Norris wins again in F3 Race 3 at the Nurburgring

Lando Norris (Carlin) extended his lead in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers' standings with his ninth victory of the season in the third race of the weekend at the Nurburgring. Norris now has an advantage of 73 points from Maximilian Gunther (Prema Powerteam), who is second in the drivers' standings. Next to McLaren protégé Norris, British driver Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix) and Estonian Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix) stood on the podium for the prize-giving ceremony.

"My start wasn't particularly good, but my opponents around me weren't much better," reckoned Norris. "I wanted to overtake Callum on the opening lap, but I didn't manage until the safety car came out. Right after the restart, I got past. Because I wanted to avoid a collision with him, I briefly came off the track. I am very happy with the victory and the 25 points."

The third FIA Formula 3 European Championship race at the Nurburgring had a turbulent start. Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam) took the lead from Norris and Hughes while Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin) collided in the first corner. For both drivers involved in the accident, the race was over and the safety car was deployed. Also on the opening lap, there was contact between Joey Mawson (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Tadasuke Makino (Hitech Grand Prix), after which both drivers had to turn into the pits for quick repair works on their cars.

Racing resumed on lap four and Norris overtook Ilott. Later on, the Prema driver lost further positions and he was fourth at the end of the fifth lap. Further down, meanwhile, newcomer Max Defourny (Van Amersfoort Racing) overtook David Beckmann (Motopark) and moved up into the top 10. The Belgian gained another position as Nikita Mazepin (Hitech Grand Prix) had a brief excursion into the gravel trap and he eventually finished ninth.

Further up, Lando Norris was first across the line from Jake Hughes and Ralf Aron. Callum Ilott took the checkered flag in fourth from Jehan Daruvala (Carlin), Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing), Gunther and Joel Eriksson (Motopark). Newcomer Sacha Fenestraz (Carlin) claimed the point for finishing 10th.