F1Weekly podcast #687
Clark and Nasir still giddy over the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix. We have the latest episode of Tech Talk with Tim! Another outstanding Motorsports Mondial with the man himself and of course 50 words from the F1W forum and…Here are the latest results from the F3 European Championship.
Jake Dennis stays in front after thrilling finale
Season race: 22 of 33
Track: Red Bull Ring
Winner: Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam)
Pole position: Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam)
Weather: sunny and warm
In summerly temperatures at the 4.326 kilometres long Red Bull Ring, 20-year-old Brit Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam) scored his fifth season win in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam), by three years his senior, took the chequered flag in second place ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin). With his 15th podium finish of the season, the 21-year-old Italian extended his margin in the lead in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings to 14.5 points. Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing), who finished sixth in Styria, defended his second place in the championship standings.
On the first few metres, Jake Dennis, who started from second place on the grid, overtook Felix Rosenqvist, who was unable to benefit from the advantage of pole position. In the laps that followed until the finish, the Swede was partly closely behind the leading Brit, but initially found no way to attack his team-mate. Rosenqvist only mounted a challenge to Dennis on the final two laps, but his last-gasp attack didn’t bring the result he had hoped for. Instead, he had to be careful not to be overtaken by Antonio Giovinazzi in turn, but Rosenqvist managed to stay in front. Thus, the order remained unchanged until the finish with Dennis from Rosenqvist and Giovinazzi.
A quartet of rookie drivers followed from fourth to seventh place. Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam) finished fourth as the best-placed rookie from George Russell (Carlin) and Charles Leclerc. On lap 13, the 17-year-old Monegasque overtook Alexander Albon (Signature) to claim sixth place and another eight points for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings. Gustavo Menezes (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin), Sérgio Sette Câmara (Motopark) and Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) completed the top ten in the 22nd race of the season.
Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam): “My start was really great, probably my best of the entire season. After that, I tried to pull a gap on Felix, but he was really quick. Just before the end, I made a mistake when my car had a lot of oversteer. After that, the handling was much more difficult, because I had hardly any grip left. That was the time when Felix was able to attack me and I had to use all the tricks in the book to keep him at bay. I was relieved to see the chequered flag soon after that and I am really happy with this success. After the rather poor second qualifying yesterday afternoon, I knew that this race would be my only chance of a victory.”
Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam): “My start was good, but Jake’s was even better. Then, I waited for a chance to overtake him. Towards the halfway point, I dropped back a little bit to save my tyres. The last two laps were interesting. I almost had overtaken Jake, but we slightly tangled in this move. Then, Antonio bode his chance right behind me and I was happy that I managed to bring second place home.”
Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “My start was good and I managed to overtake Lance Stroll on the first few metes. Too bad that I then failed to keep up with Jake and Felix and only was able to close up in the final stages. In the last few laps, I had the chance to attack Felix, but I also thought about the championship and didn’t take too many risks. Third place brings me a lot of points as well.”
[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mp3.f1weekly.com/podcasts/07-31-15f1weekly687.mp3]