Fittipaldi's fightback earns HWA RACELAB its first points of the Formula 3 season

HWA RACELAB experienced a weekend of highs and lows at the opening round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship in Spielberg, Austria. Newcomer Enzo Fittipaldi (Brazil) finished ninth in race two on Sunday, ensuring he at least picked up a few points after suffering technical issues at the season-opener.

  • 18th and 9th place for Enzo Fittipaldi, 14th and DNF for Jack Doohan, 28th and 12th for Jake Hughes
  • Enzo Fittipaldi: "The car was very good today. Thank you to the whole team!"
  • Jake Hughes: "Few were quicker than us today."
  • Jack Doohan: "We must now keep our chin up and stay focussed."
  • Thomas Strick: "We have to improve as a team in general."

Spielberg, 5th July 2020 – The weekend did not get off to an ideal start for Enzo Fittipaldi (Brazil). His DRS failed to work in Friday's qualifying, which meant he had to settle for 29th place. However, he then produced a determined display in the opening race on Saturday, and rapidly set about cutting through the field. By lap seven, he had already climbed into the top 20. His fightback eventually ended in 18th place, having made up an impressive eleven places.

He continued where he left off when the action resumed on Sunday. Enzo again produced a number of overtaking manoeuvres, which took him to eleventh place and within sight of the top ten by the halfway point of the race. He eventually fought his way into the coveted top ten on lap 19, before debris on the track resulted in a safety car phase. When the race was released for the final two laps, Enzo reacted quickly and passed another of his rivals. Ninth place earned him his first two points in his second race in the FIA Formula 3 Championship and ensured that HWA RACELAB at least left Austria with some points in the bag.

Jake Hughes (Great Britain), who won last year's race in Spielberg, was very unfortunate. He set the fifth-fastest time in qualifying on Friday to set up a good starting position. However, a technical issue, which became apparent during the formation lap, meant that he was forced to start from the pit lane and join the race at the back of the field. As such, he ultimately had to settle for 28th place.

On Sunday, Jake emphatically showed just what he is capable of. He produced one fast lap after another to work his way into 12th place and narrowly missed out on a points finish. Jake's fightback was recognised with the "Sky Sports F1’s Driver of the Day award".

17-year-old Jack Doohan (Australia) also demonstrated his potential with 14th place in race one. Chassis issues meant the son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan was unable to finish race two.

The FIA Formula 3 Championship continues with another two races in Spielberg on 11th and 12th July.

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Quotes on the race weekend

 Enzo Fittipaldi (18, Brazil, car number 14), 18th and 9th place
"I am very pleased with the first points of the season. We did not have the best start to the weekend, with DRS issues in qualifying. However, I had good pace in the opening race and made up eleven places. We made more improvements to the car today, which paid off. Apart from the first lap, the race was perfect. I overtook a car on virtually every lap and crossed the finish line in ninth place. Two points and the second-fastest lap, just five hundredths of a second slower than the fastest - that's pretty good. We had the strongest pace out of everyone today. The car was very good. Thank you to the whole team for the fantastic job they have done!"    

Jake Hughes (26, Great Britain, car number 15), 28th and 12th place
"Today's race was a very positive one. It was nice to make a good impression at the end of the weekend. From 28th on the grid to 12th place - that was really strong. The safety car phase slowed me down a bit, otherwise I could even have been looking at some points. The pace was very good. Few were quicker than us today, which means we can be positive looking ahead to next week. I am looking forward to next weekend!"

Jack Doohan (17, Australia, car number 16), 14th place and DNF
"The weekend did not play out as we had hoped. After qualifying, I had to start from the middle of the pack on Saturday. In the race, the tyres ultimately overheated a little. That resulted in me dropping from eleventh to 14th place, and meant that I missed out on the reverse grid pole that I was hoping for. Today, I had problems with the steering quite early on in the race, then my car unfortunately suffered light damage. I had to come into the pits and my race was over. Not an ideal weekend. We must now keep our chin up and stay focussed."

Thomas Strick, Team Principal HWA RACELAB
"From our perspective, that was not an ideal weekend. We struggled with technical issues, which we must now solve. Although it is nothing out of the ordinary for there still to be a few problems that need ironing out at the season-opener, we must improve as a team in general. Compliments to Enzo, whose fightback ultimately meant that the team was rewarded with points for the hard work it put in during preparations. Who knows what might have been possible if Enzo had started further up the field. The same goes for Jake, who once again showed what he is capable of in race two. Jack will also give us a lot of pleasure, I am sure of that. The strong pace we showed today makes us hopeful that we will be able to improve next weekend."   

 

Result of race one, Saturday 4th July:

1. O. Piastri                PREMA Racing                    32:53.331
14. Jack Doohan       HWA RACELAB                      33:18.549
18. Enzo Fittipaldi     HWA RACELAB                      33:21.205
28. Jake Hughes        HWA RACELAB                     33:30.876

 

Result of race two, Sunday 5th July:

1. L. Lawson               Hitech Grand Prix                  37:01.698
9. Enzo Fittipaldi         HWA RACELAB                      37:05.796
12. Jake Hughes         HWA RACELAB                       37:07.137
DNF Jack Doohan       HWA RACELAB                      DNF

 

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. HWA RACELAB has also been competing in the FIA Formula 3 Championship since 2019 and will be appearing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2020. 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
Media

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E-mail:     a.hoersch@hwaag.com