight possible victories this season, PREMA have four, Hitech Grand Prix have three and HWA RACELAB have one.
    Argentinian-born Giorgio Carrara returns to F3 with Jenzer Motorsport at the Hungaroring, driving the Swiss team’s number 15 car for the second time this season.
    The F3 qualifying session at the Hungaroring will take place on Saturday morning as opposed to Friday afternoon.
    Data (GMT+2)
    Friday
    Free Practice: 09.35 – 10.20
    Saturday
    Qualifying: 09.00 – 09.30
    Race 1: 16.45 (22 laps)
    Press conference: 17.45
    Sunday
    Race 2: 10.00 (22 laps)

  • Pulcini wins Race 2; Jehan Daruwala suffers setback, slips to 2nd in the championship: F3

    Silverstone, 14 July 2019: Leonardo Pulcini denied Championship leaders PREMA a win for the second round in a row, edging out Robert Shwartzman for his first taste of champagne this season, with a blistering drive in Race 2.
    Starting 7th on the reverse grid, Indian racer Jehan Daruvala did well and was fighting for the third position when he got into an incident and ended any chance of making it to the top-3 and ended last. After suffering this setback, the Indian prospect slipped back to 2nd in the championship behind his teammate. He took the lead in the first race after his 2nd on the podium.
    The Russian racer made a late charge through the field, but could only rise as high as second, coming unstuck against the dominant Italian who secured his team’s second victory at Silverstone. Reverse grid poleman Liam Lawson completed the top three to earn his first podium in FIA Formula 3.
    Lawson had gotten away cleanly at the start, with Pedro Piquet and Christian Lundgaard busy squabbling amongst themselves for P2. Pulcini made the best beginning of the lot, lunging ahead of Shwartzman midway through the first lap for 4th, while the Russian took air on the curb.
    It was not a strong start for the Russian who also caught the tail of Race 1 winner Jüri Vips and lost further momentum. Pulcini already had his eyes on a provisional podium spot but would need two attempts to race round Lundgaard, making the second one stick at the final turn.
    The Italian arrowed in on Lawson, but carefully calculated his move and patiently waited in the Kiwi’s shadow. The opportunity arose on lap 9 and he seared to the right of the MP Motorsport man and comfortably completed the move. His team urged him to build a 1s gap and then concentrate on his degrading rubber.
    The three PREMAs were locked in tussle for 5th, but Shwartzman put a stop to the fight with an overtake on Lundgaard at the exit of Chapel which wobbled the Dane and allowed Jehan Daruvala to follow on through.
    Having been stuck in 5th for the majority of the race, Shwartzman swiftly followed up his first move and blistered past Piquet for third, with his eyes locked on Lawson in P2. The overtake duly arrived around the outside of Stowe, completing an awesome couple of laps for the PREMA man and a remarkable turn-around.
    His charge ended there as Pulcini had managed to fire 4s ahead, with just two laps to go. Action continued further back when Piquet and Lawson went wheel-to-wheel: the Trident man edged ahead and looked to have nailed down the position, but the Kiwi regained the spot thanks to slick defending moves. Daruvala added his name to the fight for third and clipped the back of the Brazilian as he backed off, sending Piquet into a spin and ending his race.
    Pulcini held on come the chequered flag for his maiden win of the campaign, ahead of the resurgent Shwartzman and 17-year-old Lawson. Marcus Armstrong and Lundgaard completed the top five, followed by David Beckmann, Yuki Tsunoda and Fabio Scherer.
    Shwartzman’s podium finish hands him back the lead in the drivers’ championship on 114 points, 12 ahead of Daruvala. Vips is third on 92, ahead of Marcus Armstrong on 77 and Piquet on 43. PREMA Racing still lead the teams’ championship on 293 points, with Hitech Grand Prix second on 127. ART Grand Prix sit third with 92, followed by Trident on 58 and HWA RACELAB on 41.
    Action will resume at the end of July as the grid head to Hungary where Hitech will aim to continue their pursuit of PREMA Racing, who will be desperate to pick up the pace again at the Hungaroring.
    FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Race 2 classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    3
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    4
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    5
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    6
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    7
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    8
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    9
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    10
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    11
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    12
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    13
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    14
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    15
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    16
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    17
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    18
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    19
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    20
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    21
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    22
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    23
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    24
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    25
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    26
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    27
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    28
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
  • Championship lead is a big boost, but I want to win races, says Daruvala

