Saturday, 11th July 2015 - Jagonya Ayam with Carlin’s Antonio Giovinazzi has taken an assured victory in Zandvoort this morning as the first race of the FIA Formula Three European Series got underway in brilliant sunshine. Racing by the dunes Giovinazzi lined up on pole position, led in to the first corner and never looked back. Team mate Gustavo Menezes took the flag in 16th position, gaining multiple places, while Ryan Tveter was an unfortunate retirement after debris broke his front wing.
As the lights extinguished Giovinazzi made sure to get a strong start from pole and position his car well as they streamed in to the first corner; ensuring that Felix Rosenqvist wouldn’t be able to get the jump on him. Doing all this by the book it was the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver who led the field as they made their way through the first lap.
Meanwhile his two team mates had also got away well off the line and were working their way in to the race with Tveter in the top 20 and Menezes just outside. However the positions would change over the next few laps when Menezes made his move and was very soon running in 16th position – having gained a handful of places – while Tveter had debris caught in his front wing which was disrupting the balance and he was therefore struggling in the early stages.
At the front Rosenqvist was holding on to race leader Giovinazzi as he looked to make a move however the pair seemed matched as they pulled a gap to those behind. Having to slow down momentarily for the stricken car of Julio Moreno the duo continued to run nose to tail with Giovinazzi not giving an inch to his competitor behind.
In the final few laps it was heartbreak for Tveter who pulled in to the pit lane and retired; the debris had dislodged itself but the wing however was damaged and destroyed. Meanwhile Menezes continued to fight hard in the mid-field for position to come home in 16th.
However at the very front Giovinazzi was having a storming drive and was even beginning to pull a slightly bigger gap over Rosenqvist behind. The Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver maintained his lead to clinch a brilliant lights to flag victory in Zandvoort and bring the lead of the drivers’ championship ever closer.
Giovinazzi said of his win, ‘I had a really good start and when I saw I was first I knew what I had to do and that it would be a case of managing the gap to Felix [Rosenqvsit] behind. We were really fast throughout the race and the car felt fantastic so I have to say a big thanks to the team for this. The aim is to continue pushing in the final two races this weekend.’
Tveter added of his race, ‘My start was actually really good and I’d made a few positions however in the opening laps something got stuck in my front wing and the debris caused me to lose a lot of positions as a result. Eventually it dislodged itself and the car felt great however the wing was obviously quite damaged from this and it broke off. This was our worst starting position all weekend so now we look forward to getting better results and points in the next.’
Meanwhile in the sister Carlin cars all three drivers gained positions over where they began. George Russell had another strong race to take sixth position and a further batch of good points while Callum Ilott just missed out on a top ten position to finish 11th. Tatiana Calderon progressed well once again through the grid; having started 27th she was 19th by the time the flag fell.
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