Shwartzmann, Daruvala winners of the first FIA Formula 3 Championship weekend
The inaugural season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, created after a merger of GP3 Series and FIA Formula 3 European Championship, kicked-off this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The winners of the first two races are Prema Racing teammates Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala.
Christian Lundgaard (ART Grand Prix) crossed the finish line as the provisional winner of the first race on Saturday, but a five-second time penalty demoted him to the second place, behind Russian Robert Shwartzman (Prema Racing). Lundgaard received a penalty because of an incident during a virtual safety car period. Marcus Armstrong (Prema Racing) finished the race in the third place, making it a double podium celebration for the Italian team. David Beckmann and Max Fewtrell (both ART Grand Prix) finished fourth and fifth respectively, securing an all Prema/ART front five.
Race 1 podium
Trident’s Niko Kari started on reverse grid pole position in Sunday’s Race 2. He immediately lost a lead to Jehan Daruvala. Back in the field, there was carnage at Turn 1 with four cars involved and forced to retire. There was one more Safety Car period with a couple of drivers having accidents.
At both restarts, Daruvala defended his lead and stayed in front until the end of the race. Juri Vips (Hitech) and Niko Kari (Trident) completed a podium. Robert Shwartzman finished the race in the fourth place and took the lead in the championship after the first weekend.
The next round is scheduled for June 22-23 at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Race 2 podium