    Championship lead is a big boost, but I want to win races, says Daruvala

    THOUGHTS FROM VIPS, DARUVALA AND ARMSTRONG

    Jehan Daruvala (left) at the FIA post-race F3 press meet on Saturday. An FIA image

    FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 3 press conference following Race 1 here at Silverstone. Joining us today we have our top three finishers from the opening race – our race winner Jüri Vips from Hitech Grand Prix, in second place Jehan Daruvala from PREMA Racing and in third place Marcus Armstrong from PREMA Racing. Jüri congratulations. A magnificent lights to flag victory out there today, highlighted by a really intense fight with Jehan at the front of the field. Could you talk us through that battle with him and some of the defensive moves?

    Jüri Vips: I think I was struggling with my rear tyres a bit more than them through the whole race so first of all it was almost impossible to break the DRS without safety cars and everything. It was tough in the corners, very tough, and I really had to defend and fight for the victory but in the end I’m really happy that I got it. I’m really happy at the progress we’re all making, myself and Hitech, to start putting these weekends together and really have a clear direction on how to close the gap to the PREMA drivers. I’m really happy.

    FIA Formula 3: The safety car towards the end of the race cooled the battle down a little bit but it set things up for a final sprint to the flag. How did you deal with that? I guess it was quite an intense pressure towards the end?

    Jüri: Yeah. I think I did a better job with warming up the tyres and I think the safety car also kind of saved me because I got to cool down my rear tyres which were much hotter than the PREMA drivers behind me. I think that helped me to win and the tyres were a bit more ready, especially the front tyres at the safety car restart. I managed to pull a little gap in the last few laps and I don’t think Jehan got to attack after the safety car so that was good.

    FIA Formula 3: Congratulations. Jehan moving on to you now. Another podium finish and a hard fought race. Could we get your view of the fight with Jüri out there?

    Jehan Daruvala: It was a good battle. All race long I was close but just not close enough when I was catching him right at the end of the straight with the DRS. The virtual safety car was disappointing because that was the closest I was all race when coming out of Maggotts and Becketts. I thought that would be my best opportunity to overtake him but in the end, after the virtual safety car, I could stay within his DRS but I think he was pretty clever when he was in Maggotts and Becketts making sure he was always fast on the exit. Then we’d come close in the middle but I didn’t really have enough downforce on the last part of the circuit. He drove well. He didn’t really make any mistakes apart from one on the opening lap where he went off in Maggotts Becketts but he had a safe gap at that point. To be honest the car was great, I could follow him a bit better than I thought in all the corners except the most crucial corner.

    FIA Formula 3: Another podium though, and that puts you into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship now. How much of a boost has this recent run of podiums and high finishes been for you?

    Jehan: It is a boost, but like I said yesterday my main focus was to win the race. I wasn’t thinking at any time that I wanted to finish second even though I knew Robert was sixth at one point. Obviously, I’m fighting Jüri and Marcus for the championship as well so my goal was to try and take the lead. I tried a couple of times but his defence was quite strong.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done today. Marcus moving on to you now. You recovered after dropping off the front row at the start to get into that fight for the lead at one point, how much did that safety car stump your charge? You were so close but did it pull you back a little bit?

    Marcus Armstrong: Yeah. As a whole it’s a bit of a disappointing race. The start was strange. I sort of had a shocking launch and everyone just went past me. To be honest I wasn’t too worried at the time because I knew that we had the pace. Obviously quali was quite strong so it wasn’t the end of the world. Once I got past [Christian] Lundgaard quite early in the race it was clear that the car was good and the pace was strong. Then I think there was a VSC straight after that just as I was starting to get on the back of these guys. I think the two, the virtual safety car and the safety car, was not ideal for me just because it kept, as you say, stunting the momentum that I had. In saying that it is difficult to overtake once you arrive to the front two. As Jehan said, Jüri’s not making many mistakes and obviously Jehan’s not making many mistakes, so it was never going to be an easy fight to get past.

