Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

With two homegrown drivers already at the immensely successful Chip Ganassi Racing team, there is a large amount of interest in IndyCar from Sweden right now. Indy Lights-bound Rasmus Lindh wants it to continue

It has been a long time since Sweden has produced a seriously successful racer in America. Kenny Brack, the 1998 Indy Racing League champion and 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner is its only winner in Indycar racing, there have been five overall victories in national-level sportscars in 57 years, and not a single Swede has won a race in NASCAR. But the arrival of former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson and Formula E race-winner Felix Rosenqvist in IndyCar has had the potential to change that.

But there has been a presence in the background for a lengthy time. Two-time Sebring 12 Hours winner and former F1 driver Stefan Johansson has managed a number of drivers Stateside down the years – including five-time champion Scott Dixon, as well as his latest Ganassi team-mate Rosenqvist. Johansson is also managing another rapid countryman set to take on Indy Lights this year – possibly the biggest threat to Kyle Kirkwood’s potential back-to-back-to-back title successes on the Road to Indy.

Rasmus Lindh is 18 years old but his ascent through the Road to Indy has been just as fast as his 21-year-old rival. In his rookie year in single-seaters he finished a distant second to Kirkwood in USF2000 with Pabst Racing – three poles and five podiums to his name against reigning United States Formula 4 champion Kirkwood’s 12 wins and five poles.

Lindh joined Kirkwood in moving up to Indy Pro 2000 for the next year, doing so with Juncos Racing, and thrust himself into title contention with a near-perfect weekend on the Indianapolis road course, and with consistently strong results thereafter.

However, Kirkwood’s run of nine wins in 10 races was enough to beat Lindh to the crown – and the scholarship to Indy Lights of $596,700 – by two points. Despite the defeat, Lindh was pleased with the improvements made in his second year of racing.

“We did a few mistakes – both me and the team – that cost us the title,” Lindh tells Formula Scout. “I did the maximum in the end: I won the last race [at Laguna Seca] and took both pole positions so I think I am very happy with the year. But disappointing to not get [the title] after leading the whole year.”

It makes securing a seat in Indy Lights – the step immediately below IndyCar – far more difficult for Lindh given he is sans the generous financial benefit that comes with winning the title. He has at least saved money with his rapid career progression.

“It helps quite a bit because Lights is so much more expensive than Indy Pro. There are so many people around the car, the engine is more expensive, the tyres and everything, so it’s a big step.”

It is, therefore, not slam dunk where Lindh ends up for his 2020 campaign. Andretti Autosport has been mighty in recent years – and is the only Lights squad with a full-time IndyCar programme alongside – but Lindh feels that after testing with the team that it is not invincible.

“For sure Andretti is the one you want to be in, because you can use the IndyCar [outfit] as a tool and learn a little bit more about the engineering side but I’m not sure if they are the fastest right now.”

Lindh has already tested with several teams, and with HMD Motorsports he topped the post-season Sebring test. HMD debuted last year, and rookie Toby Sowery won at Portland in its shared entry with Team Pelfrey. He wants to continue racing, and could retain his seat; returning series star Santiago Urrutia has already signed with the team.

“We had a very good baseline to start off. And I think the team [HMD] is very good. It’s a new team – there are very good people around the team so I think they will be strong this year too. We are speaking with Andretti, Belardi and HMD.

“Nothing is signed yet. So, we have to wait a little bit to announce that because nothing is done. We are still speaking to a few teams that want me.”

Irrespective of which team Lindh ends up at, there will be one common factor in the way between himself and title success. Kirkwood’s record across F3 Americas and USF2000 in 2018, and Indy Pro in 2019 – an eye-watering 36 wins from 47 starts as well as all three titles – has earned him a Formula E test with the factory BMW Andretti team, who he will race for in Lights.

Yet, Lindh believes that Kirkwood is far from unbeatable. “I did a test with Andretti when he was in Andretti so now I know what his strengths and weaknesses are. That helps a little bit for me to know. Also, now I’ve grown a lot as a driver – both mentally and physically. There’s more routine.”

Johansson is not the only experienced head that Lindh can call upon, for he is in regular contact with one of his countrymen currently in the paddock.

“Me and Felix [Rosenqvist] are quite close. Felix has so much experience from all the FE stuff and also everything he’s driven with Super Formula, Formula 3, so he’s very experienced and also he can help me as IndyCar drives before us in qualifying and he can tell me how the track has changed and where they put the rubber down because IndyCar has a different tyre [supplier].”

Felix Rosenqvist during his victorious part-season in Indy Lights

While Rosenqvist spent years on the ladder to F1 – before heading to FE, sportscars, and pretty much anything he could get his hands on, Lindh’s path has exclusively been in the States after graduating from karts for 2018.

“[Johansson] helped me with a good deal in USF2000 and [before that] I karted in 2011 in the Florida Winter Tour. We’d always been hearing about the Road to Indy, that it’s quite good and I think it’s easier – more possible – to succeed in IndyCar than F1 because there’s not as much politics and stuff as in F1.

“I really like ovals,” Lindh responds when asked about racing on some of the United States’ most revered, but also feared, circuits. “I drove at Gateway last year where I took pole, but the race wasn’t as good for me. The ovals are good because it’s changing a lot – you don’t really know who will win the race so it’s a lot of draft and timing that you need to sort out.

“You also have all these different Formula 4 and F3 series [in Europe] that you can choose so I think it is hard to [choose] where to go. I think that’s why,” he expands. Despite FIA interventions to streamline the route to F1 in America and Europe, the Road to Indy (USF2000 > IP2000 > Indy Lights > IndyCar) still sets the standard for fast-tracking talent to the top.

The jump in performance from IP2000 to Lights is a big one, given the USF2000 and IP2000 car are built around the same key parts, but that has not stopped rookies from becoming sensations in the minimal grids seen in Lights.

Reigning champion Oliver Askew and 2018 runner-up Colton Herta took three and two races respectively as rookies at Andretti. Herta is already an IndyCar race-winner, while there are high expectations of Askew at McLaren Schmidt Peterson.

“It felt like the step from USF2000 to IP200 was not very big, but from Indy Pro to Lights was quite big because it was a completely different car. Obviously, [the AER-powered Dallara IL-15] is turbocharged – so you have to drive it a little bit different. I think the step from Lights to IndyCar isn’t that big from what I’ve heard, so this is the biggest step.”

Rosenqvist and Ericsson arriving onto the IndyCar scene in 2019 – neither taking victory but both making the podium as rookies – puts extra eyes from a passionate fanbase onto the next generation coming through, of which Lindh is Sweden’s representative. But circumstances closer to home still makes sponsorship a tentative subject.

“Sweden hasn’t been looking very much into the American racing [in recent years]. It changed now from last year because we got two IndyCar drivers, so the publicity is more on IndyCar than F1 now. So, I think that’s very good for the future for me.

“But now in Europe, we have all the electrical stuff that they want to do [with the sale of internal combustion engine cars being phased out in several countries over the next few decades]. In the US it’s not as much so that’s a bit tricky for the sponsorship. But IndyCar is going to hybrid next year so that will help quite a lot.”

Title success or not, Lindh’s goal is to race in America’s most prolific open-wheel category. The narrative of Kirkwood versus Lindh in Lights immediately follows that of the career-long battle between Askew and Rinus VeeKay. That battle went down to the season finale, and both ended up with full-time IndyCar seats after being closely matched for three years.

Lindh’s objective will be to stop Kirkwood’s crushing dominance of the RTI ladder to date – as well as fend off the returning Urrutia – a impressive feat regardless of the team he is at and deserving of an IndyCar call-up alongside his countrymen.

