Yuki Tsunoda takes first Euroformula Open victory as Liam Lawson spins out of podium finish
Yuki Tsunoda has taken his first Euroformula Open victory in race two at Hockenheim, defeating championship-leading teammates Marino Sato and Liam Lawson.
Yuki Tsunoda leads at Hockenheim.
Marino Sato led the championship after his Race 1 victory, and he started on pole ahead of Tsunoda and Lawson.
Sato held his lead off the start, as Lawson challenged Tsunoda, his fellow Red Bull Junior Driver, for second.
A lap 1 crash involving Aldo Festante, Christian Hahn, Jack Doohan, Cameron Das, and Billy Monger saw Hahn and Festante both out of the running without completing a circuit. Australian Jack Doohan limped back to the pits with damage to his Double R Racing Dallara F317. Meanwhile Linus Lundqvist lost his front wing as he ran wide on the final corner, scraping the high grass and obliterating his wing in an identical incident to Daniel Ricciardo at the 2019 Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
At the front, Tsunoda stole the lead from Sato at the hairpin, and held off his teammate to consolidate his race lead. Kiwi Liam Lawson repeated the move on lap 3, and set upon chasing down the leader.
Meanwhile, Australian Calan Williams, who started in P15 after a pit stop issue in qualifying, was charging through the pack, up to P7 by lap 8.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Calan Williams (@calanwilliamsracing) on May 27, 2019 at 5:30am PDT
Lawson looked certain to catch Tsunoda in a battle of the Red Bulls, but a late-race spin dropped him to a fifth place finish, as Tsunoda sailed to victory 4.654 seconds clear of Sato in second.
Lawson’s spin brought the sparring pair of Julian Hanses and Lukas Dunner into contention for the final podium position, as the two drivers battled within 0.8 seconds of each other for most of the race. Hanses held on for third place and a podium result at his home race, while Dunner claimed fourth.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Liam Lawson (@liamlawson30) on May 28, 2019 at 5:37am PDT
Jack Doohan, who was compromised in the lap 1 incident, stormed through the pack on a determined recovery effort, ultimately finishing in P7. Fellow Australian Calan Williams finished in P9.
Lawson’s spin saw championship rival Marino Sato extend his lead, currently sitting on 104 points to Lawson’s 89. Tsunoda is on 80 after his first victory, with Lukas Dunner the only other realistic contender on 74 points.
The Euroformula Open returns for Round 4 at Spa, 8-9 June 2019
Euroformula Open Race 2 @ Hockenheim
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Marino Sato +4.654s
- Julian Hanses +9.176s
- Lukas Dunner +9.707s
- Liam Lawson (NZ) +14.255s
- Nicolai Kjaergaard +25.997s
- Jack Doohan (AUS) +28.285s
- Teppei Natori +35.486s
- Calan Williams (AUS) +36.829s
- Cameron Das +37.382s
- Guilherme Samaia +38.402s
- Rui Andrade +1:04.647
- Billy Monger +1 lap
- Linus Lundqvist DNF
- Aldo Festante DNF
- Christian Hahn DNF