    FIA Formula 3: We spoke yesterday about it possibly being a race of management out there, how did that match up with your expectations?

    Marcus: It wasn’t mental. It’s pretty cold outside so it wasn’t dramatic. In the end I don’t think I’d do anything differently. It was quite a predictable race which is not what I expected yesterday.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done on your result. Jüri back to you now. You received high praise from both of your fellow drivers here, how much are you enjoying this fight against PREMA? It’s a really intense battle that we’re seeing at the front of the championship right now.

    Jüri: The first few races not so much because the battle for the championship didn’t look so good then, but I’m really happy with how things went at the Red Bull Ring. We put a very strong weekend together and I know we still have Race 2 to go but this is also looking like a very strong weekend, or maybe even better because we got pole position as well. There’s still little things to improve, the pace wasn’t as good as I wanted, but I need to check the data and improve for Race 2 because tomorrow will also be very crucial to make up as many positions as possible and gain as many points on these two as possible to close the gap in the championship. That’s my aim.

  • Jehan Daruvala settles for second after a daring drive: F3 Race 1

    Jehan Daruvala settles for second after a daring drive: F3 Race 1

    Jehan Daruvala (PREMA Racing), Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix), Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Racing) at the F3 podium on Saturday. An F3 image

    Silverstone, 13 July 2019: Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala of Prema Racing, made a valiant attempt to force a win, but superb defending by Red Bull Junior Juri Vips of Hitech Grand Prix team saw him take a well-deserved win ahead of the Prema duo of Daruvala and championship leader Marcus Armstrong in the  FIA Formula 3 Race 1, a support event at the British Grand Prix weekend at the iconic Silverstone circuit here on Saturday. Daruvala, thus gained his fifth podium of the season and has now taken the championship lead with 102 points. He will start on P7 for the shorter Sprint race on Sunday at 1.05 IST

    Jüri Vips produced a defensive masterclass at Silverstone to keep the relentless Jehan Daruvala behind him and drive a lights-to-flag victory in the FIA Formula 3 Race 1. The Hitech Grand Prix man survived several overtake attempts from the pacey PREMA to retain the position come the chequered flag. The duo were followed by the second PREMA of Marcus Armstrong in third.
    Courtesy Twitter @DaruvalaJehan

    There was a frantic start when the lights went out, as Vips dashed in front of Armstrong to hold onto pole and race ahead. In his attempts to take first, the Kiwi dropped between both Daruvala and Christian Lundgaard, who took advantage of his focus on Vips.

