---
title: "Eriksson leads championship after F3 opener at Silverstone"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/04/16/eriksson-leads-championship-f3-opener-silverstone/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Josh Suttill"
section: "F3"
published: "2017-04-16T11:14:43Z"
modified: "2017-04-16T11:16:48Z"
---

# Eriksson leads championship after F3 opener at Silverstone

Motopark’s Joel Eriksson heads the European Formula 3 drivers’ championship after a thrilling opening weekend at Silverstone.

Eriksson started his weekend with a fourth place finish in the opening race and he took his second ever victory in the series on Saturday after a bold move around the outside of Callum Illott at Brooklands.

Incredibly he pulled an identical move on the British driver in the third and final race, though Ilott re-passed him went on to win the race.

Ilott was caught out by the damp conditions at the start of the first race and spun into the gravel at Abbey.

He recovered well to finish second in the race two and he took his first win of 2017 in the weekend closer.

Lando Norris began his 2017 season in incredible fashion as he left Silverstone as the top rookie in the championship by over 28 points. Norris dominated the opening race from pole position despite numerous safety car interventions.

In contrast, Norris had a miserable race two as he slipped down the order with a poor getaway off the line. He eventually ended in ninth but hit back in the final race to finish on the podium in third.

Fellow Brit Jake Dennis marked his return to F3 with a podium and a pair of fifth place finishes. Due to his Blancpain GT Series commitments, Dennis will only compete in selected rounds this year.

Their Carlin team-mate Jehan Daruvala enjoyed an impressive debut weekend with three points finishes. Ferdinand Habsburg, in the fourth Carlin, had a disappointing weekend with no points finishes to his name.

![FIA European Formula 3 Media](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/Capture-1.png)

2016 F3 runner-up Maximilian Gunther sits fourth in the championship after the opening round with a podium in the first race and a couple of fourth place finishes.

His Prema Powerteam team-mates Mick Schumacher and Guanyu Zhou both scored 12 points over the weekend. Schumacher was enthralled in an exciting duel with former German F4 rival Joey Mawson.

Mawson showed his superb racecraft with an excellent defence of his fifth position in the opening race. The Aussie leaves Silverstone as the highest ranked Van Amersfoort Racing driver in seventh.

Harrison Newey’s weekend was hampered by two difficult qualifying sessions, but he made a good recovery to score points in all three races. Pedro Piquet’s erratic nature was once again on display with a ninth place finish in race one followed up by a clumsy race two which saw him finish down in 18th.

Jake Hughes’ race two podium was the only highlight in an otherwise miserable weekend for Hitech GP. Series returnees Ralf Aron and Nikita Mazepin managed just one points finish in a weekend marred with collision for both drivers.

Tadasuke Makino, Marino Sato, David Beckmann and Keyvan Soori all failed to score a point.

Eriksson sits at the top of the table with 55 points, followed by Brits Callum Ilott and Lando Norris who sit 12 and 13 points behind respectively.

It marks the first time a non-Prema Powerteam driver has lead the European Formula 3 championship since September 2015, when Antonio Giovinazzi led for Carlin.