HWA RACELAB claims first double podium in the FIA Formula 3 Championship

Significant milestone for HWA RACELAB at the fifth FIA Formula 3 event in Budapest: In the first race of the weekend, Jake Hughes (Great Britain) reaches the rostrum for the second time this season – and then completes the first Formula 3 double podium for HWA RACELAB with a third-place finish in race two. In addition to this historic success, Bent Viscaal (Netherlands) and Keyvan Andres (Iran) also deliver impressive chasing performances at the Hungaroring.

  • Two third places for Jake Hughes, positions 19 and 10 for Bent Viscaal and 23rd and 14th for Keyvan Andres
  • Bent Viscaal: “I am very pleased with today's race.”
  • Jake Hughes: “In both races, we had the fastest cars in the closing phase.”
  • Keyvan Andres: “I am not where I was aiming to be.”
  • Thomas Strick: “That was our best weekend so far this season.”

Budapest, 4 August 2019 – The Hungarian GP marked just the fifth race weekend for HWA RACELAB in the FIA Formula 3 Championship – and the most successful to date. Jake Hughes began the second race of the weekend from sixth place under clear blue skies at the Hungaroring.  The 25-year-old fell back to seventh at the start but was able to defend this position during the early laps. He increased the pressure on his competitors as the race progressed and moved back into sixth place on lap 14. However, this was just the start of a superb closing phase. Jake was rewarded for his concentrated driving style as the other drivers lost ground in their battles with one another. He benefited from this situation, swiftly moving up to fourth place and the podium was within touching distance. Jake saw his chance as Jüri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix) struggled with noticeable tyre wear, launching a successful overtaking manoeuvre on lap 19. He was in no danger of losing that third place as the race drew to a close, claiming his third podium of the season - having already won in Spielberg and secured third place in the first Hungaroring race. This also saw him score some important championship points.

Bent Viscaal enjoyed a good start at the Hungaroring, moving up three places and finding himself in 16th position after the first few turns. Bent proceeded in a similar fashion to Jake, securing his position and then gradually going on the attack from the halfway point of the race.  On lap ten, the young Dutch driver was able to move up to 15th and maintained a consistently good pace. He was in 13th a short time later, before two overtaking manoeuvres on lap 18 put him in eleventh position. Another fast lap allowed Bent to claim tenth spot, his second top ten result of the season.

Keyvan Andres also delivered an impressive chasing performance. He started from 23rd on the grid and was able to move up to 18th place after just a few laps. He also put his rivals under pressure and settled into 17th place on lap five. After one competitor retired on lap 14, he moved up one place and was able to continue this progress with some well-time manoeuvres. Keyvan crossed the finishing line in 14th position after a bold performance.

HWA RACELAB also had plenty of reasons to celebrate after the first race of the weekend – despite the dark clouds and initially changeable weather: After 22 thrilling laps of the Hungaroring, Jake Hughes crossed the finishing line in third place to complete a spectacular chasing performance. The British driver had started the race in seventh place, moving straight up into sixth after a good start. He continued to put the drivers in front under pressure with a series of probing attacks. This race strategy soon paid off: Jake moved up to fifth on lap four, before claiming fourth place on lap 18. This marked the start of an exciting duel with Jüri Vips during the final laps of the race and Jake emerged victorious after a great overtaking manoeuvre. He defended that third place until the finish.

Bent Viscaal (Netherlands) was also able to move up a few places in the first race at the Hungaroring. Starting from 26th position, he moved up to 24th thanks to his good pace over the first five laps. Bent stayed close to his rivals as the race progressed, moving into 22nd place on lap 20. He recorded two fast laps as the race concluded, finishing in 20th position. A retrospective time penalty for one of his competitors then saw Bent classified in 19th.

Keyvan Andres started from 27th place and improved during the race in a similar fashion to Jake and Bent. After a good start, the German-Iranian driver was in 25th place and then moved up to 23rd thanks to some skilful driving. Braking problems meant that he was not able to maintain that pace and allowed team-mate Bent to overtake him. Keyvan finished the race in 23rd place.