Further reading
The factors driving Sergio Sette Camara’s IndyCar interest (February 2020)
Santiago Urrutia: The part-time farmer waiting on an IndyCar chance (December 2019)
Formula Scout’s Class of 2018 (December 2019)
How Kyle Kirkwood conquered the Road to Indy once again (October 2019)
How Askew scored the winner in Road to Indy rivalry with VeeKay (September 2019)
Rinus VeeKay: IndyCar’s answer to Max Verstappen? (March 2019)

The post The driver aiming to continue Sweden’s IndyCar invasion appeared first on Formula Scout.

On October 13 2019, the Dallara F312/317 Formula 3 car was signed off after eight years of service. Formula Scout spoke to some of the category’s top teams – and a top journalist – to share their favourite moments

Eight F3 championships in Asia and Europe, as well as the prestigious Macau Grand Prix, made use of Dallara’s era-defining F312 chassis between 2012 and 2019, when its FIA homologation was stripped as the new vision for F3 came into play.

In 2017 an aerodynamic and safety-based update was made to the car, with a noticeably lower nose profile being introduced. That design had several dramatic moments at Macau, first with the stunning conclusion of the 2017 grand prix, and then a year later with Sophia Floersch’s horror shunt that ultimately contributed to the cars being overlooked for Macau last year and changes being made to the circuit.

The F312 was, and still is, a popular car with more club-based racers in series such as the MSVR and Austrian F3 Cups, and the F2000 Italian Trophy. While still used in international series, it enabled the more confident and enthusiastic racers to take their efforts into higher profile series – such as CF Racing’s toe-in-the-water debut in Euroformula last year.

Drivers and teams praised the F312/F317 for its high quality and ability to train drivers well, although its relevance was decreased once the higher formulae switched to heavier machinery over F3’s lightweight philosophy. But the standard of racing, and the drivers and teams, still made FIA European F3 the top driver development series until its untimely decline.

Interest in the style of car has prompted Dallara to design a successor, without the F3 moniker, that will be used in Euroformula and the renamed Super Formula Lights (formerly Japanese F3) from this year onwards.

Motopark FIA European F3 Norisring 2018
2019 Euroformula driver and teams champion, ’19 Japanese F3 driver and teams champion, 2017 & ’18 Macau GP winner

Photo: Davide Pastanella / Red Bull Content Pool

Motopark team principal Timo Rumpfkeil, never an emotional sort, has two stunning Macau Grand Prix victories to pick from, but went for a performance that was arguably more to do with what his team did off-track than what happened in the race.

At the start of the second race on the Norisring street circuit in 2018, Dan Ticktum stalled on the grid and was rear-ended by Carlin’s accelerating Ameya Vaidyanathan. Ticktum went to hospital with a painful headache, the car ended up “shattering into a million bits”, but already had an engine and gearbox reattached by the time Ticktum arrived at hospital.

He took to the grid of the final race of the weekend, in his rebuilt car, in third place. In a safety car-filled encounter, Ticktum amazingly took victory by 0.057 seconds from team-mate Juri Vips.

“It was a massive effort from the team to bring the car back into one piece, to repairing a complete car in three hours with engine change, gearbox change, all the bodywork changed,” Rumpfkeil tells Formula Scout. “Which was something I doubted to be possible as we started, and to bring the car back to the grid and then win the race, is probably something which even had more emotions than winning in Macau.”

Motopark joined European F3 in 2015, and took its first win at Zandvoort with its German F3 champion Markus Pommer.

“It was a great effort to win in the first year joining European F3, when the other teams had three years head-start on the car. But then Zandvoort has never produced really the most exciting races, so after the start it was pretty much done. If you keep your senses together, it?s a 35-minute wait until the race is over. That?s been remembered well, but not so emotional.”

Carlin Macau GP Grand Prix 2012
2017 European F3 driver champion, 2012 & ’13 British F3 driver champion, ’12 & ’16 Macau GP winner, ’16 & ’19 Pau GP winner

Photo: GEPA pictures/Dutch Photo Agency

Carlin marked itself out as the team to beat in Britain when the Dallara F312 was introduced, but it found the opposition a little tougher on the continent.

Its first Euro Series win with the car came via Jazeman Jaafar at Brands Hatch, and it added a few more when the British and European paddocks combined grids on several occasions. A move to a new factory meant Carlin was unable to do windtunnel work with the F312, and racing in two championships meant it was adapting to two different tyre manufacturers.

The Macau GP was run using Yokahama rubber, putting all European teams on a level playing field against each other. It was the Japanese teams that therefore had the tyre advantage, but Carlin had a secret weapon to utilise.

A few weeks before, Formula Renault 3.5 race-winner Antonio Felix da Costa had obliterated the field in a MSVR F3 Cup cameo with Carlin in an older F3 car, to ensure he was eligible for Macau entry, and after a test day at Silverstone in the F312 he travelled to the Far East wanting to win.

He was third fastest in both free practice sessions, just 0.037 seconds off the pace despite his car inexperience, and was fastest in the first qualifying session of the weekend. Despite having new tyres at his disposal he failed to improve in the all-important Q2, but that was still good enough for second place behind Alex Lynn’s stonking pole lap for Fortec.

After bettering a fast-starting Felix Rosenqvist in the qualification and main race, da Costa took a hard-earned double win and his first grand prix triumph. It was also Carlin’s first Macau win since Takuma Sato in 2001.

Fortec Motorsports Macau GP Grand Prix 2013
2014 British F3 driver champion, 4th in 2013 European F3 teams standings, 5th in ’16, ’17 & ’19 Euroformula teams standings

To Fortec’s Euroformula boss Mick Kouros, engineering Pipo Derani to third in the 2013 Macau GP was Fortec’s greatest achievement with the Dallara F312.

“It was an exceptionally strong field, and you had to not only have a fast car but a fast driver to be on that podium,” Kouros gleams proudly.

Fortec turned up to the event with a crack line-up of Derani, Tom Blomqvist, John Bryant-Meisner, Will Buller and Ed Jones, and with two previous podiums: second place with Heikki Kovalainen in 2002, and third from pole with Alex Lynn in 2012.

Derani didn’t look like he’d be replicating that result in free practice, but was fifth fastest in the first qualifying session. Blomqvist bumped him down to seventh in the second session, although he was top of the timesheet at one point.

A collision at the start immediately put Blomqvist out of the qualification race, and gained Derani one spot. He was gifted another when Prema’s Lucas Auer crashed ahead of him, and thus he started the main race from fifth. Possibly the best start of his life meant he dicing for second on the run to the first braking zone at Lisboa in the main race. Three into one with Raffaele Marciello and Felix Rosenqvist was risky, and Derani was the only one to emerge unscathed – and in second place.

He lost the position to da Costa on a safety car restart shortly after, and eventually the damaged Marciello got through too. The Prema man then crashed, and Derani was back in a podium position.

After fending off pressure from ThreeBond with T-Sport’s Alexander Sims, Derani met the chequered flag in third to the elation of Fortec. Derani didn’t remain in single-seaters for long, instead carving out a career in American sportscars.

Hitech GP FIA European F3 Pau 2016
2nd in 2016 European F3 team standings, 3rd in 2018 European F3 team standings, 3rd in ’16 European F3 driver standings

Photo: FIA F3 European Championship

The Hitech name was revived in 2015 by former GP3 racer Oliver Oakes, with his Silverstone-based team entering two European F3 rounds with future Formula E star Sims. It had a top five finish and a fastest lap by its fourth race, and was already a formidable squad when it entered F3 full-time a year later with Ben Barnicoat, Nikita Mazepin and George Russell.

