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Arthur Leclerc made his perfect start count as he held off Logan Sargeant to claim his second victory of the season.
Charouz Racing System’s Sargeant claimed a podium finish in his 50th Formula 3 race with Ayumu Iwasa rounding out the rostrum in third.
Starting Grid
Amaury Cordeel starts from reverse grid pole position after qualifying 12th for Sunday’s race three with Logan Sargeant joining the Belgian on the front row. The second row was made up of Arthur Leclerc and Ayumu Iwasa as the duo sat third and fourth.
Aleksandr Smolyar followed in fifth, Jak Crawford in sixth, Caio Collet in seventh, Clement Novalak in eighth, Jack Doohan in ninth, Victor Martins in 10th, David Schumacher in 11th and Championship leader Dennis Hauger in 12th.
As It Happened
It was a fantastic getaway from Sargeant but an even better one from Leclerc as he moved into the lead of the race. Smolyar tried to make a move on pole-sitter Cordeel who dropped down the field. However, the ART driver collided with the Belgian at turn three and sent him spinning to last place.
After five laps of racing, Leclerc lead the race ahead of Sargeant and Iwasa in second and third. Crawford was fourth with Collet in fifth, Smolyar in sixth, Doohan in seventh, Martins in eighth, Hauger in ninth and Novalak in 10th.
Frederik Vesti closed in on the points as he moved up to 11th ahead of Lorenzo Colombo. Vesti’s teammate Smolyar was forced into a stop to correct his front wing and serve his 10-second time penalty after his collision with Cordeel on lap one.
The battle at the front continued as Sargeant tried to move into the lead of the race but was unable to do so as Leclerc locked up into turn one and held onto first place.
Schumacher hunted down Colombo for 11th place as he looked to make the move on the Italian. Unfortunately, the Trident driver made a mistake and dropped down to 14th as a result of his failed overtake.
At the halfway point of the race, Leclerc was in the lead with Sargeant in second and Iwasa in third. Crawford followed in fourth, Collet in fifth, Doohan in sixth, Martins in seventh, Hauger in eighth, Novalak in ninth and Vesti in 10th.
Hauger looked to make the move on the outside of Martins into the chicane but the Norweigan found his way into the gravel and dropped down to ninth. The championship leader was able to get back at Novalak moments later to regain eighth place.
On the exit of turn one, Johnathan Hoggard and Hunter Yeany tangled which saw the duo go into the barrier and retire from the race which triggered the Safety Car.
With four laps to go, the Safety Car returned to the pit lane and Leclerc led the drivers over the line. Iwasa looked to make a move on Sargeant but thought better of it. The Japanese driver’s teammate Crawford looked to overtake him into turn three, however, it was another failed attempt.
Hauger made a fantastic move on Martins and into seventh through the first part of the lap as Vesti got up to ninth ahead of Novalak.
In the end, it was Leclerc that held the lead until the end with Sargeant finishing second and Iwasa in third. Crawford, Collet, Doohan, Hauger, Martins, Vesti and Oli Caldwell completed the top 10 as Novalak and Ido Cohen line up on the front row for afternoon’s race two.
What’s Next?
Carlin Buzz Racing’s Ido Cohen has the chance to secure his first points of the season and to do so with a victory would be huge for the Israeli driver.
It won’t be easy for him as he has three championship contenders, Vesti, Hauger and Doohan, who sit fourth, sixth and seventh on the grid.
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