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The Australian conquered Paul Ricard as he surged from sixth to claim his maiden victory in Formula 3 overtaking Championship leader Dennis Hauger in tricky wet conditions.
Jack Doohan was the class of the field in a soaked Feature Race as his confidence was brewing with every overtake before he dispatched the Championship leader with three laps to go.
Starting Grid
It was Frederik Vesti who claimed pole position on Friday ahead of Dennis Hauger and Victor Martins who completed the top three. Jack Doohan and Ciao Collet were within striking distance as they started from fourth and fifth.
Clement Novalak started for sixth while Aleksandr Smolyar and Ayumu Iwasa occupied the fourth row of the grid. Experienced Juan Manuel Correa qualified ninth with Logan Sargent completing the top 10.
As It Happened
It’s safe to say before the Feature Race had even started, the drivers were poised with one of the toughest tasks in motorsport as a soggy Circuit Paul Ricard graced the field. Everyone was searching for grip in the opening stages of the race, but Hauger was the quickest to adapt as he inherited the lead into turn one.
Joint-Championship leader Martins was struggling to find grip in these wet conditions as he explored the outer layers of the track. The Frenchman, who has already claimed two podiums this weekend, fell to fourth while his Championship rival had the lead of the race.
Olli Caldwell sustained some suspension damage as he was the first to retire from the race as a Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
Novalak was one of the fastest on track but found himself go from third to fifth after a half-hearted attempt on Vesti. It opened the door for both Martins and Doohan as the duo took their invitation as they sailed past the Frenchman.
In the second half of the race, the track was ever drying as the grid circulated the track. Mercedes Junior Vesti was the man on a move as he slowly started to claw back some time to leader Hauger.
On lap 10, Doohan overtook Vesti as he endured a massive slide that saw the Danish driver lose second position with Martins poised to strike behind. Only one lap later, Martins inflicted more pain as Vesti drifted onto the outer layer of the track and dropped down to fourth.
Australian Doohan was a man on a mission as he reduced the gap to Hauger rapidly, taking six-tenths out of the Norwegian per lap.
The battle commenced at the end of lap 14 as Doohan caught Hauger out. The Trident driver lunged down the inside at the final corner as he looked to gain the lead of the race.
The Norweigan switched back retaking the lead but it wasn’t enough as Doohan swept around the outside at turn one to take the lead of the race.
Collet must have been watching as he performed a similar move as he overtook teammate Martins to take third place.
Three laps from the end, it was clear that the slick compound tyres were seconds quicker but no one was brave enough at the front of the field to take the gamble. Doohan needed nothing but champagne as he was unchallenged in the final few laps.
The Trident driver crossed the line to claim his first win in F3 as Hauger extended his Championship lead by finishing second while Collet completed the podium. He beat teammate Martins who will be satisfied with his weekend in fourth ahead of Novalak in fifth.
Vesti was unable to convert his pole position as he finished sixth, Ayumu Iwasa, Alexander Smolyer and Juan Manuel Correa took the next three positions while Jak Crawford rounded out the top 10.
Quotes from the Drivers
Speaking exclusively to Prost International’s Cameron Anderson-Jones, third-place Caio Collet shared his thoughts after today’s Feature Race.
Question for Ciao Collet – After yesterday, I wondered what you’re mentality was entering today’s race?
“Yeah, I mean I think I just had to reset and when I arrived today I just forgot about everything that happened yesterday. When I arrived to the track today, I think I had to just forget about yesterday and reset and start a new day.”
Question for Caio Collet- About that hand gesture from Victor Martins, was it a clean move when you overtook him?
“I think it was a clean move. I was looking in the mirror after the straight and I didn’t see it but I think my engineer told me on the radio to get on with it.
“We had the pace to catch the two guys in front but I just slightly over pushed and I had no more tyres to catch them so I was just trying to keep the position. I think we tried to work together to catch them and unfortunately we didn’t.”
What’s Next?
The drivers now have a one-week break before heading to Austria for round three of the Championship. Hauger remains in the lead of the Championship while Martins and Doohan are poised behind approaching the next round of the Formula 3 calendar.
