Algarve European F3: Felix Rosenqvist leads Prema Powerteam 1-2-3

Prema Powerteam repeated its 1-2-3 in the Formula 3 European Championship finale at the Algarve circuit, with points leader Felix Rosenqvist winning for the second time this weekend

Algarve European F3: Felix Rosenqvist leads Prema Powerteam 1-2-3

As in the previous race Jake Dennis followed the Swede across the line ahead of Ferrari protege Lance Stroll, meaning Prema took its third race win in a row, split between Dennis and Rosenqvist.

Rosenqvist had a comfortable run to victory in a chaotic race that featured a single safety car after championship rival Antonio Giovinazzi pushed Markus Pommer wide in the opening laps, before an unsighted Maximilian Gunther hit the back of Pommer and forced both to retire.

The race leader produced an excellent restart to cling onto his lead while Dennis's comparatively slower launch opened the door for Stroll to probe for a way past, with the Canadian just missing out on second.

It proved to be the only opportunity for a shake-up in the leading pack, as Rosenqvist then cruised to victory ahead of his team-mates.

George Russell was the driver who proved closest to the front trio, driving a relatively lonely race to fourth for Carlin before Sergio Sette Camara closed in on the final few laps to pressure the Brit on his way to fifth.

Their battle also allowed Pietro Fittipaldi to draw close, but he was too far away to involve himself as he completed the race in sixth.

Charles Leclerc's difficult weekend continued and the Van Amersfoort Racing driver could only finish seventh, making little inroads on the top six.

Behind him was a continued state of flux with Giovinazzi coming out on top for eighth.

The title hopeful had to overcome Lotus F1 junior Dorian Boccolacci initially before surviving a late push from Prema's Nick Cassidy, who again failed to match his team-mates' results.

Boccolacci then continued to fall further down the order, handing Cassidy ninth, before rallying to finish 10th ahead of Callum Ilott.

Alexander Sims' one-off return with HitechGP ended with the combination's best result of the weekend with 13th, Sims having had the disadvantage of starting each race from the pitlane as a guest entry.

RESULTS - 20 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 36m27.922s
2 Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 1.168s
3 Lance Stroll Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 6.049s
4 George Russell Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 12.782s
5 Sergio Sette Camara Motopark Dallara/Volkswagen 13.316s
6 Pietro Fittipaldi Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes 14.598s
7 Charles Leclerc Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara/Volkswagen 16.436s
8 Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 17.428s
9 Nick Cassidy Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 19.148s
10 Dorian Boccolacci Signature Dallara/Volkswagen 24.243s
11 Callum Ilott Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 26.031s
12 Ryan Tveter Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 27.817s
13 Alexander Sims Hitech GP Dallara/Mercedes 29.551s
14 Michele Beretta KFZTeile24 Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes 36.573s
15 Tatiana Calderon Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 37.589s
16 Arjun Maini Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara/Volkswagen 38.154s
17 Julio Moreno ThreeBond with T-Sport Dallara/NBE 42.139s
18 Raoul Hyman Team West-Tec F3 Dallara/Mercedes 43.118s
19 Zhi Cong Li Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes 49.663s
20 Nabil Jeffri Motopark Dallara/Volkswagen 57.901s
21 Matt Rao Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes 1m07.562s
22 Matt Solomon Double R Racing Dallara/Mercedes 1m09.569s
23 Sam MacLeod Motopark Dallara/Volkswagen 1 Lap
- Alexander Albon Signature Dallara/Volkswagen Retirement
- Santino Ferrucci KFZTeile24 Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes Retirement
- Alessio Lorandi Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara/Volkswagen Retirement
- Andy Chang Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes Retirement
- Gustavo Menezes Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen Retirement
- Mikkel Jensen KFZTeile24 Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes Not started
- Maximilian Guenther KFZTeile24 Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes Retirement
- Mahaveer Raghunathan Motopark Dallara/Volkswagen Excluded
- Markus Pommer Motopark Dallara/Volkswagen Retirement

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Felix Rosenqvist 378
2 Antonio Giovinazzi 343.5
3 Charles Leclerc 324.5
4 Jake Dennis 309
5 George Russell 186
6 Alexander Albon 168
7 Lance Stroll 163
8 Maximilian Guenther 118
9 Markus Pommer 94.5
10 Mikkel Jensen 90.5
11 Santino Ferrucci 71
12 Gustavo Menezes 65
13 Brandon Maisano 53
14 Sergio Sette Camara 48.5
15 Callum Ilott 32.5
16 Pietro Fittipaldi 32
17 Dorian Boccolacci 27
18 Alessio Lorandi 26
19 Arjun Maini 23
20 Raoul Hyman 12.5
21 Ryan Tveter 2
22 Sam MacLeod 2
23 Fabian Schiller 2
24 Nabil Jeffri 2
25 Nick Cassidy 2

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