Joel claimed his first FIA Formula 3 European Championship victory of 2017 with a storming drive in Race 2 of the weekend at Silverstone, grabbing an early championship lead in the process.
From third on the grid, Joel swiftly worked his way into the lead on lap one, passing the slow-starting Lando Norris off the line and then powering around the outside of Callum Ilott into Brooklands.
He then went on to quickly establish a gap over the chasing Ilott, extending his lead to around two seconds where it later stabilised.
From there, it was a straightforward journey to the chequered flag, with Joel underlining his pace by posting the fastest lap of the race to eventually win from Ilott and another British local, Jake Hughes. In doing so, Joel also grabs an early championship lead, topping the standings for the first time of his F3 career (although it’s obviously still very early days).
This is Joel’s second FIA F3 European Championship win, his first coming at Spa-Francorchamps – another Formula 1 venue – last season.
There is one race remaining this weekend; tomorrow’s concluding Race 3, which will see Joel again take off from third place on the grid aiming for a repeat of today’s performance.
Comment, Joel:
“Such an amazing feeling! This is fantastic; I’m so thrilled to have scored the first win of the season, and I couldn’t be happier right now. It was a very strong race for me; I got a good start, knew I had to punch early to get past Callum, and then it was all about just controlling the gap. Big thanks to the team for giving the car I had today – this is the best possible reward for all the hard work they put in. Pretty much a perfect race.”
Next session: Race 3, 09.00 local time (GMT+01:00) tomorrow
RESULTS – Race 2
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TV / live stream
FIA F3 European Championship races are broadcast throughout a wide network of TV stations. Click here to find out where to watch in your part of the world. All races are also transmitted LIVE at www.fiaf3europe.com/live, with Eurosport airing a highlights package in the days following each round.
Live timing
Live timing for each session of the 2017 FIA F3 European Championship is available at www.fiaf3europe.com/live.
Website/Facebook
Reports, pictures, results and information will be published at www.joelerikssonracing.com and Joel Eriksson’s official Facebook page throughout the weekend.
WHERE IT HAPPENS
Silverstone Circuit
Great Britain
Lap length: 5.901 km
Opened: 1948
Silverstone FIA F3 EC data
Lap record: 1m51.498s (C.Leclerc, ’15)
Latest event: 2015
Most recent winners (2015):
F.Rosenqvist/G.Russell/C.Leclerc
