Joel Eriksson sealed another FIA Formula 3 European Championship victory at the Hungaroring this weekend, leaving the Hungarian round of the campaign with a five-point lead in the title race.
Eriksson won Sunday’s concluding Race 3 in controlled manner, leading each of the 22 laps from pole position and setting the fastest lap of the event on his way to win number four of the season.
Backed up with second place in the preceding Race 2, it leaves Eriksson at the head of the FIA F3 European Championship standings, five points clear of 2016 runner-up Maximilian Günther (GER) and a further 16 ahead of Callum Ilott (GBR).
The Budapest success came in emphatic response to a torrid start to the weekend, which saw Eriksson and Team Motopark languish down the order in a rain-hit opening qualifying session amid wrong tyre pressures.
From 17th on the Race 1 grid, Eriksson salvaged a solitary point in the opening heat as he fought back to tenth place, but then unleashed his true pace as the weekend wore on – converting second and first respectively on the Race 2 and Race 3 grids to the same finishing positions.
”I’m thrilled with the way we managed to turn this weekend around,” says Joel Eriksson. ”The win was very emotional for me, especially because I was supposed to graduate from school on Friday but had to skip that – celebrating it from the top step of the podium was the best it could get! I’m proud of the team and the way we fought back after that first qualifying session. To cap this weekend off with pole, victory and fastest lap really proves how strong we are at the moment.”
The next round of the FIA F3 European Championship takes place at the Norisring street track in Nuremberg, Germany, in two weeks’ time.
RESULTS (top five)
FIA F3 European Championship | Rd. 4
Hungaroring, Hungary
Race 1
1: Maximilian Günther (GER), 23 laps
2: Jake Hughes (GBR), +0.243s
3: Jehan Daruvala (IND), +2.636s
4: Joey Mawson (AUS), +3.560s
5: Ralf Aron (EST), +3.970s
—
10: Joel Eriksson (SWE), +22.406s
Race 2
1: Callum Ilott (GBR), 22 laps
2: Joel Eriksson (SWE), +8.600s
3: Guan Yu Zhou (CHN), +9.757s
4: Jake Hughes (GBR), +11.262s
5: David Beckmann (GER), +16.380s
Race 3
1: Joel Eriksson (SWE), 22 laps
2: Callum Ilott (GBR), +1.882s
3: Lando Norris (GBR), +6.408s
4: Guan Yu Zhou (CHN), +10.519s
5: David Beckmann (GER), +12.146s
For complete results, click here.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)
After 12 of 30 races
1: Joel Eriksson (SWE), 183 p.
2: Maximilian Günther (GER), 178 p.
3: Callum Ilott (GBR), 162 p.
4: Lando Norris (GBR), 158 p.
5: Guan Yu Zhou (CHN), 65 p.
For complete standings, click here.
