Tom Blomqvist claimed his maiden Formula 3 European Championship win in the opening round at Silverstone.
The Anglo-Swede perfectly justified his inclusion on the Indonesian-backed Jagonya Ayam scheme by leading from pole position to the chequered flag in his Carlin-run Dallara-Volkswagen.
Behind him, Lotus Formula 1 Junior Esteban Ocon had to work hard to stave off Jordan King for second place.
King had a great start from sixth on the grid, sweeping around theoutside of Antonio Fuoco at the Village right-hander and into third place.
An early safety car, to clean up a collision at Brooklands between
Alexander Toril and Michele Beretta, gave King an opportunity to pounce – he dived inside Ocon into Club, but ran wide and lost the position again.
From then on, Carlin racer King stayed close to the Prema Powerteam Dallara-Mercedes of Ocon, but never got a chance for a clear-cut move.
Prema runner Fuoco claimed fourth, with Mucke Motorsport’s Lucas Auer making good progress from 10th on the grid to fifth.
Nicholas Latifi had to work hard after the safety car to fend off an attack from Felix Serralles and Ed Jones, but once he had done so the Prema man claimed sixth, with Serralles’s Team West-Tec machine and Carlin racer Jones next up.
Like Mucke team-mate Auer, Felix Rosenqvist climbed up the order, despite getting caught in an early mix-up, and was able to pass Felipe Guimaraes to claim ninth, with the Double R Racing-run Brazilian completing the top 10.
The early battles meant visits to the pits for new front wings for Jake Dennis and Spike Goddard. Once he had caught up after the safety car, Goddard – at the wheel of the T-Sport Dallara powered by the British NBE engine – was the major overtaker as he climbed to 14th.
The skirmishes also accounted for Max Verstappen, who retired to the pits with a broken front wing at the end of the first lap.
Results - 18 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Tom Blomqvist Carlin Dallara-VW 36m31.379s
2. Esteban Ocon Prema Dallara-Mercedes +0.490s
3. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +1.361s
4. Antonio Fuoco Prema Dallara-Mercedes +1.661s
5. Lucas Auer Mucke Dallara-Mercedes +2.849s
6. Nicholas Latifi Prema Dallara-Mercedes +3.328s
7. Felix Serralles West-Tec Dallara Mercedes +4.238s
8. Ed Jones Carlin Dallara-VW +4.347s
9. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Mercedes +5.214s
10. Felipe Guimares Double R Dallara-Mercedes +5.490s
11. Dennis van de Laar Prema Dallara-Mercedes +6.885s
12. Antonio Giovinazzi Carlin Dallara-VW +6.885s
13. Mitch Gilbert Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +7.411s
14. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-NBE +7.726s
15. Sean Gelael Carlin Dallara-VW +8.235s
16. Gustavo Menezes Van Amersfoot Dallara-VW +8.381s
17. Jake Dennis Carlin Dallara-VW +8.753s
18. John Bryant-Meisner Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +9.229s
19. Jules Szymkowiak Van Amersfoot Dallara-VW +12.309s
20. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Mercedes +12.521s
21. Riccardo Agostini EuroInternational Dallara-Mercedes +1 lap
22. Hector Hurst West-Tec Dallara Mercedes +1 lap
23. Tatiana Calderon Jo Zeller Dallara-Mercedes +1 lap
Retirements:
Max Verstappen Van Amersfoot Dallara-VW 1 lap
Alexander Toril T-Sport Dallara-NBE 0 laps
Michele Beretta EuroInternational Dallara-Mercedes 0 laps
