Mick Schumacher wins Race 1 & takes both Pole Positions for Race 2 & 3
PREMA Theodore Racing experienced another exciting day at Nürburgring. After locking out the front row for the opening race of the FIA Formula 3 Championship weekend, the Italian squad stayed on the move when the lights went off and delivered a 1-2 finish. Mick Schumacher was the star of the day, cruising to the lead at the first corner and securing his fourth win in as many rounds. Pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman eventually crossed the finishing line in second place, ending up in the slipstream of his team-mate.
Schumacher and Shwartzman continued to show dominant form during the afternoon, topping the qualifying 2 session and locking out the front row of both race 2 and 3.
Ralf Aron, who was starting from P5, climbed up to third place right away but eventually dropped back to fifth after a hard-fought battle. Making the most of the start and a re-start following an early safety-car, Ferrari Driver Academy men Marcus Armstrong and Guanyu Zhou gained a massive amount of positions compared to their penalty-affected starting spots.
Armstrong, who was taking-off from P18, ended up in a stunning sixth place, while Zhou scored seventh place. The New Zealander took a fourth and a fifth place on the grids for the final two races of the weekend.
Guanyu Zhou, Car #1
Combined Practice: P9 Fastest lap: 1:21.208
Qualifying 1: P11 Fastest lap: 1:21.137
Starting Grid Race 1: P15 Race 1: P7
Qualifying 2: P9 Fastest lap: 1:21.304
Qualifying 3: P9 Fastest lap: 1:21.376
“In Race 1 I made a huge comeback from P15 to the points zone but coming to qualifying 2 we were struggling a lot. So far this hasn’t been my weekend. We hope to move forward tomorrow.”
Mick Schumacher, Car #4
Combined Practice: P1 Fastest lap: 1:20.719
Qualifying 1: P2 Fastest lap: 1:20.684
Starting Grid Race 1: P2 Race 1: P1
Qualifying 2: P1 Fastest lap: 1:20.805
Qualifying 3: P1 Fastest lap: 1:20.822
“My start was good and I managed to move up into the lead fairly quickly. Then, I tried to save my tyres as well as I could. Of course, I am very happy with this victory and with the 25 points that get me up into second place of the drivers’ standings and I can’t wait for race 2 and 3, when I will be starting from pole.”
Ralf Aron, Car #7
Combined Practice: P10 Fastest lap: 1:21.241
Qualifying 1: P5 Fastest lap: 1:20.938
Starting Grid Race 1: P5 Race 1: P5
Qualifying 2: P6 Fastest lap: 1:20.974
Qualifying 3: P7 Fastest lap: 1:21.301
“I had a good start in race 1 and fought my way up to P3. Unfortunately, I was lacking some pace, so I dropped back to P5 and we couldn’t find much more for Q2. We will fight as hard as we can tomorrow.”
Marcus Armstrong, Car #8
Combined Practice: P21 Fastest lap: 1:21.998
Qualifying 1: P8 Fastest lap: 1:21.024
Starting Grid Race 1: P18 Race 1: P6
Qualifying 2: P4 Fastest lap: 1:20.965
Qualifying 3: P5 Fastest lap: 1:21.127
“We started from P18 and ended up sixth so it was not too bad, I gained 11 places at the first corner, still don’t know how, and I definitely can’t complain. Life goes on, we finished fourth and fifth in qualifying 2, it’s not perfect but we can fight from there to take home some good points.”
Robert Shwartzman, Car #10
Combined Practice: P6 Fastest lap: 1:21.053
Qualifying 1: P1 Fastest lap: 1:20.637
Starting Grid Race 1: P1 Race 1: P2
Qualifying 2: P2 Fastest lap: 1:20.892
Qualifying 3: P2 Fastest lap: 1:20.977
“Both at the start and at the restart after the safety car intervention, I made a mistake. At the start, I had to let Mick pull away and at the restart, I had to defend my second place. As the race went on, I could close up to Mick again, partly because my car was really good. However, I was no longer in a position to overtake him. Generally, I am happy with second place, I just have to practice the starts a little bit more. I’m looking forward to race 2 and 3 starting from the front row.”
