FIA Formula 3: Jenzer wins, Scherer scores points
JAPANESE SUPPLIES LYSSER TEAM One week after its first podium in Belgium, Andreas Jenzer's team was able to celebrate its first victory in FIA Formula 3 at Monza. Fabio Scherer scored twice but missed the equally big chance. A week earlier, Yuki Tsunoda finished second in the second Formula 3 race at Spa, making his first [...]
A week earlier, Yuki Tsunoda finished second in the second Formula 3 race at Spa and was on the podium for the first time. The 19-year-old Japanese continued his upward trend in the Formula 1 race in Italy. For once, in sixth place, he did not qualify as the best driver for Jenzer Motorsport because Giorgio Carrara was still two positions ahead of him.
In the first sprint on Saturday morning, however, the Argentinean dropped out with a damaged car, while Tsunoda crossed the famous Monza finish line in fourth place. As a competitor in front of him received a retrospective time penalty, the Jenzer junior moved up to third place.
Another milestone for Jenzer Motorsport
On Sunday, the Japanese driver, who is sponsored by Red Bull and Honda, then showed his maturity in an impressive way. When the race started at 9:30 a.m., the track at the Autodromo was still very wet, so everyone started on rain tires. Starting sixth according to the regulations, Tsunoda immediately lined up in third place before soon taking over second.
After further courageous attacks on the leader Jake Hughes and several position changes with the Briton, the talented Asian took the top spot. For Tsunoda, who had moved up from Japanese Formula 4, and for Jenzer Motorsport, this meant the first victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship after the team from Lyss had won several times in the GP3 Series. Congratulations!
Optimal starting position for Fabio Scherer
On the other hand, Fabio Scherer missed a huge opportunity for such a feat. Having finished eighth in Saturday's race (after making up twelve positions), he was allowed to put himself on pole position on Sunday morning. Despite a car that couldn't quite keep up with the front in terms of speed, he was on course for the podium in the first ten laps. The longer the race lasted and the drier the track became, he had to let his rivals pull away to some extent. At least the only Swiss in the field finished in seventh place.
Fabio Scherer: "If it had stayed wet, our pace would have been right. But the longer the race went on, the more difficult it became for us. We lost time in the corners and braking was also very difficult."
Bittersweet aftertaste
Although the Lucerne native scored twice in one weekend for the first time, he left Monza with mixed feelings.
Fabio Scherer: "Compared to my previous races, it was positive. But if you can start from the very front, you want to win. And today that wasn't possible. Considering the pace we had, I think I did the best job possible."
The 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship concluded with the two races on September 28 and 29 in Sochi, Russia.
