New FIA Formula 3 European Champion crowned: Mick Schumacher has done it!
Mick Schumacher secures the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship title on the final weekend at Hockenheim
- On the way to winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Mick registered 7 pole positions, 8 wins and 13 podiums
- At Spielberg, Mick secured the 500th victory for a car powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine
- Mick Schumacher: “It’s a slightly unreal feeling – I’m absolutely delighted.”
- Toto Wolff: “Congratulations to Mick on winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship title. Attention was focused on the youngster right from the start, and he was under a lot of pressure.”
Hockenheim: We now know the destination of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship winner’s trophy for 2018. Second place in the second race on the final weekend of the campaign at Hockenheim was enough for Mick Schumacher to claim his first title in a junior formula series. At the end of his second season as a member of the PREMA Theodore Racing squad, driving a car powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine, the 19-year-old German became the new champion with a points tally of 347.
“It’s a slightly unreal feeling – I’m absolutely delighted,” said Mick. “I still can’t quite believe it. All I can say is thank you to everyone in the team for your support during this incredible season.”
Mick was undoubtedly the standout driver of the second half of the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. His first win of the campaign came as late as the 15th round contested on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps rollercoaster in the Belgian Ardennes, a circuit on which he had driven a demo lap in the 1994 Benetton B194 Formula 1 championship-winning car the year before.
After his maiden victory in the racing series at Spa, he then went on to win at least one race on each of the subsequent weekends, including Silverstone, Misano, the Nürburgring and Spielberg. The impressive statistics behind this late surge to the top are eight wins in twelve races, five of them in a row. In the context of the race weekend at the Nürburgring, Mick also put in a number of demo laps at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM race taxi.
“Congratulations to Mick on winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship title,” said Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff. “Attention was focused on the youngster right from the start, and he was under a lot of pressure. It’s not easy coping with all that, especially if the season does not get off to the best of starts, as in this case. His performance in the second half of the season was therefore all the more impressive. He has shown that he has what it takes and that he can become one of the greats in our sport. We are also obviously delighted that he registered a 500th race win for Mercedes in F3 and that he secured the title in a Mercedes-powered car.”
There was another small milestone for Mercedes power in the Saturday race on the penultimate race weekend at Spielberg when Mick secured victory number 500 for the brand. This grand total includes wins in the German, British and Australian championships, the EuroSeries, the FIA European Championship, the Formula 3 Grand Prix in Macau and the F3 Masters in Zandvoort.
The first Formula 3 engine (M271) from Mercedes-AMG was developed from the production engine of the C-class and E-class. It made its race debut on the inaugural weekend of the German Formula 3 Championship in 2002 at Hockenheim. The M271 was replaced at the start of the 2014 season by its successor, the F3 414 with four cylinders, a maximum two litres of displacement and direct fuel injection.
This title win puts Mick in among a select band of racers. Previous winners of the F3 title in cars powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine include Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Paul Di Resta and Daniel Juncadella.
European Formula 3 champions powered by Mercedes
| Season | Series | Driver | ||
| 2004 | F3ES | Jamie Green | ||
| 2005 | F3ES | Lewis Hamilton | ||
| 2006 | F3ES | Paul Di Resta | ||
| 2007 | F3ES | Romain Grosjean | ||
| 2008 | F3ES | Nico Hülkenberg | ||
| 2009 | F3ES | Jules Bianchi | ||
| 2011 | F3ES | Roberto Merhi | ||
| 2012 | F3ES | Daniel Juncadella | ||
| 2013 | F3EC | Raffaele Marciello | ||
| 2014 | F3EC | Esteban Ocon | ||
| 2015 | F3EC | Felix Rosenqvist | ||
| 2016 | F3EC | Lance Stroll | ||
| 2018 | F3EC | Mick Schumacher |
Below are ten interesting facts, figures and milestones about Mercedes power in Formula 3:
- 1st victory: Markus Winkelhock at the Nürburgring in the 2002 German Formula 3 Championship
- 7 Macau victories: On seven occasions (2004 – 2006, 2011, 2013 – 2015), victory in the prestigious Macau Grand Prix on the Guia street circuit has gone to the driver of a Mercedes-powered car.
- 14 of the Mercedes-powered winners subsequently switched to the DTM.
- 25 of the Mercedes-powered winners later made the step up to Formula 1.
- 29 winning teams: That’s the number of teams who won at least one race with a Formula 3 engine supplied by Mercedes-AMG.
- 33 wins: Felix Rosenqvist is the driver who has prevailed on most occasions in a car powered by a Mercedes-AMG Formula 3 engine. He is followed by James Winslow (23), Raffaele Marciello (21) and Lewis Hamilton (18).
- 100th victory: Nico Hülkenberg in the Formula 3 Euro Series at the Norisring in 2007.
- 122 different winners: That’s the number of drivers who have won at least one Formula 3 race with Mercedes power.
- 132 wins: Prema Theodore Racing were responsible for more of the 500 Formula 3 wins than any other team. ASM are second on 86 and Mücke Motorsport third on 52.
- 250th victory: Mitch Evans in the Australian Formula 3 at Wakefield in 2010.