In the season opener it took its first podium through Russell, and a first win one round later at the Hungaroring with Barnicoat.

The next races were on the Pau street circuit, and the team-mates topped their group in Q1. Prema’s Lance Stroll was faster in the other qualifying group, but Hitech struck back in the first two races of the weekend.

A poor start for Stroll handed Barnicoat the lead in a damp race one, which he turned into a dominant win, and Russell was similarly assertive in the equally wet conditions of race two. Had it not been for qualifying several rows back for race three, the Pau GP itself, one of the pair would likely have made it a triple win for Hitech.

Russell won again at Spa-Francorchamps, while Jake Hughes and Enaam Ahmed added victories in 2017 and ’18. Ahmed’s early season winning spree sent him into an unexpected championship lead before sinking to ninth in the points.

Hitech has since gone on to dominate in regional F3, first in Asia and then through its contract with W Series, and is one of several of the European F3 teams that successfully jumped ship to the newly created FIA F3 Championship last year. Its ambitions have now stretched to Formula 2, a first for the Hitech name since a GP2 partnership with Piquet Sports in 2005.

RP Motorsport Euroformula Silverstone 2017
2012, ’14, ’15, ’17 & ’18 Euroformula driver champion, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17 & ’18 Euroformula teams champion

Photo: Fotospeedy

RP Motorsport is the most successful team in Euroformula Open history, and therefore it was a tricky task for team manager Niki Rocca to pick one highlight amongst 11 titles and close to 80 wins before its success in the series dried up last year.

The veteran Italian named a few dominant performances, and it was Harrison Scott’s 2017 double win at Silverstone that stood out the most.

Despite spinning midway through the session, Scott took a dominant pole in Q1. His banker lap prior to his spin was good enough for pole, and he ended up 0.751s clear. A “remarkable” car then propelled him to a 14.547s win in the 15-lap first race, one of the most dominant performances seen in championship history.

He returned on Sunday with another dominant pole, once again showing stunning pace on used tyres prior to his pole lap, and took top spot by an enlarged 1.062s. There was spots of rain and a strong destabilising wind through the first corner in race two, meaning Scott wasn’t as dominant, but he still met the chequered flag with over 10s in hand to his nearest opponent.

So dominant was Scott that he skipped the Barcelona season finale, having already won the title, and his Silverstone record of two wins, two poles and two fastest laps was repeated at Paul Ricard and Jerez. It wasn’t the first time that RP Motorsport had achieved that feat, having completed it at Paul Ricard in 2012, Jerez and Spa in 2014, and Paul Ricard and Jerez in 2018.

RP may not return to Euroformula in 2020 after its disastrous showing last year, but the series would sorely miss the Italian squad if it departs entirely.

Campos Racing Euroformula Monza 2016
2016 Euroformula driver and teams champion, 2nd in 2014 & ’15 Euroformula teams standings

Photo: Fotospeedy

Formula Scout’s choice for the best race of 2016 was also Campos’s favourite in F3, and had one of the coolest endings to a junior single-seater race of the last 10 years.

The Spanish team’s lead driver Leonardo Pulcini had won five races that season, and was looking to complete his first weekend double in the second race at Monza.

Drivex School’s Nikita Troitskiy initially led the way, before being reeled in by team-mate Ferdinand Habsburg and Pulcini. The two had banged wheels down the straights while disputing second place, and they soon cleared the inexperienced Troitskiy.

A lock-up for Pulcini four laps from home lost him the time he’d gained on leader Habsburg, but two laps later he utilised the slipstream down Monza’s main straight and made contact with Habsburg again while trying to pass at the first chicane.

On the final lap, Pulcini dived to the inside of Habsburg at Curve Grande and they ran side-by-side through the corner. Pulcini got ahead but Habsburg fought back at the Roggia chicane and regained the lead by cutting across the inside.

Habsburg weaved left and right down the straight after Ascari, but after eventually choosing to defend the inside, Pulcini took more speed around the outside of Parabolica, the final corner of the race, to steal victory and completed his double.

Campos mentioned another Euroformula race as a joint favourite: Alex Palou’s debut success in 2014. The IndyCar-bound Spaniard made his first car racing start with the team in the Euroformula Winter Series, then stunned by taking victory, pole and fastest lap in the main series’ opening race at the Nurburgring – in just his second car racing appearance.

Prema FIA European F3 All of it
2012 F3 Euro Series driver and teams champion, 2013, ’14, ’15, ’16 & ’18 European F3 driver and teams champion

Prema was the dominant force through much of the revived European F3, winning 12 titles out of 13 attempts. It’s therefore unsurprising than team boss Rene Rosin could not pick out just one race as Prema’s favourite.

?Choosing only one moment from that extremely successful period is impossible as they were simply too many,” says Rosin.

“Having won the drivers? championship almost every season from 2012 to 2018 (with very talented drivers such as Dani Juncadella, Raffaele Marciello, Esteban Ocon, Felix Rosenqvist, Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher) and all team titles in those years is something I am personally extremely proud of.

“All of those moments had one thing in common: a hardworking, passionate group of people combined with some of the most talented drivers of this decade. It has been a privilege to be able to witness the exceptional racing we had over those years and they will be forever remembered as some of the most successful moments of the team?s history.?

In 2015 and ’16, Prema won 20 races in a season, and its ’15 campaign led by F3 veteran Felix Rosenqvist included an astonishing 23 poles, 18 fastest laps and 46 podiums. However it was in 2018 when the team finally broke the 1000-point barrier across one year. Not only that, but it also won the Pau GP thrice, Macau GP twice, the Masters of F3 and in British F3.

In the coming years it it likely that more of its former F3 stars, whether they be in the driving seat or part of the behind-the-scenes action, will be making their way to the highest echelons of motorsport.

Van Amersfoort Racing FIA European F3 Hockenheim 2015
3rd in 2014 European F3 driver standings, 3rd in 2015 European F3 teams standings, 2nd in ’15 Macau GP

Narrowing down all of his F3 races down to just one in the timeframe given was a difficult task for Frits Van Amersfoort, boss of the eponymous team, so Formula Scout has selected one on the Dutchman’s behalf.

FR2.0 Eurocup graduate Charles Leclerc set the track record in the pre-event test for the 2015 season opener at Silverstone, and made his way to two pole positions. The latter he converted into a victory, and Leclerc departed second in the points.

The championship reconvened a month later at Hockenheim, where VAR was not confident of success, but Leclerc once again saved his best till last for the team and outdid Prema’s experienced Felix Rosenqvist for race three victory.

A wet circuit meant the race was led away by the safety car, before poleman Rosenqvist and his tail-happy car was left to fend off the seemingly planted car of Leclerc. Rosenqvist’s start gap was efficiently reduced by Leclerc, who had 945 laps less applicable experience on the circuit.

Leclerc’s first attempt at the lead resulted in brief contact at the hairpin, and a outside-to-inside move at the same corner a few laps later resulted in Leclerc pinching the lead through the following corner. The safety car came out just moments later, and when it returned to the pits there were only two laps of the shortened race to go.

Once unleashed up front, Leclerc immediately set the fastest lap and pulled out a three-second lead for a win that certainly left an impact. It was reminiscent of VAR’s previous success story the year before, where single-seater rookie Max Verstappen also made his name known with victory at Hockenheim then added another nine before moving on to F1.

Double R Racing Macau GP Grand Prix 2015
2nd in 2013 British F3 teams standings, 3rd in 2014 British F3 teams standings, 3rd in 2019 Euroformula teams standings

Double R returned to the continent last year in Euroformula and finished third in the teams standings. There were no wins, but one pole position and several podiums certainly pleased Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt and his squad.

The Woking-based team first raced the Dallara F312 in British F3, but mostly struggled. A refreshed line-up in 2013, led by Jagonya Ayam proteges Sean Gelael and Antonio Giovinazzi led to a change of fortunes, and in the reversed grid race at Silverstone they scored a one-three finish. Double R’s next double podium was the final ever British F3 race in 2014.

Two-time Brazil F3 Open winner Felipe Guimaraes scored in a part-time European F3 campaign that year, and the team signed off its chassis with a fruitless two-car effort the next year.

Weak driver line-ups had mostly squandered any good results for Double R, which has a working relationship with Dallara outside of racing, but it was still highly rated and attracted top talents for its Macau entries.

FR3.5 star Kevin Korjus raced in 2012 and ’13, ex-DTM racer Roberto Merhi came fourth in 2014, and Sims made the podium a year later. The Briton qualified 13th due to an odd tyre graining issue, but he made up an incredible 10 places in the qualification race. Seven of those came on the opening lap, where he was assisted by a collision up ahead, and he gained his final position from a penalty for on-the-road winner Giovinazzi. In the main race he was in fourth for a short while, but otherwise had a car more than capable of being on the podium.

Sims came back in 2016, but it was racing returnee Dan Ticktum who was the stronger Double R driver. He finished eighth in the qualification race in just his second weekend in the car, but was punted out of the top 10 in the main race.

Marcus Simmons [journalist] FIA European F3 Norisring 2015
Has been to over 200 Dallara F3 races

Photo: FIA F3 European Championship

F3 expert Marcus Simmons probably knows the Dallara F312/F317 better than any other journalist, and by his own calculations in a Autosport magazine column (October 24 2019), he has been to 220 races at 78 different events, and seen 200 of the 240 drivers who raced the car using an FIA-spec engine (excluding Euroformula from 2012 to ’18).

Simmons has an even greater selection of races than the teams to choose from, but at least he was quick to pick a favourite.

“I think I’ll choose Norisring 2015 – Alex Albon/Leclerc/Russell all run wide late on at Turn 1 and let Maximilian Gunther in for his maiden win.”

The three future F1 talents made their error after a safety car restart (the last of four) late in the race, allowing fellow rookie Gunther – now a FE race-winner with BMW Andretti – to sneak by.

Poleman Albon and fellow front row starter Russell traded the lead over the first few laps, before Albon stretched out a lead after the first safety car period. Numerous bouts of chaos led to three more interruptions, and a five-minute fight to the end.

Albon lost his lead this time midway around the lap, and dropped another spot to Leclerc at the last corner. Leclerc then dived down the inside of Russell at Turn 1, but it only sent he and Russell wide. Instead of capitalising, Albon also ran wide and Mucke Motorsport’s Gunther – who had started 12th on the grid – took a lead he would not give up in the remaining time.

For pure excitement, and few would disagree, Simmons highlights the 2017 Macau GP and its dramatic career-redefining conclusion won by Dan Ticktum. It was a race that cemented why the Dallara F317 was such a popular car.

Further reading
What could Euroformula?s 2020 car mean for the future of ?F3?? (June 2019)
The timeline of European F3?s demise (March 2019)
Top 10 European Formula 3 drivers that F1 missed out on (February 2019)
Was Schumacher a worthy winner of the final European F3 season? (December 2018)
How Ticktum?s Macau Grand Prix glory showed his class as well as luck (November 2017)

The post Teams’ memories of a Formula 3 era appeared first on Formula Scout.

2015

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

One of junior single-seaters’ best all-time talents had to wait two years too long for his deserved promotion to Formula 1 with McLaren, and while remaining patient Stoffel Vandoorne kept himself busy by dominating GP2.

The Belgian, who won four times (including his debut race) in his rookie season, remained with ART Grand Prix for a second year and won the first four feature races. Three second places in the sprint races meant he already had a massive 76-point lead. Each of his wins had not come easy, with an ill-timed safety car in Bahrain and DRS failure at Barcelona preceding a pitstop battle with Alexander Rossi in Monaco and a bad stop leading to a charge through slower traffic at the Red Bull Ring.

More bad luck in the pits harmed him at the Hungaroring, but he returned to the top step at Spa-Francorchamps in dominant style, and won again in Sochi and Abu Dhabi. His reward: Formula Scout’s top driver and a Super Formula seat.

Racing with GP2 most weekends was GP3, where Esteban Ocon and Luca Ghiotto had an unusual but enticing?title battle. ART driver Ocon jumped Trident’s Ghiotto at the start of the Barcelona season opener and took an impressive win over his rival, then never stood on the top step again. Nine successive second places while Ghiotto took four wins and little else meant the points lead changed hands multiple times and the title went down to a final race duel, won by Ocon.

Another future star, Lando Norris, won the best race of the year, climbing from 10th on the grid to win at Thruxton in British Formula 4 with a last-lap overtake. The story of 2015 was the rise of FIA F4, with seven new series emerging.

2016

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Had Belardi Auto Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist contested the full season, there would have been a seven-way title fight in Indy Lights in 2016. Instead we only got six drivers battling it out until the final round, which was slimmed to three for the last race.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ rookie Santiago Urrutia was set for the title in said race until the last lap, as Ed Jones controversially passed Carlin team-mate Felix Serralles to become champion. Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser and Zach Veach (Belardi) were just behind in the points, with Andretti’s Dean Stoneman pipping Serralles to fifth. The six were covered by 1.5 races’ worth of points.

Stoneman’s last-lap Freedom 100 win was memorable, but it couldn’t beat Euroformula Open’s at Monza for best race. Leonardo Pulcini and Ferdinand Habsburg frantic duel concluded when Pulcini went around the outside at Parabolica.

The big story of 2016 was Prema’s arrival in GP2 with Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian team was the top squad in European F3, but had not ventured into any higher categories since racing in Formula Renault 3.5 seven years previous.

Gasly gave Prema a debut pole, and Giovinazzi did the same in Baku two rounds later, but it was a tricky start. In the season’s first third, Gasly scored thrice and Giovinazzi twice. The upside: Gasly got two podiums and Giovinazzi won both Baku races.

Thereon, Prema was on top of the car and its own luck, and the title became a straight race between its drivers. Gasly ended a 1015-day wait for a win in the Silverstone feature race, which he repeated at the Hungaroring and Monza. Giovinazzi won three of the next four races, and led going in to the season finale. Gasly won the first race in the desert though, winning him the title.

It was his team-mate who bagged Formula Scout’s?driver of the year accolade, given he was a rookie who had come straight from F3, with no experience of higher downforce machinery or Pirelli tyres, and come just seven points short of the title.

2017

You could include only the last two laps of the Macau Grand Prix and it would still be race of the year. Dan Ticktum, in his third weekend in ‘proper’ F3, stole victory at the last corner on the last lap as Sergio Sette Camara and Ferdinand Habsburg crashed ahead after Habsburg’s brave overtake. It was a lucky but well-earned win for Ticktum, while Habsburg still finished fourth.

That excitement was spread out over a season in ADAC F4’s title battle, which put Prema’s Juri Vips and Marcus Armstrong against Van Amersfoort Racing’s Felipe Drugovich. Vips won race one of the season, but was a fairly anonymous presence on paper. On track he was fighting his rivals though, and took two wins to team-mate Armstrong’s three.

