KIWI ARMSTRONG TAKES EUROPEAN FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

A win, one second place and one third place – good enough!

Marcus Armstrong is the new leader of the 2018 FIA Formula 3 Europe championship.

The 17 year old Kiwi took a win, a second and a third to leap from sixth to outright leader over the weekend’s three races at the Norisring in Bavaria, shading second-placed Dan Ticktum by one point.

Edged out of the top five on the 2018 FIA Formula Three points table at the last round, Armstrong (17) knew every finishing position mattered and a consistent performance this weekend was critical to his championship..

The young racer also took pole in two of the three qualifying sessions. After the final race yesterday afternoon, Armstrong said unlike the first two races he had been battling not only his rivals but a lack of grip.

 “My goal for this weekend was to score as many points as possible. However, I didn’t expect to be on the podium here three times and to be taking the lead in the drivers’ standings. In this race, I had problems with lack of grip, especially after the restarts. As a result, I lost two positions at this stage.”

British driver Dan Ticktum, whose car was heavily damaged in a start-line crash as the second race got under way yesterday morning, took victory in the third race after a maximum effort by his pit crew. Also losing headway in the championship at that point was Enaam Ahmed, who made contact with pole man and race leader Robert Shwartzman, forcing the latter out. Ahmed was penalised out of second place after the race, promoting Armstrong up from third and giving him the championship lead.

Armstrong then hung on to third in the final race, taking his fourth podium finish of the nine races so far completed and maintaining a points lead over Ticktum.

Marcus Armstrong races with the Prema PowerTeam and is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.