    Armstrong managed to regain the place from Lundgaard at the second corner, who was thrust into a battle with Leonardo Pulcini. The Italian initially cut around the right of the ART man, who dropped back and sprinted around his left to regain fourth.
    Meanwhile, the third PREMA of Robert Shwartzman had fallen as far as 13th after a slow start, but wrestled his way back to his starting position of sixth within the first tour of Silverstone.
    Armstrong and Lundgaard were still locked in wall-to-wall combat for third around the tight twists of the circuit, before the Kiwi was given some respite when debutant Federico Malvestiti stopped on track and brought out a virtual safety car.
    Back out in front, Daruvala attempted a daring lunge on the race leader when action resumed, but Vips defended gallantly going into the corner to hold onto P1. The Indian driver made a second attempt just a few minutes later, but once again fell foul to the defensive abilities of the Hitech racer, who held on, despite nearly kissing tyres.
    The battle was far from over and the gap remained under a second, but Vips refused to waver. His persistent change of racing line was breaking Daruvala’s tow and keeping him in behind. The PREMA man’s third attempt was his closest as the duo went wheel-to-wheel, but Vips edged him around the corner and once again, they nearly kissed tyres as the PREMA man was forced to ease off.
    Having fought so hard for first, the Indian was suddenly plunged into a fight for P2 after he wobbled around a corner and briefly cruised off track. Armstrong dove down the side and the pair went wheel-to-wheel. Still within a second of Vips, Daruvala was aided by DRS and managed to cling on.
    Further back, Raoul Hyman was flung off track and bumped the barriers. His attempts to get restarted were in vein and eventually he was forced out of his car, bringing out a safety car.
    Five laps remained when the safety car dove back into the pits and Vips made a superb getaway, while Daruvala made a poor one. The Estonian quickly built up a 1s gap and was out of DRS range, with Daruvala now concentrating on the Kiwi teammate in his shadow.
    The safety car had bridged the gap between Piquet and Shwartzman, but traffic was crushing his efforts to overtake. Spotting the Trident in his rear view, the PREMA picked up pace and made a move on Lundgaard, slickly sweeping down his left.
    Vips had put air between himself and Daruvala, who was now locked in a three-way battle with Armstrong and Pulcini for the final podium places. They would all hold on come the chequered flag, as Vips ran ahead of Daruvala and Armstrong, with Pulcini in fourth, for the first lights-to-flag victory of the campaign.
    Shwartzman completed the top five following his move on Lundgaard, while Piquet stole sixth at the death. The ART man was forced to settle for seventh, ahead of Liam Lawson, Jake Hughes and Alex Peroni.
    Daruvala’s P2 finish was enough to haul him into the Championship lead on 100 points, two ahead of teammate Shwartzman. Vips is third on 92, followed by Armstrong on 69 and Piquet on 43. PREMA lead the team’s standings with 226 points, ahead of ART Grand Prix on 76. Hitech Grand Prix are third with 71 points, followed by Trident on 50 and HWA RACELAB on 35.
    The grid’s youngest driver Liam Lawson will start on reverse pole in Race 2 tomorrow, which takes place at 1.05pm IST, 8.35am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Race 1 classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    3
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    4
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    5
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    6
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    7
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    8
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    9
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    10
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    11
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    12
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    13
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    14
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    15
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    16
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    17
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    18
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    19
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    20
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    21
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    22
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    23
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    24
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    25
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    26
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    27
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Logan Sargeant (Carlin Buzz Racing) – 1:45.692 on Lap 16
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Jehan Daruvala (PREMA Racing) – 1:45.698 on Lap 17
  • Jehan Daruvala claims P3 for Race 1, looks forward to a good fight: F3

    Jehan Daruvala claims P3 for Race 1, looks forward to a good fight: F3

    Jehan Daruvala after qualifying P3 on Friday at Silverstone. Photos: Twitter @DaruvalaJehan

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian race driver Jehan Daruvala missed the pole by a whisker after a late charge by Jüri Vips in his last lap put the Hitech Grand Prix team on top and he fetched his first F3 pole position, during an intense final few minutes of FIA Formula 3 Qualifying here on Friday.

    No fewer than five drivers held first in the final 90 seconds of the session, but Vips came out on top ahead of PREMA duo Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala.
    The Championship leaders were the ones to beat at the start of the session, with Armstrong and Daruvala comfortably lapping quickest early on. Vips and Max Fewtrell soon got up to speed and were able to usurp the in-form pair.
    Armstrong was on the hunt for his second pole this season in as many rounds and reclaimed P1 as the cars began to feed back into the pit lane at the halfway stage.  Liam Lawson nipped out ahead of everyone and pocketed P2 with the track to himself, but the Kiwi was pushed back down the order when the track filled up again.
    Vips exchanged fastest laps with Niko Kari heading into the final minutes of the session, before Qualifying quickly heated up. Pedro Piquet stole P1 from the clutches of Vips with 90 seconds left on the clock, but was soon usurped by Robert Shwartzman and then Armstrong.
    The Estonian had enough in the tank to return the favour and jumped back ahead to seal first, followed by Armstrong and Daruvala. Christian Lundgaard and Leonardo Pulcini completed the top five, ahead of Shwartzman, Lawson, Piquet, Fabio Scherer and Ye Yifei.
    Jehan will be aiming for a podium finish if not a win and looking forward for a good fight in Race 1 tomorrow, at 2.05iST. Local time: 9.25am
    FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Qualifying classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Jüri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:43.902
    13
    2
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:43.998
    11
    3
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:44.014
    11
    4
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.073
    12
    5
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:44.139
    12
    6
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:44.218
    11
    7
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.360
    12
    8
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:44.403
    13
    9
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.433
    13
    10
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:44.461
    12
    11
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:44.462
    13
    12
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:44.476
    14
    13
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.581
    12
    14
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.584
    12
    15
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.647
    12
    16
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:44.746
    12
    17
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.756
    13
    18
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.967
    11
    19
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:44.984
    13
    20
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:45.020
    12
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:45.088
    13
    22
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:45.109
    13
    23
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:45.110
    13
    24
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.142
    12
    25
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:45.229
    14
    26
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.301
    13
    27
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.435
    13
    28
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:45.590
    13
    29
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:46.103
    13
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:47.068
    13
  • Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala raring to go: F3

    Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala raring to go: F3

    All of the vital information ahead of F3’s fourth round of 2019
    File photo of Jehan Daruvala, Prema Racing. FIA Formula 3 Championship, at the Austria round in June. Credit: Team Daruvala

    Silverstone, 11 July 2019: Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala, touted as the next best chance of an Indian in F1, will begin the Round 4 after his triple podium in a positive manner. Daruvala (82) is just eight points behind his Prema Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong (90) in the championship standings and is raring to go.

    Daruvala came second in the Sprint race and his strong performance in both races of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, the Round 3, saw him close the gap to 8 points, remaining second in the FIA F3 Championship behind Schwartzman from Russia. This weekend at the famed Silverstone circuit will be a support event to the iconic British Grand Prix, which will remain in the calendar for another six years and agreement paved the way for meaningful financial dealings for the race hosts.

    Another Indian Arjun Maini will also be seen in action at the Silverstone F1 weekend as he will race in the F2 along with compatriot Mahaveer Raghunathan, who returns after being kept out for one event.

    The Stakes       
    Two weeks after the amazing action in Austria’s mountains, the F3 paddock rolls into the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire countryside for Round 4 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship at Silverstone.
    PREMA Racing’s Marcus Armstrong had the early pace at the Red Bull Ring, going fastest in practice and then nabbing pole position in qualifying, but it was Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips who took the win in Race 1 after a measured drive to stand on the top step of the podium for the first time this season. Armstrong and Championship leader Robert Shwartzman looked on course to return PREMA to winning ways in Race 2, only for the teammates to break the golden rule of racing and collide on the final lap. The New Zealander suffered a puncture and ended up P19, while the Russian was relegated to third after a time penalty meaning Jake Hughes landed his and HWA RACELAB’s first F3 win.
    Shwartzman (90 points) still leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship, though his lead has been cut to just eight points by teammate Jehan Daruvala (82) in second place. Vips (63) leaps up to third after bagging 31 points in Austria, more than any other driver. PREMA (226) are still sitting pretty at the top of Teams’ Championship, 150 points in front of second-placed ART Grand Prix (76). Hitech (71) are just five points behind in third.
    Silverstone Circuit is the venue for the fourth round of the championship. Famed for its high speeds, fast corners and long straights, the drivers will look to fly around the former airfield on Pirelli’s hard compound tyre. With 30 cars ducking and diving around the track, they’ll have to remain grounded if they are to come out on top during another incredible weekend of racing.
    Warm Up // Jüri Vips – Hitech Grand Prix
    “Silverstone is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. I really love the fast sections of corners and everything is combined so it’s very fast but very technical at the same time. That fits me just perfectly. It’s one of the rounds that I look forward to the most.
    “Every corner is a challenge, some more than others, but it probably has the most challenging section of corners on the calendar. Out of the first four corners, Maggotts and Becketts are some of the hardest of the season. You have to drive perfectly. It’s the easiest place to make a big time difference in that sense, which I like a lot.
    “Silverstone is definitely a driver’s track. Last year, overtaking was very difficult but I think this year it will be easier because after Maggotts/Becketts it’s not that difficult to follow a car and we have a DRS zone there.
    “If you get hot temperatures and your car has oversteer and slides a lot you can get quite tired, not physically but mentally, because you’re fighting the car quite a lot. It’s not that your muscles get overloaded, it’s just that you have to think about what the car is going to do a lot more so it’s harder.
    “Tyre degradation is probably going to be quite high, especially on the front tyres, so we’ll have to set up the car for that and take care of that during the race. It’s an interesting new set of skills that we have to learn in F3.
    “I can’t wait, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going to get pole position and win both races, or at least that’s what I’m planning for!”
    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
    “Silverstone is known as the ‘home of British motorsport’ so it’s a very significant race for many teams and drivers in the F3 championship. The biggest question mark will be the new asphalt, which nobody has had a chance to drive on yet, while the weather in England at this time of year is also often variable. The 30 Formula 3 drivers will all be fighting on the hard tyre and will need to manage them to the end on this demanding circuit.”
    Season Stats
    8 The gap between Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing teammate Jehan Daruvala at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
    31 The number of points Jüri Vips took from Round 3, the most of any driver.
    7 The number of different drivers who have led races so far this season.
    235 The total race distance in kilometres a driver will cover at Silverstone in Round 4.
    Noteworthy
    Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips became the first non-PREMA Racing driver to win a race this season when he was victorious in Race 1 in Austria
    Vips, Lirim Zendeli and Marcus Armstrong all led an FIA Formula 3 race for the first time at the Red Bull Ring
    Six drivers from five different teams have earned a bonus point for setting the fastest lap so far; PREMA’s Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala, Vips of Hitech, Jenzer Motorsport’s Yuki Tsunoda, Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB and ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard
    Just eight points separate Robert Shwartzman and Daruvala at the top of the Driver’s Championship
    19-year-old Italian racer Federico Malvestiti will make his F3 debut when he drives Jenzer Motorsport’s number 15 car at Silverstone
    Nine different drivers have stood on the podium in the opening three rounds
    Seven different drivers scored points in both races of Round 3 – Shwartzman and Daruvala of PREMA, Vips and Leonardo Pulcini of Hitech Grand Prix, ART Grand Prix’s Max Fewtrell, Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB and Zendeli of Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Data (GMT+1)
    Friday
    Free Practice: 08.35 – 09.20
    Qualifying: 16.50 – 17.20
    Press conference: 18.30
    Saturday
    Race 1: 09.25 (20 laps)
    Press conference: 10.25
    Sunday
    Race 2: 1.05pm Indian Standard Time (20 laps)
    Local time: 08.35 am

