- Double R Racing man breaks rostrum duck in Austria
- Sustains severe pressure in Race 2
Linus Lundqvist finally graced the Euroformula Open podium thanks to an assertive drive in the final race of the weekend at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, fending off local hero Lukas Dunner in a dramatic finish.
From third on the grid following his best qualifying performance of the season so far, Lundqvist made a by-now trademark start to dive past front-row man Julian Hanses, splitting the German and his Motopark team-mate Marino Sato.
Hanses was ultimately able to reclaim his position, relegating Lundqvist back to his original P3 position behind the Motopark duo – a position which soon came under significant threat from Dunner’s Teo Martin Dallara.
Lundqvist successfully defended the final podium slot, however, soaking up intense pressure over the closing laps as he kept the Austrian at bay to seal third place by 0.2 seconds.
The result marks Lundqvist’s maiden podium this season, coming at a fitting time for the Double R Racing Swede ahead of an extensive two-month break in the Euroformula Open calendar.
“I’m really pleased to finally get this podium and take that with me into the summer break,”says Linus Lundqvist. “We’ve come so close so many times this year, and it’s a relief to finally bring it together. We still couldn’t quite match the Motopark cars in front, but we’re closing the gap little by little. That second race was tough, fending off Dunner for so many laps, but in the end it worked out. It was a good way to practice my defensive skills! I want to thank the guys at Double R for their continued determination and effort. We took another step in the right direction this weekend and this was exactly the kind of result we needed.”
Lundqvist backed up his podium result in Race 2 with a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s preceding Race 1, where he battled back from an opening lap spin triggered by contact with team-mate Jack Doohan.
Championship leader Sato won both races at the Red Bull Ring.
Lundqvist retains sixth place in the standings following this weekend’s races, but has closed the gap on several of the drivers ahead.
The Euroformula Open fraternity returns on September 6-8 at Silverstone; the same venue where Linus Lundqvist clinched the BRDC British F3 Championship title last year.
RESULTS (top five)
Euroformula Open
Round 6/9 | Red Bull Ring (AUT)
RACE 1
1: Marino Sato (JPN), Motopark, 20 laps
2: Jack Doohan (AUS), Double R, +0.611s
3: Lukas Dunner (AUT), Teo Martin, +7.483s
4: Calan Williams (AUS), Fortec, +8.989s
5: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), Double R, +17.984s
RACE 2
1: Marino Sato (JPN), Motopark, 19 laps
2: Julian Hanses (GER), Motopark, +2.963s
3: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), Double R, +9.060s
4: Lukas Dunner (AUT), Teo Martin, +9.300s
5: Calan Williams (AUS), Fortec, +10.535s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)
Euroformula Open
After 12/18 races
1: Marino Sato (JPN), 262 p.
2: Lukas Dunner (AUT), 154 p.
3: Liam Lawson (NZL), 120 p.
4: Yuki Tsunoda (JPN), 110 p.
5: Julian Hanses (GER), 98 p.
6: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), 96 p.