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Hollywood stars witness victory by Antonio Giovinazzi

  • gb
02.08.15
Heavy rain at the 4.326 kilometres long Red Bull Ring dominated proceedings in the 24th season race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

With Hollywood stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas attentively watching, only few laps could be completed behind the safety car.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) claimed victory from Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam) and Sérgio Sette Câmara (Motopark). South-Italian Giovinazzi thus extended his points’ lead in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings. He is now 20.5 points ahead of Swede Rosenqvist.
Due to the extreme rain, the race was initially postponed by 100 minutes and then started behind the safety car because of the conditions. The field completed four laps behind the leading car, before the on-track action was interrupted with red flags. Some 20 minutes later, another attempt was made, but because conditions didn’t improve, race control decided to abort the race. Because the four laps that were taken into account for the classification amounted to less than 75 percent of the planned distance of 24 laps, only half points were attributed in accordance with the regulations.

Nevertheless, Antonio Giovinazzi was happy with his fifth victory in the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship from Felix Rosenqvist, Sérgio Sette Câmara, Markus Pommer (Motopark), Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam), Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing), Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam), Alexander Albon (Signature), George Russell (Carlin) and Callum Ilott (Carlin).

Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “Initially, I had the impression that the green flag could be given, but as the leader, of course, I can’t say how much the other drivers were able to see in the spray. Perhaps, it really was too dangerous. Anyway, I won the race and thus scored more points. Even though they are half points, they are still valuable.”

Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam): “Initially, conditions weren’t too bad, so I thought that the field would be released. As a result, the red flag rather surprised my and I was a bit disappointed as well, because I was eager to attack Antonio. The red flags at the end were okay.”

Sérgio Stette Câmara (Motopark): “The race wasn’t too exciting. The important thing was that we delivered a good performance in qualifying. Contrarily to the two races on Saturday, I was able to convert my starting grid position into a good race result. My second podium finish in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship is a good way to conclude the weekend in Austria.”