Alessio Lorandi returned to the FIA European Formula 3 Championship podium for the first time since his Pau Grand Prix win back in May as the Carlin driver claimed an excellent third place in race one at Zandvoort on Saturday.
The Italian made a good start to jump from fifth to third at the first corner, and was comfortable able to maintain his position until the chequered flag despite the close attention of Maximilian Günther and Callum Ilott.
“I had a really good start off the grid and could see the Prema guys on the inside,” said Lorandi. “I made a decision to brake late because I saw a gap around the outside and went for it; the overtake worked and we were up to third.
“From there, nothing much else happened however it was a case of managing tyres because this is a pretty demanding and tricky circuit. However I’m really happy with the points and the podium.”
Lorandi made another good start for race two, moving ahead of David Beckmann and Ralf Aron to run fifth, a position he would hold until the end despite being pressured by those two drivers in the early stages of the race.
“In the second race I managed to repeat a strong start and it did pay off as I got two positions on Beckmann and Aron going from P7 to P5 and stayed there until the end,” said Lorandi.
“Having old tires it hasn’t been easy in the first few laps, but then I took a bit of a breath because Aron and Beckmann also lost some ground.”
Lorandi started and finished fourth during Sunday’s final race, meaning the Italian moved up to seventh in the standings, just seven points off sixth placed Ben Barnicoat.