Verstappen holds off Ocon for Maiden Euro F3 Win

Dutch teenage sensation Max Verstappen put his woes from the opening two races behind him by taking his first victory in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship at Hockenheim. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver held off the challenge of Prema Powerteam’s Esteban Ocon for his maiden win, and thus became the fifth different winner in the six races of the season so far.

Verstappen’s victory makes him the youngest driver ever to win a race in the series, and comes on the back of two troubled races where he qualified well but failed to complete a lap. It was also Van Amersfoort Racing’s first win in the category.

A safety car due to incidents on track involving Felix Serralles and Tom Blomqvist on lap two negated Verstappen’s initial lead, but he withstood the pressure from Ocon on the restart and won by 0.860s. Antonio Fuoco also scored his first points of the weekend for Prema by taking the final podium place, after Swede Felix Rosenqvist pulled off the road while running third for Mücke Motorsport.

Race one winner Lucas Auer was fourth for Mücke, ahead of Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver Antonio Giovinazzi, while Carlin drivers Jake Dennis and Jordan King finished sixth and seventh respectively. Roy Nissany took a good eighth for Mücke, while Verstappen’s Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Gustavo Menezes took ninth ahead of EuroInternational’s Riccardo Agostini.

As in race two, drive-through penalties were handed out to drivers for exceeding track limits. Most noticeable of those penalised were Carlin’s Ed Jones and Fortec Motorsport’s Mitchell Gilbert who were both running in the points at the time.

Ocon leads the championship after Hockenheim with 103 points, ahead of Fuoco and Blomqvist who are level on 67 points.  The series resumes next weekend at the legendary street circuit of Pau in France.

Hockenheim Race 3 Result (Top 10)