Caldwell kept his nose clean to claim his maiden Formula 3 victory

The Brit was victorious in a hectic second race around Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona as he beat MP Motorsport’s Victor Martins and Frederik Vesti.

The second race of the F3 weekend was far from dull. Two separate collisions at the front of the field ensured that Olli Caldwell was gifted the lead of the race with a matter of laps to go.

He was put under substantial pressure on the final lap by Martins, but the French debutant ended up taking the run-off road when looking to go around the outside at turn one. 

Starting Grid

It was Enzo Fittipaldi who was in pole position with David Schumacher, son of former F1 driver Ralph Schumacher, alongside him in second.

Matteo Nannini started third ahead of Victor Martins in fourth and Dennis Hauger in fifth. Fredrik Vesti sixth at the start with the second Prema of Olli Caldwell in seventh.

Jonny Edgar was in eighth, Logan Sargeant in ninth while debutant Caio Collet completed the top 10. Clément Novalak was 11th ahead of race one winner Alexander Smolyar in 12th.

As It Happened

It was a hot afternoon and as temperatures increased it was evident it could be hard to make the tyres last the duration of the race. It didn’t hamper Fittipaldi who defended first place into the first corner with all of the top three retained their positions at the start.

Behind the leading trio, contact was made between Sargent and Smolyar which resulted in a puncture for the winner from race one. The Russian collected the back of the American and sent them both curtailing into the gravel trap which deployed the Safety Car.

Fittipaldi was unchallenged at the restart as all the top five help onto their positions. Martins was soon swallowed up by the Prema duo of Hauger and Caldwell when DRS was enabled.

Schumacher had kept close tabs on leader Fittipaldi while trying to save his tyres for the latter stages of the race. On lap 12, the German decided to strike with a late lunge down the inside of turn one resulting in him taking the lead of the race.

The 19-year old failed to create a gap as Fittipaldi continuously looked to retake the lead of the race. On Lap 15, the Charouz car pulled alongside Schumacher heading into the first corner. The duo got too close this time and were left skidding into the barrier and out of the race which deployed another Safety Car.

Nannini was gifted the lead of the race and it was evident the HWA Racelab driver was confident under the brakes as he held off Hauger, who seemed to be the quickest driver on the track.

History repeated itself only a matter of laps later as Nannini and Hauger came together in the same place as the previous leaders. The duo remained on track but plummeted to the back of the grid which left Caldwell to inherit the lead of the race.

Frenchman Martins looked to make a move for the lead of the race on the final lap, but he opted to air on the side of caution with the two previous collisions in mind. This allowed Caldwell to cross the line unchallenged to take his maiden win in Formula 3.

Vesti completed the top three ahead of Novalak and Collet. Red Bull Junior’s Jonny Edgar, Ayumu Iwasa, Jack Doohan and Jak Crawford took the next four positions with Juan Manuel Correa completing the top 10.

What’s Next?

The drivers have had two races to prepare for tomorrow’s Feature Race, where there are plenty of points to play for. Dennis Hauger lines up on pole position after Friday’s qualifying session and he is partnered by Jack Doohan on the front row.

Second-place driver Victor Martins will start from third, as he aims to continue his impressive start to the Formula 3 season. 

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