Mortara wins again – Félix da Costa claims rookie title

Edoardo Mortara in the wet at Hockenheim

In the rain at Hockenheim, Edoardo Mortara (Signature) confirmed the strong form he had already been showing throughout the season. Having been crowned as the new champion four weeks ago already, he scored his seventh win of the season at the 3.736 kilometers long Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg Sunday. Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix) and Marco Wittmann (Signature) completed the podium after the 17th season round of the Formula 3 Euro Series. Antonio Félix da Costa (Motopark Academy) crossed the finish line in ninth place, enough for the Portuguese to wrap up the rookie title early.

Edoardo Mortara already took the lead at the start, which took place behind the safety car due to the weather conditions. During the race, Valtteri Bottas closed up to the Italian, but the Finn locked up under braking before the new shortcut in the closing stages of the race and had to let Mortara go. His second place, however, was not in jeopardy. Thus, he kept the battle for runner-up spot open. He is now six points down on second-placed Wittmann. The battle for the title of “rookie of the year" has been decided: for Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam), eighth place wasn’t enough to prevent Ant¢nio Félix da Costa (Motopark Academy) from winning the title in the classification for novices in the series.

Edoardo Mortara

Edoardo Mortara (Signature): “My margin was quite big, but then I made a stupid mistake. That allowed Valtteri to close up to me. At the end, he even was slightly faster, but he also made a mistake. That made the final lap somewhat easier for me."

Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix): “I am disappointed, because I could have done with the points for victory. When I locked up, I didn’t want to attack Edoardo at all. In the spray, I just couldn’t see a thing."

Marco Wittmann (Signature): “It was my goal not to lose too many points on Valtteri, because he is my rival in the battle for runner-up spot. Even though it hasn’t been decided yet, my position is quite good with a margin of six points over Valtteri with only one race remaining."