    Following are the Indian Times

    QUALIFYINGFRI 12 JUL 2019, 21:20 (GMT+5.5)

    RACE 1SAT 13 JUL 2019, 13:55 (GMT+5.5)

    RACE 2SUN 14 JUL 2019, 13:05 (GMT+5.5)

  • Jehan Daruvala takes second place after penalty for teammate Shwartzman: F3

    Jehan Daruvala takes second place after penalty for teammate Shwartzman: F3

    Jehan Daruvala (left- in red) takes 2nd place in the F3 race on Sunday. An FIA image

    Assen, 30 June 2019: Talented Indian racer, dubbed as the next F1 prospect from India, continued his successful run in the Formula 3, albeit in a lucky fashion when his teammates collided late in the race and Jehan Daruvala, who won a race last weekend, garnered important points after he was promoted to second place behind surprise winner Huges.

    Jake Hughes claimed his first ever FIA Formula 3 win in controversial circumstances after leader Robert Shwartzman caused a collision with teammate Marcus Armstrong on the final lap of Race 2 in Austria. The Russian had been unwavering for the majority of the morning but lost his nerve when his teammate scampered past him in the dying embers and inadvertently cut the Kiwi’s rear tyre in an attempt to reclaim first.

    Despite suffering damage to his front wing, the Russian managed to complete his final tour of the Red Bull Ring in first but was demoted to third after a five-second time penalty was added for causing the collision. This saw Hughes promoted to the top of the podium for his first ever win in the category, ahead of Jehan Daruvala.

    The HWA RACELAB man begun the morning in second and failed in his initial efforts to pass reverse poleman Lirim Zendeli who wasn’t prepared to let the position go and toughed it out around the outside of the Brit at Turn 1 to retain the lead. Pedro Piquet suffered heartbreak at the start when he lost control of his Trident and rotated at the first turn, chucking him back to P29 and ending his hopes of a first F3 win.

