Felix Rosenqvist hauled himself onto the podium as the FIA Formula 3 European Championship paid its first-ever visit to Budapest’s Hungaroring this weekend – but was also forced out of a fight for victory following a penalty in Sunday’s concluding Race 3.
Rosenqvist came home third in the first race of the weekend on Saturday, backing up his recent triumph on the streets of Pau with another visit to the podium in what is widely regarded as one of the toughest junior single-seater series of the current era. In Race 2, Rosenqvist then steered his Mücke Motorsport Dallara to fourth.
The final race of the meeting, which took place late on Sunday afternoon, saw Rosenqvist produce a spectacular opening lap as he went from fourth on the grid to grab second with an eye-catching around-the-outside move on team-mate Lucas Auer and Ferrari-backed Italian Antonio Fuoco. The Swede then joined leader Esteban Ocon in storming away from the rest of the field, only to be dealt a significant blow as he was handed a drive-through penalty for exceeding track limits – leaving him outside the points in 17th place.
“It’s obviously good to have scored another podium this weekend, but right now, I’m mostly disappointed with the outcome of the final race,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “I think it was a very tough decision, and I was given no previous notice that I was under investigation. There is normally a warning flag before a penalty is handed out, but I accept the decision and can take some positive aspects out of that race. The pace was there to challenge for the win, and while we still have a few things to work on, we are definitely heading in the right direction.”
Next up on the FIA Formula 3 European Championship calendar is another famous Grand Prix venue, as the field travels to Spa-Francorchamps in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes on June 20-22.
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