The FIA Formula 3 championship’s visit to Silverstone started its running with practice and qualifying on a sunny British day. Luke Browning for Hitech GP finished first during practice with a lap time of 1.45.794 on a dry but green track due the series being the first track action of a packed weekend.
However, in qualifying it was Leonardo Fornaroli who set the pole time with a lap time of 1.45.520, ahead of Oliver Goethe in second and Josep Maria Marti in third. The Sprint race saw Sebastian Montoya on the reverse grid pole with Jonny Edgar alongside, and Taylor Barnard in third.
On Saturday morning showers littered the team’s radar including the rain hitting the track at the scheduled start time for the Sprint race. Playing it safe, the officials delayed the start to 9:30 BST to allow the teams to change tires, however Gregor Saucy took the gamble to start on wets.
At the start of the Sprint race, the front row got away evenly with Montoya leading the first lap; Taylor Barnard went around the outside of Abbey overtaking Edgar and slotting into second. Marti overtook his teammate Mansell going into the Maggots-Becketts complex, but other than the moves at the front, it was an uneventful start.
On lap six, championship leader Gabriele Bortoleto overtook the Hitech of Luke Browning going into Stowe and finishing the move into Vale. However, more showers started to appear on the radar and by lap nine they arrived with such intensity that the safety car was deployed until the shower passed.
Some drivers took this opportunity to pit for wet tires, something not normally seen in Formula 3. These drivers included the Prema trio of Dino Beganovic, Paul Aron, and O’Sullivan.
The safety car came at the end of lap 12 and on a damp track, Barnard out-braked himself going into Abbey and spun Montoya around, losing positions, with Franco Colapinto capitalising on the incident, taking the lead. With the Prema cars closing the gap on wet tyres, it would’ve been difficult to keep the lead, however, the track dried quickly and the trio quickly wore out their tires.
As the chequered flag came out, it was Colapinto with an emotional win for MP motorsport after the events at the FRECA race the weekend before, Bortoleto in second and Mansell taking a season-best third place.
Race winner and Williams Academy driver Colapinto was delighted with the result, “Super good race, super happy with the points and win. It was really tricky with the rain out there on the slicks and trying to make the right decision with the strategy, but the team did an amazing job, I just had to drive the car.
“We were really good today in terms of pace and I’m just super happy with the points. This one is for Dilano and for all his family and friend and all of MP Motorsport. We’re going through a difficult couple of days, so this one is for him and everyone in out there in Argentina, thank you for the support.” he added.
Mansell said after the race, “To get onto the podium in my rookie season is a great result, so now we can kick on and keep being a regular part of these battles up the field. We got the calls right in the rain throughout and that was a key part of the Sprint, and it was a very emotional podium for all of us after the events of Spa the previous week.”
Oliver Goethe Wins in the Dry/Wet Formula 3 Feature Race
Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
The second and longer feature race started under cloudy but dry conditions and it was a Trident one-two from the grid with Fornaroli and Goethe. The two started equally and it was another uneventful start until the Vale and Club corners.
First at Vale Collet and Edgar collided and Collet was spun around, breaking the front wing of Edgar; and then further down the field Hugh Barter and Luke Browning collided, breaking the suspension of Browning and leaving him perpendicular to the racing line causing the safety car to be deployed.
On lap eleven Gabriele Mini passed Franco Colapinto going into Stowe, and then on lap fifteen, after threatening for most of the race Oliver Goethe used DRS and overtook Fornaroli going into Brooklands to take the lead.
However, the teams started noticing rain coming in, which was forecasted to hit close to the end of the race. But on lap seventeen umbrellas, coats, and ponchos started appearing in the crowd signaling rain for the teams.
On lap ninteen, Roberto Faria was racing with the VAR of Tommy Smith, the two made contact and Faira ended up in the wall and Luffield. At this point, more rain started to fall but only Smith risked a stop.
At this point, the time limit to get the race finished was approaching, risking a finish under the safety car, thankfully the marshals worked quickly to clear the scene of the accident and the green flag came out with two laps of racing remaining on a very damp track.
This allowed Smith to go from the lower edges of the grid to eleventh place by the chequered flag. At the front of the pack, it was Oliver Goethe who took the victory, Leonardo Fornaroli in second place, and Pepe Marti in third place.
Talking after the race, Goethe said, “I’m delighted to be honest. It was a really tricky race, it started raining at the end and we stayed on slicks. It was a scary one but so happy with the win here.”
Results: Sprint race
| Pos. | # | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 | Franco Colapinto | Arg. | MP Motorsport | 37:17.100 |
| 2. | 5 | Gabriele Bortoleto | BRA | Trident | 37:20.830 |
| 3. | 24 | Christian Mansell | GB | Campos | 37:22.940 |
| 4. | 17 | Caio Collet | BRA | CAR | 37:23.343 |
| 5. | 15 | Gabrielli Mini | ITA | Hitech | 37::31.654 |
| 6. | 25 | Hugh Barter | AUS | Campos | 37:34.595 |
| 7. | 4 | Leonardo fornaroli | ITA | Trident | 37:36.701 |
| 8. | 14 | Sebastien Montoya | COL | Hitech | 37:40.734 |
| 9. | 22 | Ido Cohen | ISR | Carlin | 37:59.179 |
| 10. | 23 | Josep maria Marti | ESP | Campos | 38:09.827 |
| 11. | 28 | Alejandro Garcia | MEX | Jenzer | 38:09.917 |
| 12. | 1 | Paul Aron | FIN | Prema | 38:10.487 |
| 13.. | 2 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | Prema | 38:11.388 |
| 14. | 16 | Luke Browning | GB | Hitech | 38:11.942 |
| 15. | 9 | Nikoli Tsolov | BGR | ART | 38:13.053 |
| 16. | 3 | Zak O’Sulivan | GB | Prema | 38:14.594 |
| 17. | 6 | Oliver Gothe | DEN | Trident | 38:15.594 |
| 18. | 26 | Nikita Bedrin | ITA | Jenzer | 38:23.589 |
| 19. | 29 | Sophia Floersch | GER | PHM by Charouz | 38:24.875 |
| 20. | 18 | Raphael Villagomez | MEX | VAR | 38:26.965 |
| 21. | 8 | Gregor Saucy | FRA | ART | 38:28.891 |
| 22. | 7 | Kalen Fredrick | USA | ART | 38:21.099 |
| 23. | 31 | Mackenzy Cresswell | GBR | PHM by Charouz | 38:32.057 |
| 24. | 21 | Max Esterson | USA | Carlin | 38:33.545 |
| 25. | 20 | Oliver Grey | GBR | Carlin | 38:33.742 |
| 26. | 19 | Tommy Smith | AUS | VAR | 38:49.062 |
| 27. | 30 | Roberto Faria | BRA | PHM by Charouz | 38:49.104 |
| 28. | 11 | Mari Boya | ESP | MP Motorsport | 39:03.177 |
| 29. | 12 | Jonny Edgar | GBR | MP Motorsport | 39:00.146 |
| 30. | 27 | Taylor Barnard | GBR | Jenzer | 39.17.722 |
Notes:
Ido Cohen received a 10-second-time penalty for causing a collision with Tommy Smith Nikita Bedrin, Oliver Grey, and Roberto Fario received 5-second penalties for Track limit violations Mari Boya received a 35-second time penalty for track limits. Taylor Barnard received a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Sebastien MontoyaResults: Feature race
| Pos. | # | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 | Oliver Goethe | DEN | Trident | 47:40.009 |
| 2. | 4 | Leonardo Fornaroli | ITA | Triden | 47:41.729 |
| 3. | 23 | Josep Maria Marti | ESP | Campos | 47:42.137 |
| 4. | 1 | Paul Aron | EST | Prema | 47:44.393 |
| 5. | 24 | Christian Mansell | GBR | Campos | 47:45.977 |
| 6. | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Trident | 47:47.343 |
| 7. | 15 | Gabriele Mini | ITA | Hitech | 47:48.006 |
| 8. | 10 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | MP Motorsport | 47:48.538 |
| 9. | 8 | Gregor Saucy | FRA | ART | 47:50.027 |
| 10. | 14 | Sebastian Montoya | COL | Hitech | 47:51.767 |
| 11. | 9 | Nikola Tsolov | BGR | ART | 47:52.157 |
| 12. | 11 | Mari Boya | ESP | MP Motorsport | 47:52.709 |
| 13. | 25 | Hugh Barter | AUS | Campos | 47:53.178 |
| 14. | 2 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | Prema | 47:54.084 |
| 15. | 17 | Caio Collet | BRA | VAR | 47:54.689 |
| 16. | 18 | Rafeal Villagomez | MEX | VAR | 47:54.776 |
| 17. | 26 | Nikita Bedrin | ITA | Jenzer | 47:55.505 |
| 18. | 3 | Zak O’Sullivan | GBR | Prema | 47:55.817 |
| 19. | 7 | Kaylen Fredrick | USA | ART | 47:56.490 |
| 20. | 20 | Oliver Grey | GBR | Carlin | 47:58.076 |
| 21. | 27 | Taylor Barnard | GBR | Jenzer | 47:58.923 |
| 22. | 31 | McKenzy Cresswell | GBR | PHM by Charouz | 48:00.317 |
| 23. | 29 | Sophia Floersch | GER | PHM by Charouz | 48:00.732 |
| 24. | 22 | Ido Cohen | ISR | Carlin | 48:02.922 |
| 25. | 19 | Tommy Smith | AUS | VAR | 48:05.201 |
| 26. | 28 | Alexandro Garcia | MEX | Jenzer | 48:06.910 |
| – | 30 | Roberto Faria | BRA | PHM by Charouz | Retired |
| – | 21 | Max Esterson | USA | Carlin | Retired |
| – | 12 | Jonny Edgar | GBR | MP Motorsport | Not classified |
| – | 16 | Luke browning | GBR | Hitech | Retired |
Notes:
Caio Collet received a 5-second time penalty for overtaking Ido Cohen off the track. Tommy Smith Received a 15-second time penalty for track limit violations.