Racing has been abandoned at Silverstone, meaning that the British F3 Championship has been shortened to 23 races for 2018 as Round 24 has been cancelled as a result.
Race Two on Sunday morning was an effective non-event as reverse grid polesitter Josh Mason was declared the winner after two laps behind the Safety Car. The announcement means that 2018 British F3 Champion Linus Lundqvist wins the Whelen Sunoco Challenge and has a fully paid for seat at the Daytona 24 Hours in January.
As expected, there was a variety of opinions about whether it was the right decision.
Lundqvist, who wrapped the championship up on Saturday with a victory, was circumspect about the decision.
“The rain has decreased and they had ran cars around the track but they’ve obviously decided it was too wet. If it was as much rain as we had in the first race earlier then I 100% agree. That was undriveable, we were aquaplaning in a straight line behind the Safety Car so you couldn’t race.
“If the rain had decreased and track had got better then maybe we could have had a go, but as hard as it is to say sometimes it is safety first and if conditions are as bad as this morning, then it’s certainly the right call.”
On hearing the news that he had won the Sunoco Challenge, the Swede was almost overcome.
“Oh MAN, this feels unreal. I’ve just got the news and I don’t know what to say. This is….I’ve never been to the States to begin with, Jesus Christ! I’m going to live my dream and I’m going to enjoy every second of this.
“2018 could not have gone any better. I said it was an unreal feeling after winning the British F3 Championship yesterday but this is an unbelievable feeling and a cherry on top.”
Krish Mahadik’s challenge for third place was halted as a result of the decision to cancel racing, and he felt that drivers should have been allowed to sample conditions once again.
“Conditions are quite bad but the rain has slowed down quite a lot. I think we should have been given the chance to do what we are here to do and get out on the circuit and see what it was like.
“Declaring Race Two after two laps was a bit annoying because I was fighting for third in the Championship, I was two points behind and because full points were awarded I have now ended the season eight points away because we finished the way we started. It’s a bit bizarre if I’m honest because the guy who’s last in race one wins.”
Fellow Indian Kush Maini, who claimed third place in the championship as a result, was unsurprisingly less dissatisfied with the decision.
“Race Two was a disaster, I was aquaplaning on the straight at 30mph. I didn’t see any racing happening then. It calmed down for a bit but then it started raining again. At the end of the day it’s not my choice, it’s the organisers and if that is what he says then that is what it is.”