The FIA Formula 3 European Championship returned to the Nurburgring after the summer break. Hitech GP driver George Russell was coming off the back of a great weekend in Spa-Francorchamps aiming to carry the momentum into the championship conclusion.

Qualifying 1 saw Russell really struggling with the balance but managed to salvage 5th on the grid - later promoted to 4th for the first race.

The second qualifying was an improvement in the the balance - Russell now feeling much happier with the car but it still wasn't perfect. In a traffic filled session, Russell managed to get a lap in to set the 3rd fastest time, but he never managed to get a decent second lap due to traffic - therefore starting 7th for race three.

The opening race, starting from 4th saw Russell make a great start - but got boxed in at turn one and remained in 4th. The order remained unchanged until a problem with a rival driver promoted Russell to 3rd - where he finished to bag another podium finish.

Race two was a disaster for Russell. On his way to the grid,  a gearbox issue struck, leaving him stuck in second gear. An unresolvable issue meant that the solution was to do the race in an emergency gearbox mode. Despite rejoining the race - Russell succumbed to a brake failure, meaning a non-finish in the race.

The third and final race was a very processional race from the word go from Russell. With it being notoriously hard to overtake at the Nurburgring - Russell was left to run a long, boring race to finish 7th.

George Russell "Overall it was a tough weekend for me and the team. We didn't seem to have the car underneath us which we usually had. But, we'll be working had to try and resolve the issues we had to come back well for the remainder of the season."

The FIA European Formula 3 Championship next heads to Italy at the Imola Circuit on the 30th September - 2nd October for the penultimate round of the championships.

Report: Hitech GP

Images: Wafeproject (Davide Pastanella) & Thomas Suer