BRDC Formula 3 champion Enaam Ahmed has claimed his first European Formula 3 victory and the championship lead, with a win in the second race at the Hungaroring.
The Hitech GP driver dominated after having grabbed the lead at the start. Ahmed’s consistent pace allowed him to build and maintain a three-second advantage over second-placed Marcus Armstrong.
Both managed to pass polesitter and race one winner Daniel Ticktum at the start. The Red Bull Formula 1 junior was slow away, allowing Ahmed to comfortably ease ahead before Turn 1.
Armstrong, who launched well from fourth on the grid, had the inside line into Turn 1. He out-braked Ticktum and demoted him to third.
Ticktum then suffered a suspected brake failure within the first 10 minutes of the 33-minute race. After running deep at Turn 1 and Turn 2, he retired his Motopark-prepared machine.
This promoted Alex Palou into a comfortable third place and he joined Ahmed and Armstrong on the podium.
Palou managed to catch Armstrong entering the closing laps, reducing the gap to 0.7 seconds. However, Armstrong responded to increase the margin to an eventual 1.8s at the chequered flag.
Armstrong’s Prema Racing team-mates Guan Yu Zhou and Robert Shvartzman finished in fourth and fifth. Both had lonely races.
Force India Formula 1 protege Jehan Daruvala’s sixth place was in jeopardy for much of the race, as Mick Schumacher was a constant threat behind.
Schumacher vaulted from 11th on the grid to eighth after the first lap. He was glued to the back of Daruvala’s car throughout the race – which became a fight for sixth after Ticktum’s retirement – but could not overtake.
Carlin’s Ferdinand Habsberg and Sasha Fenestraz ended up in eighth and nine. Both managed to catch the Daruvala and Schumacher pairing mid-race but later dropped back.
Ahmed’s Hitech GP team-mate Ben Hingeley rounded out the points scorers in 10th place.
Fabio Scherer was the best of the Motopark’s in 11th. Despite finishing fifth in race one, Ralf Aron ended up 12th in race two having started in 15th.
Juri Vips, Sebastian Fernandez and Nikita Troitckii all received penalties for jump starts. They finished 18th, 19th and 20th respectively.
Artem Petrov ended up one lap down after spinning into the barriers and subsequently picking up a puncture.
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