Gustav Malja secured his maiden Formula Renault 3.5 Series podium finish in race two at the Hungaroring after a strong showing all weekend from the young Swedish driver.
The Strakka Racing driver had finished tenth during Saturday’s opening race after starting from the rear of the field, and then converted a top six start on Sunday to move into the podium places early, holding off the challenge of Fortec Motorsport driver Jazeman Jaafar until the flag.
Malja was delighted with his trip to the podium, which also saw him take his first rookie victory of the season at the same time.
“A very, very nice feeling,” said Malja after his weekend in Hungary. “We’ve had our fair share of misfortune in the early parts of this season, but we have seen that the pace is there and this was good confirmation of that.
“Finishing on the podium in a championship as competitive as Formula Renault 3.5 certainly isn’t easy, and I want to thank the team for giving me a quick car this weekend.
“There is a lot of work behind this, and I’m sure it will make us even stronger going into the second half of the season.”
