- Swede survives the rain in Barcelona
- Second Euroformula Open rostrum of the year
Linus Lundqvist returned to the Euroformula Open podium with an assured drive in wet conditions at the penultimate round of the season at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Having first graced the rostrum back at the Red Bull Ring in July, Lundqvist’s Barcelona success – which came in the first of two races this weekend – marks his second top three finish of the campaign.
With qualifying for Race 1 cancelled due to heavy rain on Saturday morning, the grid was set using the times from Friday practice, leaving Lundqvist as the top Double R Racing entry in third behind Carlin duo Nicolai Kjaergaard and Billy Monger.
Rain continued to fall as the race got underway, but Lundqvist managed to tread his way efficiently off the line and immediately snatched second from Monger.
With Kjaergaard maintaining the lead from pole, it was initially a familiar view of last year’s British F3 title contenders up front. As the 17-lap race progressed, however, Lundqvist was passed by Liam Lawson’s Motopark machine, which later went on to win the race thanks to a similar move on Kjaergaard on the final lap.
Lundqvist spent the last few laps fending off Kjaergaard’s Carlin team-mate Christian Hahn for the final step of the podium, ultimately crossing the line four tenths clear of the Brazilian.
Meanwhile back in tenth, Marino Sato sealed the 2019 Euroformula Open title.
“I’m happy to be back on the podium,” says Linus Lundqvist. “The conditions were really tricky out there, but I managed to keep it on the track and bring the car home. It was a solid race and it’s good reward for the team.”
The weather improved dramatically in time for the final day of action on Sunday, with Lundqvist qualifying seventh on the grid for Race 2 in a close-fought scrap that left him less than half a second adrift of pole.
The race then proved a rather static affair. Lundqvist bogged down at the start, dropping down to tenth by the first corner, although the Swede swiftly regained lost ground to run P8 at the end of the opening lap. He went on to finish in the same position.
Victory went to Carlin’s Teppei Natori, who spearheaded a 1-2-3-4 for the British squad.
“P8 was maybe not what we wanted from the final race, but still, I’m actually happy with this weekend,” Lundqvist concludes. “It’s the first time all year that I’ve felt we have been able to properly match the competition, and even though Carlin happened to be very strong today, it was much closer. We had the pace to battle. That makes me optimistic going into the final round of the season and I leave Barcelona with a smile on my face.”
The 2019 Euroformula Open campaign will come to a close at Italy’s Temple of Speed – Monza – on October 11-13.
RESULTS (top five)
Euroformula Open
Round 8/9 | Barcelona (ESP)
RACE 1
1: Liam Lawson (NZL), Motopark, 17 laps
2: Nicolai Kjaergaard (DEN), Carlin, +2.252s
3: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), Double R, +7.065s
4: Christian Hahn (BRA), Carlin, +7.469s
5: Billy Monger (GBR), Carlin, +11.707s
RACE 2
1: Teppei Natori (JPN), Carlin, 17 laps
2: Nicolai Kjaergaard (DEN), Carlin, +5.563s
3: Billy Monger (GBR), Carlin, +7.672s
4: Christian Hahn (BRA), Carlin, +9.886s
5: Marino Sato (JPN), Motopark, +14.274s
—
8: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), Double R, +16.692s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)
Euroformula Open
After 16/18 races
1: Marino Sato (JPN), 274 p.
2: Lukas Dunner (AUT), 166 p.
3: Liam Lawson (NZL), 154 p.
4: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), 122 p.
5: Yuki Tsunoda (JPN), 117 p.