The fourth round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship will take place in Hungary. Although it’s the first time that this championship is pitching its tent at the Hungaroring, all the drivers know the track after a 2-day test held there in the winter. Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) set the fastest time in front of Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) and Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing).

 

Felix Rosenqvist, winner of the Pau Grand Prix a few weeks back, is determined to continue his winning streak in Hungary to close the gap to the front-runners in the championship. The Swede’s first success in 2014 added his name to the list of the six winners who have clinched at least one victory so far this year: Esteban Ocon, Tom Blomqvist, Lucas Auer (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Max Verstappen, Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam) and Felix Rosenqvist. Only Ocon (3 victories) and Blomqvist (two) have won more than one event so logically the Frenchman and the British driver lead the general classification at the moment.

 

Eteban Ocon is the only driver to have scored points in every race so he leads the dance. The Lotus F1 Team Junior driver, a debutant in F3, has shown tremendous maturity as he has clinched eight top-3 finishes in nine races. Ocon likes this circuit very much so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t continue his winning ways.

 

Nonetheless the more experienced drivers led by Tom Blomqvist could put the cat among the pigeons in the long run: “I’m looking forward to racing at the Hungaroring. The track layout is really interesting and suits the characteristics of a Formula 3 car well. Together with the possibly high temperatures, the Hungaroring will represent a new challenge for us. On the other hand, overtaking will be anything but easy and so, a good grid positions once again will be a key factor for a successful race. I’m travelling to Hungary in a confident mood as I was very competitive at any venue we’ve raced at, so far. Silverstone, Hockenheim and Pau are circuits that differ a lot but my car proved to be fast everywhere.”

 

Antonio Giovinazzi, Jordan King (Carlin) and Jake Dennis (Carlin) are all chasing their first victory. But the list of contenders is long as Nicholas Latifi (Prema Powerteam), Felix Serralles (Team West-Tec F3) or Mitch Gilbert (Fortec Motorsports), not to mention the others, are all in with a chance in Hungary.

 

As usual there are three races on the programme: the first on Saturday 31st May at 11h10 and the other two on Sunday 1st June at 10h50 and 16h50.