Photo: FIA Formula 3 European Championship,
Maximilian Gunther has taken his fourth race win of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season in the third race?at the Nurburgring.
Gunther led away from the start and was able to keep his team mate Lance Stroll behind him all the way to the chequered flag.
When the lights went out, the drag race into turn one between Stroll and Gunther?was won out by the German driver. Meanwhile,?Niko Kari?made his way up from fifth on the grid as he went around the outside of everyone to clinch third place coming out of turn one.
Both Nick Cassidy and Joel Eriksson had less than stellar starts from the second row of the grid, and this allowed Callum Ilott to also muscle his way passed the pair and put himself up to fourth position by?the fourth?corner.
With the lead drivers settling into the race, the closest racing on the grid was coming the way of Ralf Aron, who was now leading a train of several drivers from eighth onwards. With the cars all?bunching up behind the Estonian, it allowed Sergio Sette Camara to dive down the inside of Harrison Newey for tenth position into turn one.
Up ahead, the top three were leaving the rest behind as Gunther, Stroll, and Kari were all lapping within a tenth of each other with the gaps getting no longer than a second between them.
Back down the grid, Anthoine Hubert, who had been stuck behind Aron for most of the race, was finally able to make a run on the Prema driver into turn one to take eighth position. With Aron all out of shape, Sette Camara was the next to get passed him out of turn four.
On ?the next lap,?Newey had a good run on Ben Barnicoat down the pit-straight and tried to out drag his compatriot into turn one. Barnicoat was less compliant and pushed Newey all the way onto the grass on the inside of the track, and with the?lack of traction underneath?is car, Newey went straight into the side of Aron ahead as he entered the corner. Both drivers were able to rejoin the race but were now?out of the points.
Sette Camara then set his sights on Hubert in eighth, as the Brazilian once again dived down the inside of turn one to push Hubert out wide on the inside of turn two to take the position from the Frenchman.
But the star of the show was Gunther, who was able to pull away from Stroll at the finish by the margin of three seconds. Though he was within striking distance by the end, Kari had to settle for third place.
Ilott finished a further four seconds behind in fourth position, followed Cassidy, Eriksson and George Russell who were all rather distant?in the race. Eighth went the way of Sette Camara, with?Hubert in ninth and Barnicoat holding onto the final points paying position in tenth.