Dubai-based British national Ed Jones took full advantage of his qualifying position and stormed to the second step on the podium in Race 1 of the Formula 3 European Championship Round 2 at Hockenheim in Germany yesterday.
Rookie Jones, who started third on the grid following an excellent qualifying session on Friday, finished the race 7.12 seconds behind eventual winner Lucas Auer while the Dubai-based driver’s Carlin team-mate Jordan King completed the top three.
Lotus F1 junior driver Esteban Ocon, who dropped back from third to ninth place due to a technical problem on the final lap, however retains his lead of the championship with 60 points while Jones climbed one position from ninth to eighth after collecting 18 points from his second place finish yesterday.
Ed told Sport360°: “It was a really good race for me, I had a fantastic start off the line and that set me up well for the rest of the race.
“I wasn’t really able to push Lucas Auer for the lead, but I tried to stay close to him and take it from there.
“This is my first year in the championship so to have a result like this during only the second weekend shows our potential.
“I’m very happy and would like to thank the team for giving me a car in which I was able to get the podium.”
The race started with plenty of action, with Max Verstappen and Nicholas Latifi colliding at the hairpin on the very first lap and retiring. Michele Beretta, Gustavo Menezes and Alexander Toril were also involved in a collision soon after, prompting deployment of the safety car.
Auer retained his leading position at the restart, followed by Jones and Ocon.
While Auer, who had started from pole position, continued to extend his lead, Ocon, in particular, and King challenged Ed for second place right through the race.
On the final lap though, when Ocon’s third place looked safe, the Frenchman suddenly dropped back to eventually finish ninth, handing King the third place on the podium.
Auer said: “Being on the top step of the winner’s podium for the first time this season is a great feeling.”
Tom Blomqvist finished fourth and moved up to only three points behind leader Ocon in the drivers’ standings, while Felix Rosenqvist completed the top five.
Later in the day, Ed qualified in 5th and 7th for Races 2 and 3 respectively, to be held today.