Their closeness – just 4.5 points separated them come season’s end – contrasted with Drugovich. The Brazilian had seven wins and more poles than the Prema pair combined, but two retirements. This hurt in the season finale as a technical issue in the penultimate race lost him the points lead, which was irreclaimable against an on-form Vips and Armstrong in the title decider.

Charles Leclerc overcame personal tragedy to win the Formula 2 title and was best driver of the year. He didn’t turn pole into victory on his Bahrain debut, but pitted in the sprint to win and also won at Barcelona, Baku, the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone.

He was fastest in Hungaroring qualifying but a technical infringement meant he started at the back. He made it to fourth in a hard race, followed by another fourth and a dominant Spa win. That was taken by another infringement, and it wasn’t until a tyre management masterclass at Jerez almost ruined by a erroneous radio message that he was on top again and won the title. He was handed a Sauber F1 seat for 2018, then one at Ferrari this year. He already has two wins and seven poles.

Billy Monger’s recovery from the loss of his lower legs in a British F4 crash in April was utterly inspiring, and it was a huge story when he returned to a race car in July. Once amble on prosthetics, he did a Brands Hatch track walk with British F4.

2018

Photo: Andy Hone / FIA Formula 2

F1’s star rookie crop – Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Williams’ George Russell – attracted a lot of attention in 2018 with their F2 title battle. It was a story with a happy ending for all three, despite two of them losing out.

Norris, driving for Carlin, started the season with victory from pole, a win that was to be the only of his season. DAMS’ Albon and ART’s Russell picked up their first wins in Baku, and Russell won the feature races at Barcelona and Paul Ricard. Albon took three poles, but started slow in Spain and lost a Monaco win to a pit-entry crash. After 10 races, Norris still led the points.

A win and a second place at the Red Bull Ring finally put Russell in the lead, which was when his victory run ended and Albon’s begun. He won the Silverstone and Sochi features and the Hungaroring sprint, but Russell, voted?driver of the year, responded with the Monza and Sochi sprints. Norris was out of title contention, but already had his McLaren F1 seat in the bag.

Russell dominated in Abu Dhabi to win the title, having earned himself a Williams F1 seat before the season finale, while Nissan e.dams Formula E signing Albon lost second in the points to Norris. One day later, Toro Rosso signed Albon for F1.

Norris’s wet-weather charge in the Hungaroring feature contributed to it being the best?race of the year, with Nyck de Vries putting in a similarly impressive performance for a dominant win in a race of changing conditions and lots of overtaking.

The Toyota Racing Series started the year with a close title battle between M2 Competition team-mates Robert Shwartzman, Richard Verschoor and Marcus Armstrong. Shwartzman won the title with consistency, taking one win and always finishing fifth or above. Verschoor was fastest, winning six races, but as in 2017 he was denied the title by bad luck. Armstrong used local knowledge and maturity, but a last lap car issue in the final race cost him a podium and the title in the super close series.

2019

Photo: Fotospeedy

Little over two years after his life-changing crash, Monger made sport history by becoming the first disabled grand prix winner.

The 20-year-old pulled a strategic blinder in Pau, choosing to pit for wet compound tyres at the end of the warm-up lap after rain started to fall. An early safety car meant he lost no time with his decision, while most of the field remained on slick tyres, and he scythed his way through the grid as the rain continued with an advantage of up to two seconds per lap.

When the leading Motopark duo crashed, Carlin’s Monger was promoted to the lead but he had to deal with a safety car restart and a crash of his own that bent his steering. Despite that, he stretched out a lead to take his first single-seater race win.

Liam Lawson may have won that race had he not hit his Motopark team-mate Julian Hanses, but the rookie still had a good year which began by triumphing in a title battle with Ferrari junior and M2 team-mate Armstrong in TRS.

Each won five races, and massively impressed their team, but tension built between the two after some robust on-track fights and this culminated in the title-deciding New Zealand GP. A side-by-side battle for the lead, where both pushed the envelope of risk a little too far, resulted in Lawson going off. He rejoined in fourth, but was back behind Armstrong after a restart. The leader was then penalised for the scuffle, leaving Lawson to take the grand prix and the title behind the displeased Armstrong.

W Series made an impactful debut in 2019, with the story of its all-female line-up run by Hitech GP proving popular in the grandstands and giving some deserved attention to drivers who otherwise may not have received it.

Formula Scout’s top driver of 2019 will be revealed on December 31. You can view the rest of the 2019 Top 50 here.

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The idea that Formula 1 contains the 20 greatest drivers in the world is an unrealistic unfair assumption, especially when you consider the strength and breadth of talent outside of the supposed ‘pinnacle of motorsport’.

We all know various factors, such as finances, injury and just sheer bad timing can prevent an extremely promising driver from reaching F1, meaning that many great drivers have to display their talent in other top-tier series.

The FIA Formula 3 European Championship built a reputation as the greatest proving ground for young drivers since its revamp in 2012, having previously run as the F3 Euro Series between 2003-’11. Confusingly, the two coexisted for the ’12 season.

In its seven years of FIA blessing, it produced 12 F1 graduates, compared to the six that third tier rival and F1 support GP3 was able to supply.

The quality of the grids each year was maintained at a high level not only in terms of drivers but also chassis-optimisation and engine competition, something lacking in the new FIA F3 championship that it makes way for.

It’s not just the European F3 drivers that have reached F1 that prove the series’ pedigree, with champions and race winners in Super Formula, Formula E, DTM, Blancpain GT and Super GT all honing their craft in Dallara’s much-loved F3 chassis.

Here are 10 of the best European F3 drivers (who raced between 2012-’18) to never make it to F1.

As they were ran to the same regulations and majority filled with European F3 drivers, we have considered the editions of the Macau Grand Prix and Masters of F3 during this period an extension of the drivers’ achievements for the sake of this article.

Raffaele Marciello?ITALY?24y/o
currently 2nd in 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge, 2018 Blancpain GT Series champion -?2013 European F3 champion

Marciello was the breakout star of the first re-branded European F3 season. He announced himself on an international level by winning the Pau Grand Prix as a rookie, and then won twice on his first visit to Brands Hatch to take an early championship lead.

He was eventually overtaken by his more experienced Prema team-mate Daniel Jundacella, but it was Jundacella who looked more like the rookie, earning two disqualifications in successive weekends, the first of which had resulted in Jundacella robbing Marciello of victory.

Marciello’s charge effectively ended at Zandvoort, where team-mate Sven Muller’s over-cautious safety car restart caused the Ferrari junior to run into the back of him, capping off a miserable weekend for Marciello.

Marciello battled back in his second F3 season in 2013, taking 12 poles and 13 wins to triumph in a thrilling title duel with Mucke Motorsport’s Felix Rosenqvist, with the killer blow delivered at Marciello’s home round at Vallelunga – winning two of the three races as Rosenqvist’s title challenge crumbled amid a number of mistakes and technical issues.

Although he was never quite able to deliver on his full potential in GP2, he was Sauber’s F1 reserve driver and has since demonstrated his class in the Blancpain GT Series with Mercedes-Benz by winning the overall and Sprint titles in 2018, with many calling him the top GT driver of 2018.

Alexander Sims?ENGLAND?25y/o
currently 10th in 2018-19 FE, 2nd in 2015 British GT – 2nd in 2010 Masters of F3,?4th in 2009 & ’10 F3 Euro Series

Alexander Sims’ junior career was patchy. Not in terms of results like most drivers, but in terms of appearances. He spent two years racing in the F3 Euro Series, finishing fourth in the points both years, before moving to GP3 in 2011, where he finished sixth with one win.

