FIA F3

RAFFAELE MARCIELLO TAKES VICTORY AT MONZA-

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam) crowned his home round at the 5.793 kilometres long Monza Grand Prix circuit with his second victory of the weekend. The Italian, who is being supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy, won from Pascal Wehrlein (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Alex Lynn (Prema Powerteam). Due to heavy rain and the extremely wet track, the race was stopped prematurely.

The third race of the season got underway behind the safety car, the young drivers being released only after three laps. In front, Raffaele Marciello slightly pulled clear from his main rival Pascal Wehrlein, who, in turn, managed to establish a huge advantage over third-placed Alex Lynn.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of action in the midfield: Sven Müller (ma-con) collided with Roy Nissany (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), which ended the race for the Israeli. After another incident with Nicholas Latifi (Carlin), Müller had to pit. Mitchell Gilbert (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), André Rudersdorf (ma-con), Lucas Wolf (URD Rennsport) and Dennis van de Laar (Van Amersfoort Racing) also retired.

On lap nine, the clerk of the course stopped the race due to continuous heavy rain and the amount of standing water on the track. The order after lap eight was the basis for the race classification, only half points were awarded.

The three drivers on the podium were followed home by Lucas Auer (Prema Powerteam), Luis Felipe Derani (Fortec Motorsports), Harry Tincknell (Carlin), William Buller (ThreeBond with T-Sport), Eddie Cheever (Prema Powerteam), Formula 3 novice Jordan King (Carlin) and Tom Blomqvist (Eurointernational).

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam)
“It was a tough race, because Pascal was very quick and in these extreme conditions, making a mistake is easy. I have tried to pull a gap, which wasn’t that easy. However, my car was better than in the morning and I was able to get a little advantage as a result.”

Pascal Wehrlein (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport)
“It wasn’t easy, because we could hardly see a thing due to the water. I also think that stopping the race in these conditions was the right decision, because the spray was even more extreme in the midfield. Nevertheless, it is also a pity, because perhaps, I could have been in with a shot at victory. But I can also live very well with three podium finishes, it is a happy end to my spell in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.”

Alex Lynn (Prema Powerteam)
“All in all, it was very wett and I even reckon that it was slightly worse than this morning. I also understand very well why the race was stopped, because it was indeed slightly dangerous to a certain extent. Of course, I am happy with my podium finish, but I am also happy having scored points in every race of the weekend.”