Nurburgring European F3: Giovinazzi wins after Verstappen drama
Antonio Giovinazzi continued his good European Formula 3 form with race two victory at the Nurburgring, but only after Max Verstappen's car broke down
The result gave Carlin's Italian two wins in the last three races.
Newly-signed Red Bull protege Verstappen took the lead at Turn 1 after Giovinazzi's team-mate Tom Blomqvist made a poor getaway from pole position and fell to third.
Race one winner Verstappen then led Giovinazzi, Blomqvist and championship leader Esteban Ocon for 20 laps, in a close but static lead group, before Verstappen broke down and parked his van Amersfoort Racing-Dallara car with five laps remaining.
The problem will prompt a change of Volkswagen engine, meaning Verstappen must take 10-place grid penalties for each of the next three races.
Giovinazzi then needed only to hold off Blomqvist and Ocon for the last five laps, which was straightforward enough in a dry race that was light on overtaking.
Ocon would have been delighted to see his rival Verstappen break down when his championship lead had looked set to drop by another 10 points.
Nonetheless, the Frenchman will not be able to seal the title at the Nurburgring, and the Prema Powerteam driver will have to wait at least until the next meeting at Imola in October.
Results - 25 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Antonio Giovinazzi Carlin Dallara-VW 34m39.329s
2. Tom Blomqvist Carlin Dallara-VW +0.771s
3. Esteban Ocon Prema Dallara-Merc +1.404s
4. Antonio Fuoco Prema Dallara-Merc +3.294s
5. Lucas Auer Mucke Dallara-Merc +4.674s
6. Jordan King Carlin-Dallara VW +5.101s
7. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +7.078s
8. Ed Jones Carlin Dallara-VW +15.488s
9. Tatiana Calderon Jo Zeller Dallara-Merc +18.511s
10. Nicholas Latifi Prema Dallara-Merc +19.100s
11. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +20.277s
12. Dennis van der Laar Prema Dallara-Merc +21.717s
13. Gustavo Menezes Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +31.907s
14. Jules Szymkowiak Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +40.530s
15. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-NBE +41.206s
16. Alexander Toril T-Sport Dallara-NBE +41.247s
17. Santino Ferruci Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +47.283s
18. Michele Beretta Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +48.368s
19. Sandro Zeller Jo Zeller Dallara-Merc +56.268s
20. Andy Chang West-Tec Dallara-Merc +1m06.446s
21. Sean Gelael Carlin Dallara-VW -2 laps
Retirements:
Felix Serralles West-Tec Dallara-Merc 21 laps
Max Verstappen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 19 laps
Jake Dennis Carlin Dallara-VW 14 laps
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