When his backing from the Gravity management firm was then pulled, he initially looked to sportscars, but he did return to F3 during ’12, making a one-off appearance with underdog T-Sport (running a ThreeBond engine) at the Nurburgring. Two of the three races counted for FIA points, with Sims winning the one that didn’t, beating regular frontrunners Marciello, Juncadella and Pascal Wehrlein.

In ’13 he increased his track time with T-Sport to four rounds, taking five podiums for a team on a shoestring budget and with minimal experience of the championship.

He spent 2014 racing in British GT, but Hitech GP snapped him up for a development role the following year and he drove in two of the final three F3 rounds – finishing in the top five twice before returning to the Macau Grand Prix with Double R Racing and finishing third.

In 2016, Sims made his final F3 appearance, joining Hitech for the Hockenheim season finale and getting a top five result.

As Sims scaled back his single-seater commitments, his reputation increased internationally as a BMW factory driver in GTs. Ge came close to the British GT and IMSA GTLM titles while doing development work on BMW’s FE programme, and was rewarded for his work with a single-seater return alongside old GP3 team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa as part of the BMW Andretti line-up in FE for the 2018-19 season.

Off-track Sims is one of the most unassuming racing drivers, whose politeness masks his ruthless talent behind the wheel. This is already evident in FE, where he was denied an first win after clashing with da Costa in Marrakesh, and arguably should’ve been on the podium in each of the first three races. Watch this space.

Alex Lynn?ENGLAND?25y/o
6th in 2015 & ’16 GP2, 2014 GP3 champion – 2013 Macau GP winner, 2nd in 2013 Masters of F3,?3rd in 2013 European F3

After impressing in a part-season with Fortec in ’12, Lynn was snapped up by Prema to partner eventual champion Raffaele Marciello for the following season. While he was unable to match Marciello’s consistency over the season, he still shone, taking a triple-pole on home turf at Brands Hatch, three wins across the season and third in the standings.

His most impressive achievement was saved for his final race of the year – Macau. Lynn excelled around the twisty street circuit, showing raw bravery and speed and unsurprisingly winning the grand prix. The year previous, he had taken pole in his first visit and ended as top rookie in third.

Lynn moved to GP3 in 2014 with Red Bull backing, winning the title with Carlin. He became Williams’ development driver the following season, and dovetailed his duties with a solid rookie year in GP2. He failed to make a significant step in his second year, and with Lance Stroll’s arrival at Williams, Lynn’s F1 chances faded.

It didn’t take long for the wider motorsport world to take notice of Lynn. He won the Sebring 12 hour and Spa 6 hour races in 2017, and took pole position on his FE debut in New York. This earned him a full-time seat for the 2017-’18 season with DS Virgin, where he was plagued with bad luck.

Aston Martin now has Lynn’s signature, and he races in the World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro class.

Lucas Auer?AUSTRIA?24y/o
2nd in 2012 German F3, 3rd in 2013 & ’19 TRS, 6th in 2017 DTM – 2nd in 2014 Macau GP, 4th in 2013 & ’14 European F3

The nephew of F1 race-winner Gerhard Berger has returned to junior single-seaters this year for the Toyota Racing Series and Super Formula as a Red Bull junior, but has spent the last five years in the DTM with Mercedes.

Auer’s previous single-seater stint ended in victory as he won the final race of the ’14 European F3 season – considered one of the greatest F3 seasons of all time – with Mucke. One year prior he’d finished fourth in the championship with Prema, but behind two of his team-mates.

His year with Mucke was far more impressive, taking 13 podiums from 30 races, and beating the likes of Antonio Giovinazzi, team-mate Felix Rosenqvist, Jordan King and Jake Dennis. He was narrowly beaten by Rosenqvist in Macau.

In four years in the DTM he picked him up four wins, and his single-seater return has been prompted by previous employer Mercedes’s DTM departure. Auer’s comeback showing in TRS was troublesome, with tyres proving particularly challenging, but the pace was still there. He won once, and took pole for the coveted New Zealand GP.

Felix Rosenqvist?SWEDEN?27y/o
3rd in 2017 Super Formula, 3rd in 2016-17 FE, 6th in 2017-18 FE, 11th in 2016 Blancpain GT Series, 12th in 2016 Indy Lights – 2015 European F3 champion, 2014 & ’15 Macau GP winner, 2011 & ’13 Masters of F3 winner, 2nd in 2013 European F3

Rosenqvist has won in FE, Super Formula, Indy Lights and Blancpain as a rookie, has been poached by legendary IndyCar team Chip Ganassi Racing for the upcoming season, yet has never driven an F1 car.

After success in Formula Renault 2.0 and an indifferent German F3 campaign,?Rosenqvist burst onto the international scene in 2011 with fifth in the F3 Euro Series and Masters of F3 victory with Mucke.

He spent the next two seasons with the team, while Mercedes assisted in making sure he had the budget to compete, and was third in the ’12 European F3 standings – the best non-Prema driver.

That was followed by a stellar ’13, where his 10 wins wasn’t enough to beat Marciello to the title, and he got another Masters win. Budget limitations meant F3 was where Rosenqvist stayed in ’14, his fourth season proving to be his worst despite Pau GP victory, slumping to eighth in the standings.

He’d been fighting against the might of Prema his entire F3 career up to that point, but he joined them for 2015, ending his association with Mucke after four years together. Facilitated by the Stroll family, this decision paid off with a supreme season, where he beat Antonio Giovinazzi, Jake Dennis and Charles Leclerc to the crown, as well as picking up a second successive Macau win.

Since he left the series at the end of 2015, he’s driven in most other top tiers of motorsport, with success in Formula E, Super Formula and Super GT. This has accumulated in him securing a full-time IndyCar ride with Chip Ganassi Racing for 2019.

All-time FIA European Formula 3 statistics

Blomqvist is often forgotten when people talk about the legendary 2014 F3 season, which saw plenty of thrilling duels between Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen. Although not in spectacular style, Blomqvist finished the year as runner-up to Ocon, beating Verstappen thanks to a stellar final weekend at Hockenheim.

After a season each with the small Ma-con and Eurointernational teams, Blomqvist got the opportunity to drive for the Jagonya Ayam-backed Carlin squad in ’14, the latter actually lacking in pedigree in European F3 at this point, having never taken a driver to the top three in the standings since joining the Euro Series in 2008.

It was also the strongest opposition yet for Blomqvist, but the 2010 FR2.0 UK champion was unfazed and demonstrated his talent with wins at six of the 11 rounds.

BMW swiftly snapped him up for DTM, where he won in his rookie season then was sixth in the standings the year after. A part season in FE with BMW’s backing wasn’t entirely successful, but he is now one of the manufacturer’s?leading GT assets.

Jake Dennis ENGLAND?23y/o
2nd in 2019 Bathurst 12 Hours, 4th in 2016 GP3? – 3rd in 2015 European F3, 9th in 2014 European F3, 9th in 2015 Macau GP

2014 was far from the easiest year for Jake Dennis to make his F3 debut, but he placed third in the rookies’ championship with Carlin, only behind Ocon and Verstappen.

His debut efforts earned him a seat with Prema for ’15, and he improved to third in the standings, ahead of four 2019 F1 drivers. Pau highlighted his excellence, as he took a triple pole and two race victories to propel him into a title fight with the more experienced Rosenqvist and Giovinazzi.

His challenge faded amid inconsistencies and a nightmare weekend at the Norisring, but he’d firmly put himself among the best British racing drivers around, and secured himself a GP3 seat with Arden for the following year. The Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver finished fourth but returned to Euro F3 for 2017, competing in the opening three rounds for Carlin, helping its rookies and regularly sacrificing?his own race results for the benefit of his team-mates – a testament to his willingness and ability to play the team game.

