Silverstone European F3: Ferrari protege Fuoco wins race three
Ferrari Driver Academy starlet Antonio Fuoco made it three different winners from the first round of the Formula 3 European Championship at Silverstone
The Italian got the jump on his polesitting team-mate in the Prema Powerteam Dallara-Mercedes squad, Esteban Ocon, to sweep into the lead.
Frenchman Ocon swarmed around Fuoco trying to find a way past in the first couple of laps, but that damaged his front tyres and he gradually fell back.
He then came under attack from Max Verstappen, who had charged from fifth on the grid.
The Dutchman got past with an incisive move at the tight Loop left-hander on the 11th lap of 18, by which stage Fuoco was four seconds in front.
"My start was fantastic," said reigning Formula Renault ALPS champion Fuoco after heading an all-rookie podium.
"We didn't have a problem with our tyres compared to yesterday, and my race pace was fantastic."
Verstappen had to be whisked off from the post-race press conference to see the stewards regarding his pass for third on Tom Blomqvist on lap two of the race.
The Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara-Volkswagen made its initial move on Blomqvist's Carlin machine at the Loop, but completed the matter at Brooklands, where yellow flags were being displayed due to a first-lap incident that eliminated Jake Dennis and Felipe Guimaraes.
It is likely not to be a clear-cut decision, as Verstappen and Blomqvist were side by side on the Wellington Straight as they entered the yellow zone.
NEWS UPDATE: No penalty for Verstappen
First-race winner Blomqvist mysteriously struggled for pace and lost fourth place to Prema's Nicholas Latifi when the Canadian swept around his outside into Copse Corner.
He then lost a further position to Antonio Giovinazzi, his stablemate in the Jagonya Ayam scheme. The Italian had earlier muscled his way past Carlin team-mate Ed Jones in the Loop in a manoeuvre that spun the Anglo-Emirati out of the points.
It was all Blomqvist could do to hold off Felix Rosenqvist, who used strong racecraft in his Mucke Motorsport car to storm through the midfield gaggle from 14th on the grid to seventh.
Blomqvist's fellow Carlin runner Jordan King was also struggling - largely due to a damaged front wing - and lost eighth place to the Mucke car of Lucas Auer on the final lap.
West-Tec's Felix Serralles completed the top 10 after a race-long battle that also included John Bryant-Meisner and Dennis van de Laar.
Results - 18 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Antonio Fuoco Prema Dallara-Merc 34m13.614s 2. Max Verstappen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +4.731s 3. Esteban Ocon Prema Dallara-Merc +9.325s 4. Nicholas Latifi Prema Dallara-Merc +17.322s 5. Antonio Giovinazzi Carlin Dallara-VW +21.667s 6. Tom Blomqvist Carlin Dallara-VW +25.945s 7. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +26.266s 8. Lucas Auer Mucke Dallara-Merc +32.033s 9. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +33.437s 10. Felix Serralles West-Tec Dallara-Merc +33.814s 11. John Bryant-Meisner Fortec Dallara-Merc +34.027s 12. Dennis van de Laar Prema Dallara-Merc +34.448s 13. Hector Hurst West-Tec Dallara-Merc +35.474s 14. Alexander Toril T-Sport Dallara-NBE +35.792s 15. Ed Jones Carlin Dallara-VW +38.021s 16. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +39.821s 17. Michele Beretta Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +42.527s 18. Gustavo Menezes Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +43.205s 19. Tatiana Calderon Jo Zeller Dallara-Merc +45.972s 20. Jules Szymkowiak Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +48.697s 21. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-NBE +1m16.767s Retirements: Riccardo Agostini Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 16 laps Sean Gelael Carlin Dallara-VW 15 laps Mitchell Gilbert Fortec Dallara-Merc 1 lap Jake Dennis Carlin Dallara-VW 0 laps Felipe Guimaraes Double R Dallara-Merc 0 laps
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