Norisring F3: Stroll holds off Hubert in red-flagged Race 3
European F3 championship leader Lance Stroll moved further ahead in the standings with a comfortable win in a crash-filled Race 3 at the Norisring.
Photo by: Mario Bartkowiak
Stroll lead every lap of a race that was shortened by a lengthy safety car period and a similarly lengthy red flag.
An issue with the start light gantry initially prompted a 10-minute delay to the proceedings and, with the problem persisting, the organisers opted for a safety car start to the race.
This would have been welcomed by poleman Stroll, who had little trouble holding off Anthoine Hubert then the safety car dived into the pits.
But just as the SC came in, it was needed again, as George Russell tapped Joel Eriksson into a spin at the Dutzendteich hairpin and broke his own suspension.
The next green-flag stint - starting up after a very lengthy clean-up period - was even shorter, with Pedro Piquet hitting Ryan Tveter under braking into the final chicane, briefly going airbourne and then wiping Niko Kari out of the race.
That shunt proved serious enough to warrant a red flag, but the race did get restarted after a long wait, going back to green with just six minutes left on the clock.
But despite the time rapidly running out, it was not the easiest run to the chequered for Stroll, as Hubert followed him closely on the restart and remained a consistent presence in the Canadian's mirrors - although he could not stop Stroll from taking his fifth win.
The final spot on the podium went to Red Bull junior Sergio Sette Camara, the Brazilian picking off Maximilian Gunther early on and then dealing with teammate Guan Yu Zhou for third place.
Nick Cassidy, having started P19, followed Zhou and Gunther home in P6, with Callum Ilott, Alessio Lorandi, Ben Barnicoat and Ralf Aron making up the points-scoring top 10.
The very last shunt of the event took place in the closing stages as Mucke teammates Mikkel Jensen and David Beckmann, battling within the points, came to blows and both retired on the spot.
Race results
Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
1 | Lance Stroll | Prema Powerteam | 34'36.561 |
2 | Anthoine Hubert | Van Amersfoort Racing | 0.787 |
3 | Sergio Sette Camara | Motopark | 1.985 |
4 | Guan Yu Zhou | Motopark | 2.617 |
5 | Maximilian Gunther | Prema Powerteam | 3.467 |
6 | Nick Cassidy | Prema Powerteam | 4.31 |
7 | Callum Ilott | Van Amersfoort Racing | 4.804 |
8 | Alessio Lorandi | Carlin | 5.322 |
9 | Ben Barnicoat | HitechGP | 7.179 |
10 | Ralf Aron | Prema Powerteam | 7.698 |
11 | Harrison Newey | Van Amersfoort Racing | 9.074 |
12 | Nikita Mazepin | HitechGP | 9.844 |
13 | William Buller | Carlin | 11.075 |
14 | Ryan Tveter | Carlin | 3 Laps |
Ret | David Beckmann | kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport | |
Ret | Mikkel Jensen | kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport | |
Ret | Niko Kari | Motopark | |
Ret | Pedro Piquet | Van Amersfoort Racing | |
Ret | Joel Eriksson | Motopark | |
Ret | George Russell | HitechGP |
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