Lewis Hamilton completed a clean sweep of honours in the second event of the 2005 F3 Euroseries by clinching a second straight win around the streets of Pau, this time heading an ASM 1-2 finish.
The Briton again eased away from the chasing pack, this time headed by team-mate
Adrian Sutil, in the closing stages, eventually winning by 4.087secs to clinch his third triumph in four races this season, and maintain the UK's 100 per cent victory record.
Sutil, however, had made the better start, passing the polesitter on the way into turn one. The German remained in front for eight laps, but was under constant pressure from Hamilton and, on lap nine, the Briton's tactics paid off, as Sutil made a costly error, spinning and making slight contact with the tyre wall.
“This capped a fantastic weekend for me," Hamilton admitted after taking the chequered flag, "I made a poor start, offering Adrian the chance of taking the lead, and, if he hadn’t made his mistake, it would have been difficult for me to win the race. However, to win three of the first four rounds of the season is a great result - and one I never expected to achieve.”
Sutil's error was not big enough to drop him behind the two Signature Plus cars that gave vain chase to the ASM duo, and the German was able to eke out a three-second advantage over third-placed Loic Duval by the end.
“I made a great start and, in the early stages, my car handled just great, but then the tyre performance started to decrease and I made a stupid mistake at the end of the start-finish straight," Sutil sighed, "I was too fast entering the corner and spun into the tyre wall. Fortunately, I didn’t damage my car and could continue.
"I still think I proved today that I’ve got what it takes to win races - and I'm sure I will have other chances to do so this year.”
Following his second place in Saturday's race, Loïc Duval came home third for Signature Plus, leading team-mates James Rossiter and Fabio Carbone - who took the first ever points for the French manufacturer's self-penned SLC chassis - across the line.
