Joey Mawson, the 2016 ADAC Formula 4 Champion, secured his maiden FIA European Formula 3 Championship podium finish at the Nurburgring on Saturday, with the Australian have one of his most competitive weekends to date in the series.
The Van Amersfoort Racing driver held off the challenge of Callum Ilott over the closing laps to claim third position in the wet conditions of race one on Saturday, thanks mainly to having his tyre pressures too high meaning he lost out on some speed, but despite this he was able to hold off the Briton.
Mawson also had front nose damage, thanks to a small collision with Hitech Grand Prix’s Ralf Aron early on, but the Australian was happy to finally secure his maiden podium finish.
“At times, my race was pretty hectic,” said Mawson. “In the opening stages, I more or less managed to stay out of all the battles.
“Only slight contact with Ralf Aron was the reason that I had a hole in the front of the car for the rest of the race. After that, I backed off a little bit, but otherwise, fortunately, my car was okay. At the end, it got exciting once again. We were probably running with slightly too much tyre pressure, so that I lost speed towards the end.
“Callum was right behind me, but I knew that he only could overtake me when I would make a mistake. I didn’t grant him that pleasure and now I am happy with my maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship podium finish.”