It was a strong final race of the weekend at Silverstone for the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin team as Antonio Giovinazzi stormed to take his third podium of the weekend in the FIA Formula Three European Championship. Starting from the front row Antonio Giovinazzi was able to hold position and drove a solid race to claim second as his own however off the grid it was team mate Gustavo Menezes who launched best as the lights went out to take third by the end of the first lap. Menezes came home in fourth position as the flag fell to clinch a strong haul of points. Team mate Ryan Tveter had a difficult race in which he was caught in the mid-field however the American racer fought well to finish 11th.
Off the line, the story was that of Menezes’ fantastic start; having lined up in eighth he was by far the quickest to react to the lights and had blitzed his way up to fourth immediately. He soon began to put pressure on George Russell in the sister Carlin car and was quick to steal the position as his own and slot behind team mate Giovinazzi who had also enjoyed a strong start in second.
However as had been the story of the opening weekend so far a safety car was quickly released on track once again after Lance Stroll’s retirement left his car on the circuit. This brief break led to another very exciting restart in which Giovinazzi and Menezes held second and third assuredly.
Over the next few laps Giovinazzi began to pile the pressure on race leader Charles Leclerc in an effort to move to the top step of the podium. Cutting the gap to less than a few tenths the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver was soon wheel to wheel with Leclerc as he attempted a move. However the rookie racer was able to cover Giovinazzi’s advances and the Italian settled back in to second.
With five laps of the race left Tveter had made his way up into the points however a final safety car period shook up the order and the American crossed the line in 11th place – just missing out on a points finish. Menezes was also unlucky to miss out on a podium when Jake Dennis just pipped him in the final lap.
However at the front it was Giovinazzi who solidified his lead of the 2015 Championship with his third podium position of the weekend at Silverstone with a brilliant second place finish.
Giovinazzi said, ‘It’s been a really good weekend overall for the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin team. All through testing and the race weekend here we’ve looked good and worked well together. The last race was tight and I tried to overtake Charles [Leclerc] for the lead but couldn’t at the start of the race. I waited five or six laps to give it another go but that didn’t work either. Overall we’re looking strong and hope to continue momentum through to the next round in Hockenheim.’
Menezes added, ‘I think I had my best start ever in that race! My reactions were pretty quick and from eighth on the grid I was up to fourth at the first corner. Then George [Russell] out-braked himself so I was able to take third from him. Towards the end of the race tyre degradation played a part but I had a good gap to Jake [Dennis] behind me before the safety car came out towards the end. In the final lap there was a small issue and Jake just got by me which was a shame because it should have been a podium but I’m really happy with the result and the team did a fantastic job today.
