Race 3: positive ending to tough weekend

Felix brought the opening round of the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship campaign to a positive close by charging his way up to seventh in the final race of the weekend at Silverstone.

Following the adversity of yesterday, Mücke Motorsport went into the race not just looking for stronger results – but also eager to try out a range of new overnight set-up changes.

Starting from 14th on the grid, Felix got things off encouragingly, overtaking fellow Swede John Bryant-Meisner for ninth at the end of the opening lap and grabbing eighth from Jordan King three corners later.

From there, the race stabilised, with Felix joining a queue of cars that also featured team-mate Lucas Auer. On lap eight, however, he was pushed off the track by a rival in the tight Village/Loop complex, dropping back to tenth.

Never one to give up, Felix would not let the setback get to him, as he set about once again bridging the gap to the cars ahead. After catching up with Auer, Felix produced an eye-catching around-the-outside move as the Mücke Motorsport duo went side by side through Brooklands, eventually coming out on top.

Towards the end of the race, Felix was among the fastest men on track – excluding the top three Prema Powerteam and Van Amersfoort Racing runners, who still enjoyed a clear advantage.

Felix quickly closed up on King (who had got back ahead of Felix during the earlier off-track incident), and once again launched an attack around the outside – this time going into Stowe. Felix made it stick, grabbed seventh, and then crossed the line just 0.3 seconds in arrears of Race 1 winner Tom Blomqvist.

Second-placed Max Verstappen, meanwhile, is under investigation for a potential overtaking move on Blomqvist under yellow flags, and the results may change depending on the stewards’ findings.

NEWS UPDATE: Verstappen escapes penalty.

The FIA Formula 3 European Championship now moves to Hockenheim – a circuit on which Felix has won races in each and every year since 2011.

FELIX:

“After everything we’ve gone through this weekend, at least this marked somewhat of a positive end. Starting 14th isn’t exactly ideal, and considering that, I think we made the most of this race – particularly since I was using four old tyres. Still, we’re way off the leading pace, and we most certainly can’t be happy just because things turned out a little better today. We have a massive amount of performance to unlock before Hockenheim, and that work starts right here, right now.”

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