Reactions to the race weekend 

Bent Viscaal (19, Netherlands, #10), 19th and 10th places
“I am very pleased with today's race! The pace already looked very good yesterday, but I was not able to make the most of that after an incident on lap one. Everything went wonderfully today. Moving up to tenth place after starting from P19, good pace and some nice manoeuvres, that was fun! Now we just have to continue to improve our qualifying performance. That is our goal for Spa.”

Jake Hughes (25, Great Britain, #11), two 3rd places
“That was a really good weekend for us! Qualifying didn't go as well as it could but we were unbelievably fast in the two races, although the field was really tight. Our tyre management worked superbly in both races. We waited for our chances and we then had the perfect tyres to make the most of those chances when they came. In both races, we had the fastest cars in the closing phase – that is very impressive when you consider how long we had to drive in a close-packed field. It is nice to see that we are learning, and improving, every weekend. The two podium finishes meant that I really enjoyed this weekend. Thanks to the whole team!”

Keyvan Andres (19, Iran, #12), 23rd and 14th places
“Unfortunately, I struggled with some brake problems at the start of the weekend. Things only went smoothly in the second race and I was able to make up a few places. But I am not where I was aiming to be. Now I hope that the coming weekends will be problem-free and will allow me to continue to improve.”   

Thomas Strick, Team Principal HWA RACELAB
“That was our best weekend so far this season. We are very satisfied. Two podium finishes for Jake after some outstanding driving. And two great chasing performances from Bent and Keyvan today. I am sure that they will be rewarded with points soon. The cars had a strong pace for the whole weekend, that was great work from the entire team!”

 

Result of 1st race on Saturday 3rd August:
1. Christian Lundgaard         ART Grand Prix       35:48.828   
3. Jake Hughes                    HWA RACELAB         36:02.740    
19. Bent Viscaal                   HWA RACELAB         36:24.175                  
23. Keyvan Andres               HWA RACELAB         36:38.581

Result of 2nd race on Sunday 4th August:
1. Marcus Armstrong           Prema Racing          35:26.061
3. Jake Hughes                    HWA RACELAB          35:45.045
10. Bent Viscaal                   HWA RACELAB          36:06.787
14. Keyvan Andres               HWA RACELAB          36:11.813

Preview
The next races in the FIA Formula 3 Championship will take place on 31th August and 1st September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

 

About HWA AG
HWA AG is an independent, 360° engineering specialist in the fields of automobile racing and high-performance cars. Formed in 1998 by Hans Werner Aufrecht, the company is based in Affalterbach (Germany) and employs roughly 300 highly-qualified members of staff. HWA AG offers all its products and services under the motto ENGINEERING SPEED: The company’s objective is to develop the best possible, high-quality solutions, in order to get its partners and customers to their destination quicker. The portfolio of services ranges from designing all vehicle components to assembling complete cars, together with the relevant logistics, after-sales and support services.

About HWA RACELAB
HWA RACELAB is HWA AG’s operations team in motorsport. It brings together experienced specialists in high-quality race engineering and the associated services, in pursuit of success on the motorsport scene. HWA RACELAB entered Formula E as a new team in the 2018/19 season, adding a future-oriented string to HWA’s wealth of racetrack expertise. Furthermore, HWA RACELAB races in the new, international FIA Formula 3 championship in 2019. With eleven Drivers’ titles and over 180 race wins as a works team for Mercedes-AMG in the DTM, the company is one of the most successful players in international motorsport. HWA RACELAB also draws on the company’s other core areas of expertise, such as the development, assembly and running of GT cars for customer racing, as well as the assembly of Formula 3 race engines.

Annette Hörsch
Presse

tel:            +49 (0) 7144 8717 – 215
email:       a.hoersch@hwaag.com

 

Volker Glaser
Investor Relations

tel:         + 49 (0) 7144 8717- 279
fax:        + 49 (0) 7144 8718- 111
email:   presse@hwaag.com

 

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