Felix Rosenqvist secured victory on Sunday, 16th November 2014 in the 61st Macau Grand Prix. His team-mate Lucas Auer placed second. In all, five drivers finished in the Top Six in Macau, utilising Mercedes power.
Having achieved one win and two podiums, Rosenqvist finished in P8 in this year’s Formula 3 European championship.
This is the sixth victory for a driver running a Mercedes engine on Macau’s famous street circuit and the first for the new Mercedes-Benz Formula 3 engine. The Mercedes-Benz 414 F3 is based on fundamentally different rules for engines that came into force this season. The F3 414 is a thoroughbred racing engine with four cylinders, maximum two litres displacement and direct injection. The engine delivers well over 200 bhp. The unit was developed by Mercedes‑Benz motorsport partner HWA AG, as was its predecessor.
The Macau GP is one of the most prestigious races of the year. The event has taken place since 1954 on the Guia street circuit and has been run according to Formula 3 rules since 1983. Past winners of the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix include F1 legend Ayrton Senna (1983), Formula 1 record-breaking world champion Michael Schumacher (1990) and ex-Mercedes-Benz DTM drivers David Coulthard (1991) and Ralf Schumacher (1995).
Bringing on junior racing drivers in motorsport has a long tradition at Mercedes-Benz. During their time in Formula 3, drivers such as Formula 1 world champion and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver Lewis Hamilton, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Pascal Wehrlein, the youngest ever winner of a race in DTM history, have all used Mercedes-Benz engines. In the past, Alexandre Prémat (2004), Lucas di Grassi (2005), Mike Conway (2006), Daniel Juncadella (2012) and Alex Lynn (2013) have taken wins in Macau, running the Mercedes-Benz Formula 3 engine.
Felix Rosenqvist: “The Macau Grand Prix is one of the top highlights of the season for any Formula 3 driver, which makes me really happy to have won this prestigious race. It’s absolutely incredible. I especially want to thank my team for their work in preparing my car so well for this demanding circuit. A big thank you also goes to Mercedes-Benz. This success would not have been possible without them.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Congratulations to Felix Rosenqvist on winning the Macau Grand Prix. The Guia circuit is one of the most demanding street circuits in the world. It requires the driver’s utmost concentration. Every little mistake is punished. Felix has risen to the challenge and is a worthy winner of one of the most famous Formula 3 races of the year. Many racing drivers in the past successfully earned their spurs on the streets of Macau. I hope that Felix can repeat the success of earlier Mercedes-Benz winners at Macau in the future.”
