Alex Lynn secures pole position for the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday

Alex Lynn

British driver Alex Lynn (Theodore Racing by Prema) was unbeatable in the qualification race for the Macau GP. The third-placed in the final standings of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship crossed the finish line 2.411 seconds ahead of his main rival, Felix Rosenqvist (GR Asia with Mücke) and thus claimed the best possible starting grid position for tomorrow’s ‘FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup’.

British driver Lynn got the better of a thrilling early battle with Felix Rosenqvist, in which he twice had to overtake the Swede for the lead, before pulling out a margin of more than two seconds.

The win came on Theodore Racing’s return to the Macau Grand Prix for the first time since 1992, and means his SJM-backed Dallara-Mercedes Formula 3 racer starts tomorrow’s big race on pole position.

Alex Lynn

From third on the grid, Lynn passed Rosenqvist with a brave move for the lead on the first lap, only to be forced to run wide at the tight Lisboa bend while defending from Rosenqvist, who was trying to slipstream back ahead.

An early safety car gave Lynn another chance, and he completed a textbook slipstreaming move around the outside of Rosenqvist at Lisboa after the restart.

After ten laps at the 6.12 kilometers long and demanding Circuito da Guia on the streets of the former Portuguese colony, reigning FIA Formula 3 European Champion Raffaele Marciello (D88.com Prema Powerteam) was classified third.

Streets of Macau

Felix Rosenqvist got off to a strong start and moved up into the lead from Alex Lynn. The latter overtook the Swede soon after that, but Rosenqvist countered successfully and returned from the opening lap in first place. Because Dennis van de Laar (kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport) and Harry Tincknell (Carlin) had stalled on the grid, the safety car was deployed. Soon after the restart, Lynn managed to overtake Rosenqvist once again. The Brit went on to extend his lead and crossed the finish line as the clear winner.

Raffaele Marciello, who had dropped back at the start from pole position to fifth place, worked his way up to third and put Rosenqvist more and more under pressure. The Swede, who just ended up second behind Marciello in the battle for the European Championship title, successfully defended his second place.

Next to Lynn, Rosenqvist and Marciello, further competitors from the ranks of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship shone: Luis Felipe Derani (Fortec Motorsports) came home in fifth place from Alexander Sims (ThreeBond with T Sport), Jordan King (Carlin) and William Buller (Fortec Motorsports).

Lynn’s team-mate Lucas Auer was the unluckiest of the front-runners, hitting the barrier hard at San Francisco Bend right after the re-start, retiring from the race immediately.

Alex Lynn (Theodore Racing by Prema)
“My car ran very well and both my start and my restart were good. Admittedly, this victory is nice, but let’s not forget that this is only the qualification race. For the Grand Prix, that takes place tomorrow, this success doesn’t mean a thing."

Felix Rosenqvist (GR Asia with Mucke)
“On the opening lap, I was able to overtake Alex and I managed to pull a slight gap, but then the safety car was deployed. After that, my tires failed to provide grip and I had to let Alex pull away. Things slightly improved later on, but at that time, Alex was long gone. I reckon that restarts are still something we need to optimize for tomorrow. Otherwise, I am happy with second place in the qualification race, but I want to win in the main race tomorrow."

Raffaele Marciello (D88.com Prema Powerteam)
“My start was poor, I lost four places. After that, I was able to overtake Lucas Auer and Ant¢nio Félix da Costa again, but third place was all I could do. However, I can live with that quite well, because it was only the qualification race for the actual Grand Prix. I reckon that third place on the grid is not a bad position to start from into the race tomorrow."

Results – 10 laps: