Even though the Formula 3 Champion is already crowned, the last sprint race of the season still has an importance for the championship. The second place and the team championship battle are still on.
Great start from the two drivers in the first line, but an even a greater one from Alessandro Giusti in fifth. James Wharton wanted to have the upper hand at the chicane but completely cut it as he locked his tyres. Laurens Van Hoepen almost passed Martinus Stenshorne for first place but made a small mistake. It prevented him from doing so, and even permitted his teammate to go back on him. Brad Benavides hit Inthrapuvasak from behind and sent him wide into the gravel, making him lose a lot of positions. The Safety Car was called toward the end of the first lap with Ivan Domingues in the grass. Rafael Câmara, who had a complicated Qualifying session yesterday, already moved up six positions in one lap.
The Double Overtake’s Dance
The Green flag was waved on lap 4 to go racing again. Stenshorne kept his lead when Van Hoepen behind had a menacing Tim Tramnitz behind him. The Red Bull junior driver took second place on lap 5. Giusti had to brake to not touch the driver in front of him at the Parabolica. The French driver made a double overtake with the tow of his opponents after three others went wide into the first chicane, taking P5.
Behind, Noah Stromstedt went straight on the first turn, making him lose a lot of positions. Nikola Tsolov also cut the chicane. The battle between Giusti and Bilinski continued on track. This time, it was the Polish driver’s time to make a double overtake on the first chicane. Most of the cars were really close on lap 9, making a small mistake costly for the drivers. Nicola Lacorte took a 10-seconds-stop-and-go penalty for procedure infringement.
Ugo Ugochukwu touched the rear of Zagazeta’s car and almost ended up in the wall, but the Prema Racing driver managed to keep his car on track with an unbelievable move. In the meantime, Tim Tramnitz took the lead of the race, while behind him Giusti had to cut the chicane, making him lose three positions. The battle for P2 was on with a very quick Billinski, sticking behind the McLaren junior driver. Mari Boya also made a double overtake in the first chicane, taking P10 and a point that could be very important for his fight for second place in the championship.
Risk It All
A close fight between Stenshorne and Bilinski made the Hitech driver cut the chicane, while behind, Ugochukwu almost crashed again and took the escape road. Noel Leon and Charlie Wurz made contact, resulting in the Trident driver DNF. This action called the second safety car on track. They go racing again with only one lap remaining. Tim Tramnitz managed to keep the lead after a good restart, making him win the sprint race.
Some drivers had to cut the first chicane to not have contact with the others. The penalty festival continued for Nicola Lacorte, who took another 10-second penalty for forcing another driver off track. Roman Bilinski finished second and Martinus Stenshorne in third. Nikola Tsolov had an issue and finished the race at low speed, giving a big advantage to his rival Mari Boya for the championship second position. The F3 champion, on the other hand, went from last to P12. However, Tim Tramnitz took a 10-seconds penalty for false start, and found himself in P20. Roman Bilinski wins for the first time in Formula 3.