    The front seven positions proved interchangeable in the first lap and Armstrong managed to force his way to third behind Zendeli and Hughes. Shwartzman perched up behind him in fourth, while Jüri Vips and Richard Verschoor clambered ahead of Daruvala for fifth and sixth.

    The next few laps played out in a calmer manner until Armstrong took aim at first place going three wide with Zendeli and Hughes around the corner with no room for error. Shwartzman added a fourth car to the mix as Hughes emerged ahead of them all for first, with the Russian claiming P2 in a shrewd manoeuvre.

    His time at the front didn’t last long as Shwartzman beat him at the top of the hill, with the Brit’s car unable to match the Russian’s speed. Armstrong followed his teammate through a lap later and handed their team the prospect of a tasty one-two finish.

    The Third PREMA machine was running down in sixth, ahead of Vips and Verschoor. The Indian was harrowing poleman Zendeli, but slipped in his pursuit and was punched back to seventh by Leonardo Pulcini who capitalised on his mistake. Daruvala reacted with haste and recovered to pass both Zendeli and Pulcini for fifth and close in on Max Fewtrell. The fourth was soon his after a delicious lunge on the Englishman.

    All wasn’t well out in front as Armstrong refused to sit behind his teammate and rattled on in his pursuit of first. Hughes was perched comfortable in behind the combatting PREMA duo when his team foreshadowed future events and told him to wait patiently for one of them to make a mistake.

    A virtual safety car brought a brief break in racing when Alex Peroni lost his rear under breaking and ran into the back of his Campos teammate Sebastian Fernandez. Action resumed with two laps to go and Armstrong’s pursuit of his teammate began once more.

    The fight went down to the last lap and Armstrong was finally able to muster up the speed to dart down the side of Shwartzman. The Russian was forced to the rear right of his teammate, but swerved too close and nicked the Kiwi’s back tyre. Armstrong was sent dizzily onto the gravel and shunted down the grid.

    Shwartzman maintained control of his vehicle to regain the lead and soldiered towards the finish line despite a battered front wing to finish narrowly ahead of Hughes. News soon broke of a penalty for the Russian, due to the collision, which forced him back to third, behind teammate Daruvala and first placed Hughes. The Briton was surprised to be asked to stop by the number 1 panel in the parc fermé before celebrating with his team their good fortune.

    Shwartzman maintains his control of the Championship with 90 points, eight points ahead of teammate Daruvala. Juri Vips is third with 63 points, ahead of Armstrong on 54 and Fewtrell on 37. In the Teams’ standings, PREMA Racing dominate with 226, ahead of ART Grand Prix on 76 and Hitech Grand Prix on 71. Trident are fourth with 50 points, ahead of HWA RACELAB on 35.

    The Championship will travel to Silverstone in two weeks’ time when the teams will continue their attempts to bridge the gap between themselves and PREMA.

    2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 3 Race 2

    DRIVER TEAM
    1 Jake Hughes HWA RACELAB
    2 Jehan Daruvala PREMA Racing
    3 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing
    4 Max Fewtrell ART Grand Prix
    5 Leonardo Pulcini Hitech Grand Prix
    6 Juri Vips Hitech Grand Prix
    7 Lirim Zendeli Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    8 Niko Kari Trident
    9 Devlin DeFrancesco Trident
    10 David Beckmann ART Grand Prix
    11 Yuki Tsunoda Jenzer Motorsport
    12 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport
    13 Keyvan Andres HWA RACELAB
    14 Felipe Drugovich Carlin Buzz Racing
    15 Pedro Piquet Trident
    16 Raoul Hyman Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    17 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix
    18 Simo Laaksonen MP Motorsport
    19 Marcus Armstrong PREMA Racing
    20 Andreas Estner Jenzer Motorsport
    21 Giorgio Carrara Jenzer Motorsport
    22 Teppei Natori Carlin Buzz Racing
    23 Fabio Scherer Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    24 Alessio Deledda Campos Racing
    25 Liam Lawson MP Motorsport
    26 Logan Sargeant Carlin Buzz Racing
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Sebastian Fernandez Campos Racing
    Alex Peroni Campos Racing
    Bent Viscaal HWA RACELAB
    Ye Yifei Hitech Grand Prix
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Christian Lundgaard (ART Grand Prix) – 1:21.234 on Lap 20
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Jake Hughes (HWA RACELAB) – 1:21.458 on Lap 10

