Even in Austria, Formula 3 put on a show, also thanks to the weather conditions that made the race unpredictable. On Saturday it was Paul Aron who took the win, thus also obtaining his first victory in the category, while in the feature race on Sunday morning it was Zak O’Sullivan who triumphed after a battle that lasted until the last lap.
Gabriel Bortoleto remains at the top of the standings with a good 36 lengths ahead of Martì and Dino Beganovic, both at an altitude of 75 points. More detached Gabriele Minì, retired in the Feature Race. The Italian is now level on points with Paul Aron, winner of the Sprint race.
Sprint race: first victory for Aron
The race on Saturday morning was held on a wet track, due both to the downpour in the early morning hours and to the rain that fell right at the start of the race, albeit of a lesser intensity. Paul Aron emerged victorious, good at taking advantage of the particular conditions to move up the standings, thus recovering from the eighth position he had been relegated to due to the inverted grid regulation for the sprint race.
Paul Aron, Gabriele Mini, Caio Collet
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
The Prema driver, who managed to grab the provisional pole on Friday before his lap was canceled due to exceeding the track limits, immediately began his comeback, climbing up to third place at the end of the first lap, also thanks to a nice maneuver inside turn seven. The same bearer of the Italian team had not hidden that he felt a certain confidence in the car, which was then seen throughout the race.
The Estonian driver thus managed to quickly catch up on the leader Pepe Marti, who started from pole position, and the runner-up Kaylen Frederick, struggling however to find a hole to get ahead of his rival from the ART. In fact, the overtaking only came during the eighth lap, by which time the Spaniard’s advantage from Campos was around five seconds. Luckily for the Estonian, that gap closed a few laps later when the Safety Car came on track after a contact between Gray and Villagomez.
Although Martì tried several times to resist the attacks of his rival, the Spaniard then had to give way to Aron two laps from the end, thanks to an overtaking that took place before braking into turn three. From that moment on, the Estonian continued to push, also keeping Gabriele Minì at bay, who, taking advantage of the duel between the two, had in turn managed to gain second position.
It was the Campos driver who paid the price for this duel, who slipped down to sixth place in the last two laps. Who took advantage of the opportunity was Caio Collet, third for Van Amersfoort Racing with half a second ahead of O’Sullivan. Edgar, Marti (slided back in the final), Frederick, Beganovic, Montoya and Bortoleto close the points.
Zak O’Sullivan
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Feature race: O’Sullivan wins
If the sprint race was thrilling right up to the end, Sunday morning’s feature race was no less, with Zak O’Sullivan taking his third Formula 3 win of the season after a five-way battle on the last lap .
The Prema Racing driver had lined up in sixth position, recovering one position on the first lap before the intervention of the Safety Car. He was then able to capitalize on contact between poleman Gregoire Saucy (ART) and his teammate Paul Aron to secure a podium finish. O’Sullivan moved up the standings by passing team-mate Dino Beganovic on lap 14 for second place, before taking the lead one lap later, this time from Gabriel Bortoleto.
Despite a close fight on the last lap between Williams Academy member Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto (MP Motorsport), Hitech driver Sebastian Montoya and Caio Collet (VAR), it was O’Sullivan who emerged victorious. Nothing could Gabriel Bortoleto, remained in the lead positions throughout the race but unable to sink the blow on O’Sullivan for victory in the final.
Bortoleto still took second place for Trident, while Collet took the last step of the podium after a contact between Montoya and Colapinto at turn 6 saw the young Red Bull Academy driver end up on the gravel, plummeting to tenth place. Colapinto then finished in fourth place behind Collet, while Beganovic managed to finish in fifth place.
Sixth position for Jonny Edgar’s MP Motorsport ahead of Christian Mansell and Hugh Barter. Saucy, who had lined up in pole position for Sunday’s race, reached the bottom of the standings following a contact with Aron in turn 4: the latter’s front wing caused a puncture to the Frenchman, putting both out of the race. Not classified Gabriele Minì, who had to retire early.
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