Matt Solomon and stand-in FIA Formula 3 European Championship team-mate Matheus Leist both mounted determined showings during the eighth racing meeting of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria over the weekend, 1st/2nd August, as mixed conditions made for an unpredictable event.
While testing and qualifying prior to the weekend, as well as the first two races on Saturday, all took place under beautiful summer skies, the final contest on Sunday morning was a complete wash-out with the race started behind the Safety Car before being red flagged twice.
Solomon came away from the weekend with a best result of 20th place in race two, round 23, while 17-year-old Leist – making the step-up from Double R Racing's MSA Formula squad to compete in place of the injured Nicolas Pohler – secured a best of 24th position in the same contest.
“It’s been a tough weekend but Matt and Matheus both did a good job, race two was the obvious highlight and there was plenty to build on from there for race three – but the weather took care of that!”, said Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “It was the right decision to red flag the last race, though, the conditions were awful and on the grounds of safety it was the only thing to do.
“It was a huge leap for Matheus from MSA Formula to FIA F3, especially as part of such a massively competitive grid, but he handled it well and the experience will stand him in good stead. Matt just needs to unlock a bit more pace in qualifying, a few more tenths there and the results will follow”
Solomon started Saturday morning’s contest, round 22, from 27th on the grid and made a good getaway to gain three positions on the opening lap before being edged back to 25th by Arjun Maini towards the end of the first tour.
After slipping to 26th on lap two, Solomon was nudged down to 27th place a lap later but regained one spot when Callum Ilott pitted with damage. Frustratingly, though, Solomon’s race ended in the pits at the end of the fifth tour after being forced to retire with damage sustained when he hit the inside kerb at the final corner and broke the front suspension wishbone clevis.
Rookie racer Leist made a similarly good getaway at the beginning of his maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship contest, leaping from 31st on the grid into 28th position, and he stayed there close behind Pietro Fittipaldi and team-mate Solomon during the first few laps.
Following the pit visits for Ilott and Solomon, Leist held 26th place but slipped a position when Markus Pommer, recovering from a stall at the start, made his way past on lap six. For the rest of the 24 lap contest, the Brazilian teenager held position in 27th place and kept Julio Moreno at bay over the final few tours as he closed in.
For round 23 later in the day, Solomon started in 26th place and having maintained position initially he started to make progress around one third race distance. Moving into 25th spot at the end of lap seven following a drive-through penalty for Sergio Sette Camara, Solomon then gained another place on lap 11 as he edged closer to the top 20.
Due to a spin into the gravel for Ryan Tveter on lap 19, the Safety Car appeared on lap 20 with the action resuming on lap 22. Solomon made a good re-start and as several drivers got tangled up in separate incidents over the final three laps, the Hong Kong racer kept a cool head to climb through into the top 20 before the finish.
Leist began the second contest from 29th on the grid and despite being edged back to 31st place on the first lap, he quickly regained one position before moving into 29th again as a result of the penalty for Camara. On lap nine, Leist climbed into 28th place but an unfortunate excursion shortly after dropped him back to 32nd position.
Recovering into 30th place prior to the emergence of the Safety Car on lap 20, after the re-start he replicated Solomon’s impressive conclusion to the encounter by avoiding any incident and picking his way through the problems of others to gain six places and finish in 24th position.
Due to heavy rain throughout the morning on Sunday, the third race of the weekend was postponed by roughly an hour and three quarters. When the race did begin, at around 13.25 local time, it was behind the Safety Car with the track surface still very wet and lighter rain continuing to fall.
After three full laps under Safety Car conditions, worsening rain and track conditions led to race officials calling for the red flags and the cars were ushered back to the grid as the scheduled time slot counted down.
After another delay, the encounter got back underway behind the Safety Car once more with five minutes on the clock but red flags were shown within only a couple of minutes and a result declared, with Solomon 26th and Leist 27th.
Portimao in Portugal will be the next stop on the FIA Formula 3 European Championship calendar with rounds 25, 26 and 27 taking place over the weekend 5th/6th September. Before then, Double R will be back in action next weekend, 8th/9th August, at Snetterton 300 Circuit in the UK for the resumption of the MSA Formula season.
Click here for the Official Double R Racing web site - designed and built by Racecar
