Robert Shwartzman takes victory in FIA Formula 3 race after post-race penalty to rival Lundgaard

Robert Shwartzman takes victory in FIA Formula 3 race after post-race penalty to rival Lundgaard

Robert Shwartzman has taken victory in the inaugural FIA Formula 3 race, as Christian Lundgaard, provisional winner, was handed a five-second time penalty after the race for an incorrect virtual safety car procedure. Kiwi Marcus Armstrong completed the podium in third.

Shwartzman celebrates on the podium

Shwartzman celebrates on the podium

Shwartzman qualified on pole and held P1 into the first corner, despite pressure from Armstrong on the lead pair. The pressure proved to be too much, with Lundgaard passing him into turn 2 while the Russian was distracted by his teammate.

Lundgaard had stretched his lead to almost 2.8s, when Alessio Deledda spun into the gravel, triggering a virtual safety car. The ART driver had no qualms on the restart and held his lead, taking the checkered flag in Barcelona.

His celebrations were cut short when race control announced a post-race penalty, just as the Danish driver was entering parc fermé.

The maiden FIA Formula 3 podium, featuring a somber Lundgaard

The maiden FIA Formula 3 podium, featuring a somber Lundgaard

Armstrong finished third, with Australian Alex Peroni in P12, and kiwi and Red Bull Junior Liam Lawson only completing 14 laps after a technical problem at the start.

FIA FORMULA 3 Race 1 @ Barcelona

  1. Robert Shwartzman
  2. Christian Lundgaard
  3. Marcus Armstrong (NZ)
  4. David Beckmann
  5. Max Fewtrell
  6. Juri Vips
  7. Jehan Daruvala
  8. Niko Kari
  9. Simo Laaksonen
  10. Yuki Tsunoda
  11. Felipe Drugovich
  12. Alexander Peroni (AUS)
  13. Bent Viscaal
  14. Lirim Zendeli
  15. Logan Sargeant
  16. Sebastian Fernandez
  17. Jake Hughes
  18. Artem Petrov
  19. Richard Verschoor
  20. Leonardo Pulcini
  21. Raoul Hyman
  22. Ye Yifei
  23. Devlin Defrancesco
  24. Teppei Natori
  25. Andreas Estner
  26. Pedro Piquet
  27. Fabio Scherer
  28. Kevyan Andres
  29. Liam Lawson (NZ) (DNF)
  30. Alessio Deledda (DNF)