Talking points from Spielberg

With the dust settled at the end of another enthralling FIA Formula 3 race weekend, at the Red Bull Ring, in Austria, we take a look at five talking points from the track.

Shwartzman vs Armstrong

Ultimately, the post-Austria fallout will be dominated by the enthralling Race 2 battle between Marcus Armstrong and his PREMA teammate Robert Shwartzman. From an outside perspective, it was thrilling to watch the duo battle it out at the front without any restrictions.

No team orders, no teammate truce, just pure racing from two drivers in what is arguably the quickest car on the track. PREMA may see things differently following the result of their gruelling fight, which was taken right to the last lap.

The duo came to blows in the final stages of Race 2, following a successful overtake from Armstrong. The Kiwi had gotten in front of his Russian teammate, who accidentally cut the Kiwi’s rear tyre in an attempt to make an immediate reaction. This threw the new race leader off track and back to P19.

Shwartzman kept control of his vehicle – despite damage to his front wing – but was quickly penalised for causing the collision and dropped to third after receiving a time penalty. With the PREMA’s continuing to prove pacey, it will surely not be the final time these two come to blows.

A win's a win!

That brings us nicely onto the beneficiary of their fight. Jake Hughes has improved by the round and looks like an increasingly strong contender this season, and arguably deserved more points in Round 2 at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The British racer had qualified on pole, but a collision during his battle for first saw him dumped to the back of the grid. He then remarkably rose from P25 to P7 in Race 2.

Fast-forward to Race 2 in Austria and the Briton was sat behind the battling PREMAs in P1 and P2. Team radio told him to remain behind them and wait for a mistake, which subsequently came during their aforementioned collision.

This propelled Hughes up to P2 at the chequered flag, before Shwartzman’s time penalty handed him his first FIA Formula 3 race win. “A win's a win! It doesn't make it any less enjoyable,” elated Hughes.

The arrival of Jüri Vips

Jüri Vips enjoyed his best round so far in the F3 Championship, scoring an impressive 31 points across the two races. The Hitech Grand Prix driver became the first non-PREMA race winner of the Championship.

Having fought off an attack from Jehan Daruvala at the start of Race 1, the Estonian leapt to first with successive overtakes, firstly on Max Fewtrell and then on race leader Armstrong.

From here, Vips never wavered. The 18-year-old comfortably ran home the victory, keeping a cool distance between himself and Max Fewtrell, who had risen to second ahead of Armstrong.

Shwartzman overtakes becoming the stuff of legend

His Round 3 may have been tarnished by the battle - and subsequent collision - with teammate Armstrong, but Shwartzman continued to show why he is one of the most highly rated drivers in the category.

The Russian is fast making a name for himself as the Championship’s toughest fighter, thanks to a series of jaw-dropping overtakes.

This weekend, he came out on top as the fourth man in a three-horse race. Armstrong, Hughes and Lirim Zendeli went three wide in Race 2, when Shwartzman emerged from behind and ended up overtaking all but Hughes, nestling in behind him for P2. He then passed the Brit at the top of the hill to claim first, taking four scalps within the space of a minute.

PREMA

Despite not having a driver at the top of the podium for the first time this season, PREMA Racing still raked in a remarkable tally of 63 points, which is higher than seven teams have scored all season.

The Italians have an astounding 150 lead at the top of the Championship, with all three of their drivers proving their worth so far this campaign. Other teams may be catching up in terms of performance, but they remain some way behind when it comes to the points total.