European Formula 3

Giovinazzi takes Pau GP victory after car issue costs Dennis

2 Mins read

Antonio Giovinazzi denied Jake Dennis a clean sweep of the Pau weekend by taking victory in the final race after the Briton developed a late problem that saw him drop like a stone down the field.

Prema Powerteam driver Dennis seemingly had the race in his pocket, not putting a foot wrong all weekend, but after seeing Giovinazzi close up, began to slow up, and eventually fell first off the podium and then out of the points completely.

Giovinazzi was therefore able to take his second victory of the season, with the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin able to extend his championship lead in the process.

Maximilian Günther finally took his first podium finish of the season after being so close on a number of occasions, with the Mücke Motorsport driver clinging on for second ahead of Charles Leclerc, who kept up the pressure throughout the race in his Van Amersfoort Racing machine.

Lance Stroll was a man on a mission during the race, with the Prema Powerteam driver climbing to fourth at the chequered flag, with Arjun Maini taking his second top five result of the weekend in the second Van Amersfoort Racing machine.

Felix Rosenqvist completed the top six for Prema Powerteam ahead of the third Van Amersfoort Racing machine of Alessio Lorandi, who was running ahead of both Maini and Rosenqvist before being held up by Dennis as the Briton ran wide while the Italian was trying to pass him.

George Russell was eighth for Carlin, with Mücke Motorsport duo Mikkel Jensen and Santino Ferrucci taking advantage of a last lap tangle between Dennis and the Motopark duo of Sam MacLeod and Sergio Sette Camara to take the final two points paying positions in ninth and tenth.

The start was marred by a two car crash between Tatiana Calderon’s Carlin and Kang Ling’s Mücke Motorsport machine at turn four, when under the mandatory yellow flag zone (for lap one with the track tight and the field close together) the Chinese driver hit the back of the Colombian’s car, eliminating them both. Ling is under investigation for the incident, with Calderon the innocent victim of it all.

There were two notable absentees from the top ten, with Alexander Albon being forced into the pits mid-race with a mechanical issue on his Signature machine, and although the Thai driver was able to return to the race, he was a couple of laps behind the rest of the field.

The other driver to drop outside the points was Markus Pommer, who was handed a drive-through penalty while running inside the top six, after the Motopark driver was found to have started from the wrong place on the grid.

Pau Grand Prix Race Result

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