Formula 3 Europe - Red Bull Ring: Callum Ilott at the top in red-flagged race

Callum Ilott (Van Amersfoort Racing) scored his second victory this season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. After he secured the pole position, Ilott led the race and took the maximum points ahead of Prema Powerteam pair Lance Stroll and Maximilian Günther. Stroll started fourth on the grid and jumped to third in the opening lap, behind his teammate Günther. On Lap 4, Stroll moved to second and stayed there until the end of the 17-lap race.

Ben Barnicoat (HitechGP), who started from third, dropped down the order in the opening lap to 13th place. He fought through the field to catch one point with 10th place finish. Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) fnished fourth, after he lost a duel for third place against Günther. Jensen was third for three laps in the middle of the race but Günther retook the podium spot.

George Russel (HitechGP) was chasing Nick Cassidy (Prema Powerteam) in the fifth place and the young Briton took the P5 two laps before the chequered flag. David Beckmann (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Ralf Aron (Prema Powerteam) took positions from 6 to 9.

F3 race at Red Bull Ring was stopped after horrific crash

Race stopped after a horrific crash

The race was marked by two separate accidents, of which the later caused the red flag. In the first-lap crash the victims were Arjun Maini and Weiron Tan while Ryan Tveter rejoined the race after repairs. Ilott lost the lead after the start but a moment before the yellow flag was displayed, he re-took the lead. On the restart, Lance Stroll passed Gunther by a second.

On Lap 17, Tveter spun and stopped on the racing line. Joel Eriksson avoided him, but Zhi Cong Li crashed into Tveter’s car and rolled. Pedro Piquet was next to hit Tveter’s car and went on to hit the barriers at Turn 6. Early reports said that a driver from Hong Kong is awake and alert in the medical centre, Tveter is also in the medical centre with light injuries.

Two more races at 4.326-km long circuit are scheduled for today afternoon and tomorrow afternoon, with Lance Stroll as a poleman in both races.

Video: Crash at Formula 3 race at Red Bull Ring