Felix hauled himself from 22nd on the grid to 14th by the chequered flag in the opening FIA Formula 3 European Championship race of the weekend at Pau, as he produced no less than eight overtaking moves at the ultra-tight street venue.
The lowly grid position came as a result of yesterday’s qualifying disaster, where Felix encountered engine problems that left him at the back of the pack.
He set about progressing as soon as the lights went out, however, slotting in behind Double R Racing’s Felipe Guimaraes and Prema Powerteam runner Antonio Fuoco as the race settled in. He would later overtake both of his rivals – and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Gustavo Menezes – in the closing stages to cross the line in 14th.
As expected, the race featured a number of incidents, with the safety car being called into action twice. Victory went to Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam), who controlled proceedings from pole position.
Next up this weekend is Qualifying 2, in which the grid for Races 2 and 3 will be formed.
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FELIX:
“That was a very fun race! It’s interesting how you can actually enjoy a race where you’re not even fighting for points more than one where you’re winning. It was a genuine race in the true sense of the word, and I did some of the best overtaking manoeuvres of my career today. I went around the outside of a couple of guys into the hairpin, and just tried to enjoy it as much as I could. Now, the weekend sort of re-starts for me, and I’m massively looking forward to qualifying this afternoon. We really deserve a better outcome now.”
RESULTS
| Pos. | No | Driver | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Esteban Ocon / FRA Prema Powerteam | 27 | 00:35:36.291 | – |
| 2 | 3 | Lucas Auer / AUT kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | 27 | 00:35:39.213 | 2.922 |
| 3 | 30 | Max Verstappen / NED Van Amersfoort Racing | 27 | 00:35:42.242 | 5.951 |
| 4 | 28 | Jake Dennis / GBR Carlin | 27 | 00:35:47.659 | 11.368 |
| 5 | 5 | Jordan King / GBR Carlin | 27 | 00:35:48.964 | 12.673 |
| 6 | 21 | Félix Serrallés / USA Team West-TecF3 | 27 | 00:35:51.001 | 14.710 |
| 7 | 19 | Antonio Giovinazzi / ITA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 27 | 00:35:52.088 | 15.797 |
| 8 | 6 | Edward Jones / UAE Carlin | 27 | 00:35:57.487 | 21.196 |
| 9 | 11 | Richard Goddard / GBR ThreeBond with T-Sport | 27 | 00:36:00.313 | 24.022 |
| 10 | 20 | Sean Gelael / INA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 27 | 00:36:01.155 | 24.864 |
| 11 | 31 | Tom Blomqvist / GBR Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 27 | 00:36:02.350 | 26.059 |
| 12 | 10 | John Bryant-Meisner / SWE Fortec Motorsports | 27 | 00:36:02.801 | 26.510 |
| 13 | 26 | Dennis van de Laar / NED Prema Powerteam | 27 | 00:36:03.006 | 26.715 |
| 14 | 27 | Felix Rosenqvist / SWE kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | 27 | 00:36:04.404 | 28.113 |
| 15 | 16 | Gustavo Menezes / USA Van Amersfoort Racing | 27 | 00:36:05.839 | 29.548 |
| 16 | 14 | Felipe Guimaraes / BRA Double R Racing | 27 | 00:36:05.963 | 29.672 |
| 17 | 25 | Antonio Fuoco / ITA Prema Powerteam | 27 | 00:36:06.734 | 30.443 |
| 18 | 18 | Tatiana Calderón / COL Jo Zeller Racing | 27 | 00:36:11.144 | 34.853 |
| 19 | 15 | Jules Szymkowiak / NED Van Amersfoort Racing | 27 | 00:36:11.816 | 35.525 |
| 20 | 4 | Roy Nissany / ISR kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | 27 | 00:36:18.501 | 42.210 |
| 21 | 22 | Hector Hurst / GBR Team West-TecF3 | 27 | 00:36:21.302 | 45.011 |
| 22 | 7 | Riccardo Agostini / ITA Eurointernational | 26 | 00:34:54.020 | 1 Lp. |
| NOT CLASSIFIED | |||||
| – | 8 | Michele Beretta / ITA Eurointernational | 12 | 00:16:39.100 | 15 Lp. |
| – | 1 | Nicholas Latifi / CAN Prema Powerteam | 0 | – | – |
| – | 9 | Mitchell Gilbert / AUS Fortec Motorsports | 0 | – | – |
| – | 12 | Alexander Toril / ESP ThreeBond with T-Sport | 0 | – | – |