Verstappen, King and Blomqvist secure podium places in MoscowSuccessful Moscow Raceway debut in Formula 3 European ChampionshipVerstappen still in second place in the championship
The FIA Formula 3 European Championship celebrated a successful debut at the Moscow Raceway. The junior series for Formula 1 hosted races 19 to 21 of the season on the 3.931-kilometre race track just outside the Russian capital at the weekend. Max Verstappen (NL), Jordan King (GB) and Tom Blomqvist (GB) made sure that at least one driver “powered by Volkswagen” made it onto the podium in all three races. However, the man who dominated the weekend was Esteban Ocon (F), who, with three commanding start-finish victories, extended his lead in the championship.
After six successive victories recently, Volkswagen driver Verstappen had to make do with third place in the first race on the Moscow Raceway. In second place “powered by Volkswagen” was Carlin driver Jordan King. The 2013 British Formula 3 champion successfully kept 16-year-old Dutchman Verstappen at bay on the final two laps. Starting from fourth on the grid, Verstappen immediately put Tom Blomqvist (GB), also equipped with a Formula 3 unit from Wolfsburg, under pressure. At the end of the second lap, Verstappen's plucky out-braking manoeuvre saw him move past Blomqvist and start to chase the leading duo Ocon/King. But the distance to the top proved to be too great and there was no further change in positions before the finish.
There was slightly more action in the middle of the starting field and towards the back. Sean Gelæl (RI) was awarded a drive thru penalty after a false start and was pushed further down the field when he span his car shortly after that. Speaking of drive thru penalties: The race directors handed out quite a few of these throughout the three races, since many drivers unashamedly exceeded the generous track limits of the Moscow Raceway or attracted negative attention due to false starts.
Victory was also decided early on in the second race. Starting from pole position, Ocon quickly pulled away from the rest of the field, Blomqvist and Verstappen defended their starting positions of third and fourth respectively. But on lap eleven the Dutchman slowed down suddenly and shortly after this drove his Dallara-Volkswagen into the pits. Technical problems prevented him from carrying on with the race. Meanwhile, after 24 laps, Blomqvist crossed the finish line in third, behind Ocon and Antonio Fuoco (I).
The third race of the weekend however proved to be much more eventful. Once again many drivers were forced to enter the pit lane after being awarded drive thru penalties – just as he did in the first race, Gelæl had a false start, as did other drivers. Blomqvist, who started from second on the grid, was also caught out when he set off a split second too early at the start. After the son of the former World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist had completed his drive thru penalty, Verstappen was free to take on leader Ocon.
The Dutchman’s best chance came after the end of a safety-car period that was required after a collision between King and Lucas Auer (A) on lap 16. The restart came just one lap before the finish – and Verstappen took Ocon by surprise when he went on the attack coming into the finishing straight. But the championship leader countered his rival’s plucky manoeuvre, which saw the wheels of their vehicles touch, and went on to celebrate his third victory of the weekend.
In the overall standings Verstappen now has 263 points and is still lying in wait in second place behind Ocon (379) after 21 of 33 races of the season. However, the gap between the leader and his fiercest competitor has increased. The next three races in the talent breeding ground for Formula 1 will take place in Spielberg from 01 to 03 August.
Quotes, FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the Moscow Raceway
Max Verstappen (NL), Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara-Volkswagen #30“It was an exhausting weekend for us, but I am particularly pleased with the final race. We had a good set-up for the third race and a good speed. I braked slightly too late when I attempted to overtake Esteban Ocon. Unfortunately this meant that I was a bit too far out, which enabled Esteban to overtake me again.”
Tom Blomqvist (GB), Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen #31“It's great to be on the podium again after two weekends that weren’t so good. We were consistently good in the races, but we had some problems in qualifying. That’s what we still need to work on. In the first race I had no opportunity to attack Antonio, it’s extremely difficult to overtake on this track.”
Jordan King (GB), Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen #5“I wanted to keep up with Esteban at the start of the first race and didn’t do enough to protect my tyres. Just like Esteban I wasn’t able to drive as quickly as our pursuers Max Verstappen and Tom Blomqvist towards the end of the race. I couldn’t have done any better than second place in this race since I was never close enough to Esteban to be able to attack. In the third race I wanted to counter Lucas Auer’s attack directly, but there wasn’t enough room for both of us in the bend.”
Overall standings after 21 of 33 races, FIA Formula 3 European Championship
1. Esteban Ocon, 379 points; 2. Max Verstappen 263; 4. Lucas Auer, 211; 4. Tom Blomqvist, 208; 5. Antonio Fuoco, 162; 6. Jordan King, 134; 7. Felix Rosenqvist, 132; 8. Jake Dennis 127; 8. ; 9. Nicholas Lafiti, 91; 10. Antonio Giovinazzi, 90
FIA Formula 3 European ChampionshipMoscow – Result Race 101. Esteban Ocon (F), Dallara-Mercedes 24 laps in 35m 47.041s02. Jordan King (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 1.536s03. Max Verstappen (NL), Dallara-Volkswagen + 2.074s04. Tom Blomqvist (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 3.645s... 10. Gustavo Menezes (USA), Dallara-Volkswagen + 28.561s11. Jules Szymkowiak (NL), Dallara-Volkswagen + 31.166s13. Antonio Giovinazzi (I), Dallara-Volkswagen + 33.429s15. Jake Dennis (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 46.714s17. Sean Gelæl (RI), Dallara-Volkswagen + 55.001sMoscow – Result Race 201. Esteban Ocon (F), Dallara-Mercedes 24 laps in 35m 42.871s02. Antonio Fuoco (I), Dallara-Mercedes + 5.309s03. Tom Blomqvist (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 5.842s... 05. Jordan King (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 8.685s06. Jake Dennis (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 13.728s12. Jules Szymkowiak (NL), Dallara-Volkswagen + 31.485s15. Gustavo Menezes (USA), Dallara-Volkswagen + 46.621s16. Antonio Giovinazzi (I), Dallara-Volkswagen + 50.904s17. Sean Gelæl (RI), Dallara-Volkswagen + 1 lap Max Verstappen (NL), Dallara-Volkswagen DNF
Moscow – Result Race 301. Esteban Ocon (F), Dallara-Mercedes 21 laps in 36m 08.124s02. Max Verstappen (NL), Dallara-Volkswagen + 0.691s03. Antonio Fuoco (I), Dallara-Mercedes + 1.202s04. Jake Dennis (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 1.918s... 07. Tom Blomqvist (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 3.502s10. Antonio Giovinazzi (I), Dallara-Volkswagen + 6.230s11. Sean Gelæl (RI), Dallara-Volkswagen + 6.991s12. Gustavo Menezes (USA), Dallara-Volkswagen + 8.582s13. Jules Szymkowiak (NL), Dallara-Volkswagen + 8.776s19. Jordan King (GB), Dallara-Volkswagen + 5 laps