He’s now carved a career in GT racing for himself, with a stunning pole lap for the Bathurst 12 Hours his most recent achievement (even if a small technical breach stripped him of it). Driving F1 cars is part of his job now too, having become a valuable part of Red Bull Racing’s test and simulator programme.

Nick Cassidy?NEW ZEALAND?24y/o
2017 Super GT champion, 2nd in 2018 Super Formula – 3rd in 2014 Macau GP,?4th in 2016 European F3

Two-time TRS champion Nick Cassidy made sporadic appearances in European F3 from 2013-’15, before finally racing there full-time with Prema in 2016.

His season started with three second places, but a combination of misfortune, playing second fiddle to team-mate Lance Stroll and a failure to deliver the goods meant Cassidy was not a title threat. Commuting from Japan -? where he was undertaking his debut season in Super GT after winning the national F3 title the previous season – may also have played its part.

At the Hungaroring, the wear on his tyres was so extreme that his rubber was shot on the formation lap of one race, and he had engine and gearbox issues at the Red Bull Ring and Norisring.

Fourth in the standings was a disappointment by all standards, especially as Cassidy’s name had been on people’s lips since his stunning third place as a rookie with T-Sport in the ’14 Macau GP.

The New Zealander’s achievements since have made up for it, winning the 2017 Super GT title in his first full season and finishing a close second last year, then coming achingly close to the 2018 Super Formula title as a rookie.

Cassidy is a good example of a driver who didn’t waste years of his career scrambling for an unlikely F1 seat by racing in F2/GP3 for several years, but instead one who is among the best racing in Japan right now.

Maximilian Gunther?GERMANY?21y/o
currently 18th in 2018-19 FE, 14th in 2018 F2 – 2nd in 2016 European F3, 3rd in 2017 European F3, 5th in 2017 Macau GP

The disbelief at the recent news that Dragon has dropped Maximilian Gunther just three rounds into his debut FE season should tell you all you need to know about the quality of the 21-year-old’s career so far.

He made his F3 debut in 2015 with Mucke, impressing immediately by qualifying third for six successive races early in the season. He struggled to convert these into race results, with only one podium at Pau to show for it.

However, he produced the goods at the Norisring with a stunning win from 12th on the grid. Team-mate tensions boiled over leading to his premature departure from Mucke, but he found a new home with Prema, and impressed in his one-off outing with them in the ’15 season finale.

Unsurprisingly this led to a full-time drive for ’16, in which he finished runner-up to champion Stroll. Considering the extra testing miles and backing behind his team-mate, Gunther could be pleased with his efforts.

For ’17 he chose a third season in F3, as he still had much to improve in his driving. He dropped a spot in the standings, but had a much better, more rounded year. He didn’t quite have the outright pace to match the might of Lando Norris, but he could regularly wrestle himself in front of the Englishman in races.

He moved up to Formula 2 with Arden last year, but the partnership was never an easy one, with his focus moving on to securing a FE drive having become Dragon’s reserve driver. One win and five other points finishes was enough to convince Dragon to promote him to a race seat, and he missed the final F2 round in preparation.

His FE debut was a chastening experience, but in the Santiago E-Prix he starred in qualifying, and was doing even better in the race before a technical failure intervened.

Gunther is still Dragon’s reserve driver and may be recalled later in the year. Regardless, it’s a shame that the German has ended up on the sidelines.

Joel Eriksson?SWEDEN?20y/o
14th in 2018 DTM – 2016 Masters of F3 winner,?2nd in 2017 European F3, 2nd in 2018 Macau GP, 5th in 2016 European F3

Younger brother to former GP2 driver Jimmy, Joel Eriksson has reaped the rewards of sticking with one team in his single-seater career.

Two years in entry-level German categories helped forge a strong relationship with Motopark, with whom he graduated to F3 in style with in ’16

That season he was paired up with Red Bull juniors Niko Kari and Sergio Sette Camara, beating them both and soon finding himself being courted by BMW. Having one victory to his name (aside from his excellent Masters of F3 win at Zandvoort) did no justice to what Eriksson was achieving that year.

People were taking Eriksson and Motopark seriously for 2017, and he pushed now-McLaren F1 driver Norris for the title. He won in each of the first four rounds but a mid-season qualifying dip meant his three wins in the last five races were too late to deny Norris.

The 19-year-old then switched to the DTM with BMW, and faired well against his more-experienced team-mates. Everything fell into place at the Misano round for him to take a rather fortunate maiden victory, helping him to 14th in the standings.

Late last year he returned to F3 with Motopark to tackle the Macau GP. He made the most of a bruising weekend to finish second, and his street circuit nous may come useful were he to race in FE in the future.

Honourable mentions?

The most obvious absentee from this list is 2012 champion Daniel Juncadella. His title victory was marred with controversy, with two disqualifications for his driving. It was still an impressive year, but his results since have been unremarkable. Five DTM campaigns with Mercedes yielded just one win, but he’s still a part of the manufacturer’s motorsport plans.

Harry Tincknell has established himself as one of Ford’s leading GT lights, while Pipo Derani is arguably the most exciting young driver in prototypes. Jordan King may have lost his full-time IndyCar drive for 2019, but that was down to a lack of finances rather than talent after a solid debut season. Ed Jones?meanwhile has solidified himself as a staple of the IndyCar grid, heading into his third season and chasing a first win.

The classic entries

Between 1975 and ‘1984, the FIA ran a championship that was also named European F3. It too produced many an F1 driver, including the likes of Alain Prost, but also had its fair share of overlooked talents.

Anders Olofsson?(1952-2008) was one of many Swedes who flourished in European F3 when Scandinavia had its own F3 championships to supply talent from.

Two titles at home nearly translated into success on the continent, as he finished second in both the 1977 and ’78 standings. In total, he picked up 18 wins across six years.

Like contemporary Rosenqvist, he was fast in whatever he sat in, and won titles in prototypes and touring cars in Japan. His crowning achievement was overall victory at the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours, achieved in a GT car.

John Nielsen, from neighbouring Denmark, also appeared across six seasons, and was runner-up in 1983. He made up for that loss by triumphing at Macau a year later. After that he topped he podium in F3000, won Le Mans in 1990 for Jaguar, the ’95 Global GT and ’97 Super GT titles in McLarens, and was winning in prototypes as late as 2008.

The post Top 10 European Formula 3 drivers that F1 missed out on appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

After a two-race hiatus from Indy Lights, Felix Rosenqvist would not be denied pole position for the first of two races at the Exhibition Place Street Circuit in Toronto, Canada.

Returning to Belardi Auto Racing after missing both the Road America and Iowa rounds due to other commitments with Mercedes-AMG, Rosenqvist pulled out the fastest time in Saturday morning’s session with a 1:06.011 lap time in his first visit to Toronto.

The Swedish rookie’s only Indy Lights win so far came on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida in March. This is also Rosenqvist’s second pole position of 2016.

He’ll make up half of the ‘Felix and Felix Show’ front row for Saturday’s first race, with?Felix Serralles, the winner of last week’s?extraordinary race at Iowa Speedway, lined up second for Carlin Racing.

Santiago Urrutia qualified third-fastest, with?Zach Veach, the other player in last week’s astounding finish at Iowa, qualifying fourth. Championship leader?Ed Jones qualified fifth-fastest.

