Max fifth after difficult race

Published on 18 October 2014 by Stefan Meens

In a tough race, Max Verstappen worked his way from ninth to fifth in race 2 of the final FIA Formula 3 European Championship round at Hockenheim. Meanwhile, his closest rival for second place in the championship, Tom Blomqvist, led from start to finish passing the Van Amersfoort Racing driver in the standings. This means their duel will be decided in the final race of the season on Sunday morning.

The Van Amersfoort Racing driver knew a challenging race lay ahead of him after a disappointing qualifying only granted him P9 on the starting grid. When the lights go out, Max has a decent start followed by a feisty first lap. “Straight away I was able to take eighth from Tatiana Calderon. I tried to overtake Fuoco around the outside into turn 1 but I went a bit wide. He passed me again before I finally overtook him into turn 2.”

Next up the road is F3 veteran Felix Rosenqvist. “I tried to out-brake him but I crossed the white line, indicating the track limits, so I had to give back the place. In the next corner he tried to slow me down which meant Calderon passed me on the outside”, explains Max who sits in eighth after two laps.

A couple of laps later, the Red Bull Junior has worked himself up into sixth after passing Calderon and Rosenqvist. Max wants more and pursues Jordan King. After a few corners of wheel to wheel action, the 17-year-old Dutchman claims fifth. Soon after, the safety car is deployed after Spike Goddard collided with Michele Beretta resulting in the latter driver's rear wing to come off and land on the track.

After the restart, Max is unable to remain on the tail of the front four consisting of Blomqvist, Auer, Giovinazzi and Ocon. “I was unable to get within a second of Ocon. I couldn’t keep up on the main straight, even though I was going flat out. As well as things went in at Imola, here it's just not coming together.”

Meanwhile, Antonio Fuoco is overambitious in an attempt to get back to the front after a spin. The Italian tries to overtake Jake Dennis but pushes the pair of them into the gravel. The incident occurs in the penultimate lap and race control decides to wave the red flag, granting Blomqvist the win with Auer and Giovanizzi completing the podium.

Blomqvist's win gives him the edge in the battle for second in the championship. With one race to go, the Briton, who will be on pole, has gathered 405 points. Max, who starts the final race from eighth, has earned two points less. “I never give up. Obviously it's a difficult task ahead, but you always try!” concludes an ever ambitious Max.

Via Twitter and Facebook we will keep you updated throughout the weekend, followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action. 

The full schedule for the Imola Euro F3 round can be found here.
Furthermore, you can follow Max via the official live timing and the livestream (races only).

FIA Formula 3 European Championship Round 11 – Hockenheim - Day 2, Saturday 16 October:
Results race 1
Results race 2