Lundqvist double extends F3 points lead
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS BRITISH F3 JULY 21-22
Linus Lundqvist moved closer to the BRDC British F3 Championship title after a stunning weekend at Spa-francorchamps, claiming another two victories to extend his lead in the standings.
The Double R Racing driver entered the season’s fifth round with a 56-point advantage, and more than doubled it to
120 points by the end of the weekend.
Nearest rival Nicolai Kjaergaard had a disastrous run, with a best result of fifth and a costly retirement in the final race.
Fortec Motorsport’s Tom Gamble pipped Lundqvist, who had been fastest in two of the three Friday practice sessions, to race-one pole in an extraordinarily tight session. The top 16 drivers were separated by just 0.850 seconds around the longest circuit on the calendar.
Lundqvist had to work hard for victory in the first race. He fell as low as fourth in the opening moments, but recovered ground with a brave move on team-mate Krish Mahadik at Eau Rouge on lap one. He then dispatched Manuel Maldonado (Fortec) before catching and passing Gamble next time round, before the safety car was deployed when Douglas Motorsport’s new recruit Max Defourny suffered a big shunt at the top of Raidillon that ruled his car out for the rest of the weekend. Lundqvist held off Gamble for the remainder of the contest after the restart, though Gamble claimed fastest lap, which would be enough to earn him race-three pole.
The fully reversed-grid second race was won by Carlin’s Jamie Caroline, substituting for Clement Novalak for the weekend. Reigning British F4 champion Caroline had finished 11th in the opening contest, but fitted a new set of tyres for race two and charged through from eighth on the grid to take his maiden British F3 win. Caroline pushed through to third over the course of a blistering first lap, which included a ballsy move around the outside of series debutant and polesitter Ayrton Simmons (Chris Dittmann Racing) at Blanchimont, before he chased down and passed Fortec’s Tristan Charpentier for the lead on lap five.
As Caroline pulled away to secure the biggest winning margin of the weekend, Charpentier had to fend off a resurgent Sasakorn Chaimongkol (Hillspeed). Charpentier’s defensive tactics were deemed too vigorous by the stewards, resulting in a 1s post-race penalty that secured Chaimongkol second, his best result yet, as Charpentier was relegated to third.
Gamble started on pole for race three, with Lundqvist second and Carlin’s Billy Monger lining up third. The trio went head to head on the opening lap, and
Monger pulled off a daring overtake into
Les Combes to lead a race for the first time since his life-changing British F4 crash.
Monger’s lead lasted all of a lap, as Lundqvist moved by on the Kemmel straight on lap two, with Gamble following suit a couple of laps later. Lundqvist’s lead of 1.6s was gradually chipped away, with Gamble finishing just 0.7s behind at the chequered flag.
Monger took his second podium of the year with third, celebrating by drinking champagne Daniel Ricciardo-style from his prosthetic, a flourish now known as a ‘leggy’. Lundqvist’s win came with the added bonus of nearest rival Kjaergaard’s retirement from the race after contact with team-mate Sun Yue Yang at the Bus Stop chicane.
Lundqvist became the first driver to win two races in the same race weekend this year, and has established a massive lead as the field prepares for Brands Hatch.
“It’s very difficult to top this,” he said.
“To win twice at Spa, it’s such a legendary circuit, and it’s a dream come true to stand here on the podium. To do it twice in the same weekend is just amazing.”