Antonio Giovinazzi has taken a brilliant third position around the Nurburgring in tricky conditions which saw the race lead change hands due to the drying track. The first race of this weekend’s FIA Formula Three European Championship was a tough affair for all drivers as rain fell before the race however Giovinazzi mastered the conditions well on slick tyres to claim a podium position. Tom Blomqvist also walked away with a strong haul of points for fifth after a hard fought race while Sean Gelael saw his race ruined when the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin man was handed a drive through penalty in the opening laps.
Just an hour before the start of the race the skies clouded and soon enough the rain began to fall over the Nurburgring. Thankfully as the cars lined up on the grid it was no longer raining and there was a clear dry line developing however the track was still damp. The majority of the grid elected to run on the slick tyres; reading the conditions and anticipating no further rain.
Off the line the right side of the grid found themselves at a slight disadvantage over those on the left who were on the drying line. Giovinazzi was one driver to benefit from this clear distinction and was able launch well and put his Jagonya Ayam with Carlin car in a perfect position to capitalise and by the end of the first lap he was running in third position. However Blomqvist, who was on the wetter side of the grid fell down the order and was 11th as he crossed the line for the first time.
But the most unfortunate news in the opening lap was that of a drive through penalty being handed to Gelael for speeding in the pit lane – sadly this ruined his race after a great start had seen him move up to ninth. After taking his penalty he had fallen to the back of the grid.
Soon enough though the two drivers on the grid who had started on wet tyres began to make the most of the conditions; Spike Goddard quickly made his way through the grid and within a few laps had taken the lead – pushing Giovinazzi down to fourth. But it was clear that the wet tyres would soon fall off with the lack of rain predicted. It took a few more laps however eventually Goddard was slowing in the dry conditions and drivers were able to make their way past him one by one.
This meant that Giovinazzi could reclaim his provisional podium position with the race lead returned to Max Verstappen. Meanwhile further back Blomqvist had been making the most of the track conditions and was running nose to tail in a group of cars throughout the race; he made his way passed Esteban Ocon and in the final laps had moved up to fifth position – he would maintain fifth as the chequered flag fell claimed the fastest lap as his own.
Gelael was also making tracks as he looked to put his earlier misfortune behind him; driving well him the tricky slippery conditions the Indonesian racer came home in 16th position following a hard fought race.
However at the front Giovinazzi was piling the pressure on Antonio Fuoco in an attempt to claim second position as his own; despite getting very close the race was soon to finish and Giovinazzi claimed a strong third position overall.
Reflecting on his race Giovinazzi said, ‘It was a really good race despite a tricky start with dry tyres on a wet track. But it was the right call and I made sure to make no mistakes from then on. We knew that those on wets would struggle further on in the race so it was almost as if they were running different race to my own. At the end I tried getting by Fuoco but couldn’t stray out of the dry line but to take third when I started seventh is a great race for us.’
Blomqvist added. ‘It was quite a fun race really because the track was wet and drying throughout. We picked slick tyres which was definitely the right way to go however I was on the inside of the grid where it was very wet which meant that the start wasn’t great for me and I fell down the order a bit. Progress was slow in the beginning but then we were able to move further up the grid after the mid-point so from that point on it was pretty fun out there.’
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