Freddie Slater claimed his first F3 win after battling hard and feeling pressure from behind. The Briton avoided the many incidents and was able to secure victory.
The Early Stages
Tuukka Taponen started the F3 Feature Race from pole position, joined by Freddie Slater on the first row of the grid. Into Turn One, the drivers behind were jostling for position and a brief yellow flag was flown.
Ugo Ugochukwu was battling hard further back, even taking a trip onto the grass.
Slater sustained damage, losing his front wing end plate, whilst trying to challenge Taponen for the lead.
The Safety Car Periods
Another yellow flag was shown at the end of Lap 1 for a crash. Gerrard Xie, Maciej Gładysz and Jin Nakamura came together with the two former stopping on track.
The Safety Car was called on Lap 2. Slater took the lead of the race as Taponen pitted for a puncture on Lap 3.
Lap 6 saw the Safety Car end but almost immediately a yellow flag was flown as Salim Hanna’s car had stopped on track.
The Virtual Safety Car lasted just one lap and Slater’s restart was almost perfect, building an immediate gap to second place driver Mattia Colnaghi.
Racing Resumes
Ugochukwu pulled off an incredible double overtake to move him into second position.
Slater and Ugochukwu began to battle hard as they are the first and second placed drivers in the standings.
Ugochukwu and Slater’s battle continued until another yellow flag period. Kanato Le went off track and stopped, causing another, albeit short, Virtual Safety Car.
More Drama
On Lap 15, a full Safety Car period began as Fernando Barrichello stopped on track with rear right damage. He was involved in an incident with AIX teammate Yevan David and Enzo Deligny.
The Safety Car ended on Lap 17 and immediately Taponen was on the charge but was forced off track by Théophile Naël.
Four laps later, the battle between Naël and Taponen restarted and Taponen was forced wide again.
Ugochukwu looked as if he was going to overtake Slater on the inside but pulled out as the Briton went defensive.
On Lap 23, David was given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision and Hanna was given a 5-second penalty due to a false start.
Despite his best efforts, Ugochukwu could not get past Slater. The Briton claimed his maiden F3 victory.