Robert Shwartzman was delighted to secure his first podium finish of his FIA European Formula 3 Championship career at the Hungaroring last weekend, with the Russian claiming second place in race one on Saturday.
The Prema Theodore Racing driver took advantage of some cars going wide at turn one to gain positions despite starting on the damper side of the track, and some forceful driving ensured he came out of the turn three in fourth position, and despite finishing there he was promoted to third when Ralf Aron was handed a time penalty for a jump start.
Shawartzman followed the podium up with a fifth-place finish in race two but early contact saw his race three end early, but the Russian was delighted to leave Hungary having taken his first podium.
“The start was on the wet part of the track, so I lost some positions, but I kept it clean,” said Shwartzman. “At the first corner, I saw that everybody was going wide so I tried to brake earlier and stay on the inside.
“It went quite well, then I fought with three other cars in turn 2 trying to stay on the inside. By doing so, I passed one car on the outside of turn 3.
“In the beginning, I was quite fast and I caught Guan Yu but as the race progressed he was really quick. Then in the final stages, I had some degradation but generally, the car felt very good.
“It feels great to get my first FIA Formula 3 podium.”
