EuroF3: Schumacher Clinches Title Despite Race One Dramas

It was 19-year-old German Mick Schumacher who emulated his seven-time F1 World Champion father Michael by winning the European Formula 3 Championship, beating Red Bull junior Dan Ticktum by 59 points.

Contact in the first race of the Hockenheim weekend put the celebrations on hold but a second in race two was enough to secure the title in Schumacher’s second year in the series.

Robert Shwartzman would go on to seal the rookie title, winning the final race of not just the year, but also the European F3 series as a whole. Guan Yu Zhou and Juri Vips took the top step in the other races.

Race One

For the first time in six races, it wasn’t Schumacher who sat on pole position, instead it was team mate Guan Yu Zhou who took the honours with Spaniard Alex Palou alongside on the front row. Schumacher started down in seventh alongside guest driver Frederik Vesti who impressed for Van Amersfoort Racing on debut. Zhou was away cleanly, but Palou bogged down and fell to fourth behind Robert Shwartzmann and Jehan Daruvala, who was then involved in contact with Palou at the hairpin to put the Indian out of the race.

Further down the field, Schumacher tried to overtake team mate Marcus Armstrong at turn seven but ran out of road leaving Armstrong with a puncture and Schumacher requiring a new nose cone. Thankfully for the German, the safety car had been deployed and he didn’t lose too much time in the pits although he did drop to the rear of the field. At the restart, Ticktum was in a battle for fifth with Carlin’s Sacha Fenestraz which resulted in light contact and allowed Ralf Aron to make his way past both drivers as they squabbled. The safety car was quickly back out again as Ferdinand Habsburg and Fabio Scherer came together on the run to the hairpin, leaving both unable to continue.

Confusion ensued at the conclusion of the race as the chequered flag flew one lap too early leading to some drivers backing off, and some continuing at full tilt. The race was then declared a lap early with Zhou the runaway winner from Shwartzmann – who wrapped up the rookie title – and Juri Vips took third in a quiet race for the Estonian.

Top 3: Guan Yu Zhou – Robert Shwartzman – Juri Vips

Race Two

This was Schumacher’s chance, he started P2 behind Vips with only title challenger Ticktum down in 15th at the start. Both front row men got decent starts and held station into turn one where Fenestraz, Enaam Ahmed and Julian Hanses all came to blows and retired from the race with damage. This brought the safety car out and when it came back in, Vips cleared off into the distance and wasn’t seen again as he won at a canter.

Schumacher was also unchallenged in second place as he did what was necessary to win his first single-seater title. Behind them came Aron who again made the most of battling ahead of him between Palou and Shwartzmann to grab the final podium spot, with Daruvala producing a solid drive for P4. Despite a great drive from 15th to seventh, Ticktum knew his title hopes had disappeared as he took the chequered flag.

Top 3: Juri Vips – Mick Schumacher – Ralf Aron

Race Three

With all the titles done and dusted, the drivers could let themselves go for the final race in the FIA Formula 3 European championship. Shwartzmann led away from pole position ahead of Schumacher. Vips was third going into the hairpin but contact with Aron sent the former spinning and he dropped to the rear of the field, also collecting Fenestraz who’s luckless season continued as he was forced to retire with damage to his Renault liveried Carlin machine. His team mate, Daruvala, then ran very wide out of the final turn and he too was forced to park it with smoke coming from the heavily damaged floor of his car.

It wasn’t all bad for Carlin as Habsburg took P7 from Jonathan Aberdein at the hairpin, the lap after Zhou had done the same for sixth. Vips was the man to watch though as he charged his way back to 10th although Sophia Floersch gave him a challenging time for the final point paying position.

In the end though, no one came close to Shwartzmann who was a whopping 10.5 seconds clear of Schumacher in second place, with Palou holding off Aron for the final spot on the podium.

Top 3: Robert Shwartzman – Mick Schumacher – Alex Palou

So, the season finishes with Schumacher at the top, 59 points clear of Ticktum and a further 12 ahead of Shwartzmann, whose strong second half of the season also saw him secure the rookie honours.

As has always been the case in this wonderful series, Prema took the teams title for the eighth year in succession. And so, ends the fabulous era of these Formula three cars which have provided some of the most memorable moments in motorsport’s recent history, and while talk continues on the future of the chassis, whatever replaces it has A LOT to live up to.

Leave us your thoughts on the final FIA European F3 Championship of this generation and Schumacher’s sublime run to the title in the comments.