Andre Negrao‘s good run of form continues with the Brazilian qualifying sixth, ahead of?Kyle Kaiser in seventh,?Juan Piedrahita in eighth, and an all-Canadian row five with?Zachary Claman DeMelo?ahead of Toronto native?Garett Grist.?The third Canadian?driver in the field,?Dalton Kellett, starts thirteenth.

Championship contender?Dean Stoneman could do no better than eleventh-fastest, as Andretti Autosport stunningly locked out three of the last four positions on the grid.

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Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Dean Stoneman scored his?second Indy Lights win at Indianapolis in as many weeks as he pipped?Ed Jones to the Freedom 100 oval race by just two thousandths of a second.

Stoneman and Jones battled for the win for most of the race, with the latter getting ahead at Turn 1 on a one-lap shootout following a late caution.

Andretti Autosport driver Stoneman went around the outside of Carlin’s Jones at Turns 3 and 4 though, and just nosed ahead by 0.0024 seconds at the finish line.

Dalton Kellett,?Shelby Blackstock and?Scott Hargrove took strong personal results to complete the top five.

Carlin drivers Felix Serralles and?Neil Alberico were next, while?Juan?Piedrahita?ended up ninth having almost run into the back of leader Stoneman at the final restart, chasing a first win on his 38th start.?Felix Rosenqvist had a quiet run to 10th.

The post Dean Stoneman wins Indy Lights Freedom 100 by 0.002s appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Indy Lights championship leader Ed Jones will start Friday’s Freedom 100 race at Indianapolis on pole position after qualifying was aborted due to severe weather.

Only eight drivers were able to attempt a qualifying run before heavy rain and thunderstorms forced the cancellation of all on-track activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today.

The field will be set by championship points order, putting Jones’ Carlin car on pole position for Indy Lights’ marquee event. He’ll share the front row with Schmidt Peterson Racing rookie?Santiago Urrutia.

Before qualifying was cancelled, Jones had set a two-lap average of 197.078 miles per hour (317.166 kph), fastest of the seven drivers that made an attempt. Of those seven, Juncos Racing driver?Kyle Kaiser turned in the slowest average speed, but earns a major reprieve with the field set by championship standings – he’ll start third, next to?Felix Serralles in a second Carlin entry.

The third row will feature the most recent winner,?Dean Stoneman, and?Felix Rosenqvist, both making their first career starts at the 2.5 mile quad-oval.

The last driver to attempt a qualifying run before inclement weather rolled in was Juncos rookie?Zachary Claman DeMelo, who spun and crashed at turn two on his second lap. He was released from the speedway’s infield medical facility with no injuries.

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Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Dean Stoneman?claimed his first victory in the United States in an eventful second Indy Lights race of the weekend on the Indianapolis road course.

The Andretti Autosport driver went from fifth to first in a chaotic opening lap.?Ed Jones was challenged for the lead into Turn 1 by Carlin team-mate?Felix Serralles, and as both ran deep they banged wheels and Serralles went straight on through the grass as Jones retained the lead.

Felix Rosenqvist then looked at?Jones into the chicane on the back straight, but having been?baulked he was passed by the quicker?Stoneman into Turn 7, then spun around by contact from behind by Belardi team-mate Zach Veach.

Stoneman was almost immediately gifted the lead, with Jones locking up and going straight on Turn 7 and dropping to seventh.

Serralles went?on a charge and took second place around the outside of?Santiago Urrutia?and set off after Stoneman, but would make a second grass-cutting trip before the end, this time into the complex at the end of the lap.

This didn’t allow Stoneman to breath easy though, as he instantly came under pressure from Urrutia, but the Briton held on to become the sixth different winner from seven races so far this season.

Urrutia finished eight tenths of a second behind, with a similar gap back to?Kyle Kaiser?in third.

Championship leader Jones recovered to fourth, with Serralles rejoining from his second off-road moment just behind him.

Rosenqvist made it home in sixth, finishing just 4.5s behind Stoneman without?assistance from a caution.

Zach?Claman DeMelo took himself,?Scott Anderson and?Scott Hargrove?off into the gravel in one move as the trio fought over seventh. While the Canadian youngster was forced to retire, Anderson and Hargrove completed the lead-lap finishers behind?Shelby Blackstock.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports lost two of its drivers before the race even began, with first?RC Enerson spinning and then?Andre Negrao crashing on the front straight as he weaved to warm his tyres.

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Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Ed Jones was sitting in third place with four and a half laps?to go in the first Indy Lights race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course,?but took an opportunistic?victory in Friday’s 30-lap race.

The action kicked off almost immediately.?Jones approached the first corner three-abreast on the inside of both?Santiago Urrutia and?RC Enerson. The move did not work as planned, and Enerson was forced to take the escape route past the first two corners. Several other drivers made contact and spun behind them, including?Neil Alberico,?Shelby Blackstock?and?Zachary Claman DeMelo.

Just one lap later,?Dalton Kellett?and?Juan Piedrahita were taken out in a collision at the same first corner. From there, Jones moved into the lead, and?Dean Stoneman had already moved up from sixth into second, with Urrutia battling?Felix Rosenqvist?for third along the way.

On Lap 22, a collision at turn 15 between?Scott Anderson?and?Scott Hargrove triggered the race’s only safety car period, setting up a dramatic restart with just five laps remaining.

Off the restart, both?Stoneman and Urrutia made their way past Jones as the leader locked up into turn 1. But as Urrutia attempted to challenge Stoneman for the lead of the race at turn seven, both rookies?ran wide at the exit in their haste to challenge the position – allowing the Carlin car of Jones to move back into a lead which he would not relinquish.

Jones, who led all 30 laps of the race, becomes the first repeat winner in the Indy Lights season, having won at the first race at Barber Motorsports Park. With his fifth career Indy Lights victory, he also extends his lead in the championship table to 21 points.

Urrutia ended up taking second place from Stoneman – it’s the second straight podium for Urrutia, and the first Indy Lights podium for Stoneman. Rosenqvist sacrificed downforce for straight-line speed on his setup, but fell just short of a podium in fourth. He did finish ahead of his Belardi teammate,?Zach Veach, who completed the top five.

Kyle Kaiser maintains second in the championship with a sixth place finish, while?Felix Serralles dropped to seventh on the final lap after trying to pass Rosenqvist. Enerson finished a frustrating eighth,?Andre Negrao was ninth, and Blackstock completed the top ten despite his first-lap misfortune.

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Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Carlin driver and championship leader Ed Jones notched up his third consecutive Indy Lights pole position in 2016, with a record-setting lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Jones’ fastest lap of?1:14.674 was over four-tenths faster than the previous record, held by Jack Harvey. The top four drivers on the grid, all of whom have won races this season, all went faster than Harvey’s lap record from 2015 qualifying.

Sharing the front row with Jones is top rookie?Felix Rosenqvist, who qualified second in his very first race at the Brickyard for Belardi Auto Racing.

Fellow rookie?Santiago Urrutia, who won the most recent race at Barber Motorsports Park, qualified third for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and he’ll start on row two next to?Felix Serralles in the second Carlin car.

American drivers?RC Enerson and?Kyle Kaiser will make up the third row for SPM and Juncos Racing, respectively, putting all five race winners in 2016 in the first three rows.

Dean Stoneman?will start his very first race at Indianapolis in seventh, edging out?Zach Veach in eighth, with?Scott Anderson?in a solid ninth place on the grid ahead of the third Carlin entry of rookie?Neil Alberico.

Scott Hargrove and?Shelby Blackstock will make up the sixth row,?Juan Piedrahita?and?Andre Negrao comprise row seven, and the final row features Canadian newcomers?Dalton Kellett and?Zachary Claman DeMelo – with the entire field covered by just under 1.2 seconds.

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