  • Vips claims first F3 race win in Spielberg; Jehan Daruvala finishes P4

    Jüri Vips achieved his first FIA Formula 3 win in style in today’s Race 1 at the Red Bull Ring, leaping two positons from third to become the first non-PREMA winner of the campaign. The Hitech Grand Prix racer finished ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Max Fewtrell and PREMA Racing’s Marcus Armstrong, muscling his way past the both of them in the early stages.
    The Estonian overcame a frantic start and clung onto P3 despite an initial overtake attempt from Indian racing star Jehan Daruvala when the lights went out. Armstrong also came under threat at the start and initially lost first to Fewtrell who was quick off the line from P2. The Brit dashed in-front of the Kiwi and took the racing line, but Armstrong fought back and reclaimed the position down the inside of Turn 2.
    Having seen such a promising start unravel, Fewtrell was soon fighting off Vips’ Hitech machine, who was having to attack and defend simultaneously thanks to Daruvala’s pace in-behind. The Estonian came out on top of the three-man dice and left Fewtrell to battle off the PREMA man racing in-front, fast catching Armstrong.
    Vips followed up his move on the ART driver with a searing sweep on the Kiwi racer, soaring down the inside of Turn 3 and into the lead. Fewtrell took a tow and followed him, as the former race leader lost two positions in one move. The poleman looked to react, but a poor exit on Turn 2 gave Fewtrell breathing space and broke up the brawl.
    Further back, a three-man tussle between Jake Hughes, Pedro Piquet and Robert Shwartzman had begun, with the latter making his way from ninth on the grid showing that there was no hangover from Friday when he had suffered technical issues in Qualifying.
    The Russian driver further emphasised this with the race’s fastest lap, but couldn’t capitalise on a mistake from Piquet, who had temporarily lost his back end at Turn 1. The Brazilian reacted by setting a new fastest lap himself and confidently took fifth from Hughes who thus dropped to sixth.
    The Briton battled back and reclaimed fifth at the corner, but soon faced another jaunt on the place as Shwartzman went three-wide with the two drivers and emerged ahead of them both at Turn 3.
    The race entered its final lap and Daruvala was becoming frustrated with him inability to pass teammate Armstrong for the final podium place. Sensing a now-or-never moment, he took a stab down the inside of the Kiwi on Turn 4, but got too close and intelligently backed off as the duo came within an inch of Fewtrell’s rear wing.
    Richard Verschoor managed to squeeze into the final points’ paying position ahead of Bent Viscaal prior to the chequered flag, while Lirim Zendelli snuck ahead of Leonardo Pulcini to give the order one final shake up.
    Leaving those behind him to battle, Vips ran through the chequered flag in first, with Fewtrell second and Armstrong holding onto third. Daruvala and Shwartzman settled for fourth and fifth, followed by Piquet, Hughes, Zendeli, Pulcini and Verschoor.
    The top two in the drivers’ standings remains unchanged, with Shwartzman leading Daruvala by 10 points. Vips holds third on 59 points, ahead of Armstrong and Piquet. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA Racing lead the way with 204 points, ahead of ART Grand Prix on 68. Hitech Grand Prix are third on 61 points, Trident fourth on 49 and HWA RACELAB fifth on 22.
    Zendeli will start on reverse grid pole in Race 2 ahead of the experienced Hughes, as the teams’ look to continue their charge down of PREMA tomorrow at 9.35am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 3 – Round 3 Race 1 Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    3
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    4
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    5
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    6
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    7
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    8
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    9
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    10
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    12
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    13
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    14
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    15
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    16
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    17
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    18
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    19
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    20
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    22
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    23
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    24
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    25
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    26
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    27
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    28
    Giorgio Carrara
    Jenzer Motorsport
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix) – 1:21.042 on Lap 23
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix)