Leclerc takes second win of 2021 with sublime defensive drive

PREMA’S Arthur Leclerc took a second FIA Formula 3 win of the season under pressure from behind constantly using the characteristics of a track like Zandvoort which make it difficult to overtake to his advantage, leading from the first corner to the chequered flag.

Logan Sargeant put the Monagasque driver under supreme pressure but was unable to find a way through after conceding the position to Leclerc at the start of the race after reverse polesitter Amaury Cordeel was taken out of contention by a collision with Alex Smolyar.

Ayumu Iwasa came home in third place but was never really in contention for the win only hoping for a collision between the two leaders. Despite a late battle Jak Crawford managed to keep fourth place ahead of Caio Collet who came home in third place.

At the start polesitter Cordeel was swamped by Sargeant and Leclerc both drivers choosing to use opposite sides of the track with Leclerc going side by side with the American before taking the lead out of the exit of the first turn. Unfortunately for Amaury Cordeel he was unable to fight back, being taken out in a collision with Alex Smolyar, The Russian earning himself a ten second stop-and-go penalty for his efforts.

Up front a ‘DRS train’ was forming the passengers being Iwasa, Crawford, Collet, Sargeant and Leclerc. Lower down the field Dennis Hauger had made his way into the points scoring positions in eighth ahead of Frederik Vesti and Clémant Novalak.

Jack Doohan had made his way to sixth position ahead of Victor Martins who will start tomorrow’s feature race from third position. Leclerc was handed some more time after the safety car saw its first outing on the Zandvoort track after Jonathan Hoggard and Hunter Yeany collected each other in turn 1 both ending up in two different Aramco barriers – Yeany seeming to find himself being involved in an incident in most sessions in the two Formula 3 rounds he has contested.

After losing eighth position just before the safety car, the Norwegian Hauger charged through with recharged batteries a series of brave moves allowing him to see the back of Novalak and Martins, the restart being an unfavorable one for Novalak who lost further positions and fell out of the points after being overtaken by Vesti and Olli Caldwell.

Arthur Leclerc said after the race how delighted he was to have won the race, resisting the pressure from Logan Sargeant despite struggling with the balance of the car something which he wants his mechanics to work on before race 2.

“I am really happy to have won. It was a difficult one because there was a lot if pressure from Logan (Sargeant), who was really fast. I was strugggling a little bit with the balance, so we need to work a little bit to find a bit more pace, but I am really happy with the result.”

Leclerc stated that his drive was almost perfection citing that he had only made on mistake throughout the race.

“There were no mistakes, I only really made on mistake at all, so I am happy with the win.”

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