Tom Blomqvist has taken a fantastic win this morning in what was a damp and tricky second race of the Grand Prix de Pau FIA Formula Three European Championship race weekend. The British racer, who started from fourth used his experience to his advantage and kept his Jagonya Ayam with Carlin car on track when it mattered and pulled off a brilliant overtaking manoeuvre to snatch the lead in the closing laps. Antonio Giovinazzi also continued his strong run of points paying finishes and claimed fourth position as his own. Sadly luck was not on the side of Sean Gelael who didn’t finish the race after colliding with the barriers in the tough conditions.

The start of the race was declared wet and the drivers forced to begin proceedings behind the safety car; this therefore enabled the field to get to grips with the change in climatic conditions. When the track went green it was a case of slowly tip toeing around the circuit and getting to know the limits in the new situation. As a result the opening few laps were relatively uneventful as racing began; however Gelael was one of the few to gain a position as the racing action got underway and had moved up to 12th.

With 12 laps complete Max Verstappen lost the rear end of his car and collided with the barriers at infamous corner Foch. This mistake elevated Blomqvist up into a podium position and he would make further progress when Felix Rosenqvist and Esteban Ocon collided – resulting in the former retiring from the race.

In what was beginning to feel like a race of attrition for the drivers Gelael was the next to suffer; colliding with the barriers after briefly touching the white lines on track, he was one of many who were forced to retire.

Antonio Giovinazzi once again drove a solid race, staying out of trouble and came home to claim more points for his championship campaign in fourth. Meanwhile at the front Blomqvist had another safety car out on track to contend with. At the restart, and with just a few minutes remaining on the clock, he piled the pressure heavily on Ocon who was carrying suspension damage and succeeded in passing him to take his second victory of the season.

Blomqvist said of his fantastic win in the conditions, ‘I wasn’t really expecting to come away with victory but obviously it feels really great to have got it! Of course we struggled in the conditions, like everyone did, but others made mistakes and we didn’t so we were able to make the most of our race. It’s nice to come out fighting now that the penalties have been removed and to prove what we can do. It’s also very good for the championship and I’m happy for the team.’

The Grand Prix de Pau will get underway this afternoon at 15.15; this will also be the third and final race of the FIA Formula Three European race weekend in Pau.