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A debutant on pole position alongside a first-time winner and two drivers that are looking to stake a claim for the championship early on.
The opening round of the 2022 Formula 3 season delivered a lot of excitement, drama and joy as drivers saw the green light once more after a winter break.
Qualifying
Franco Colapinto delivered Van Amersfoort Racing a pole position in their debut round. The Dutch outfit, who replaced the departing HWA Racelab team, will have been delighted with their young Argentinian driver after a rapid 1:46.249 lap time.
Roman Stanek was less than a tenth slower than the pole sitter in second with Kush Maini eight-thousandths slower than the Czech driver as he finished third.
However, after failing to stop at the FIA weighbridge, the Indian driver was handed a penalty and started from the pit lane.
Grégoire Saucy ended qualifying in fourth with Victor Martins in fifth, Juan Manuel Correa in sixth, Zane Maloney in seventh, Alexander Smolyar in eighth, Isack Hadjar in ninth, David Vidales in 10th and Oliver Bearman in 11th and Zak O’Sullivan in 12th.
Due to his qualifying position, the Carlin driver claimed reverse grid pole position ahead of the Sprint Race and was joined by his compatriot Bearman on the front row of the grid.
Sprint Race
After crossing the line first, Bearman was awarded a five-second time penalty for track limit infringements which demoted him down to second and handed Hadjar the win.
Qualifying front runners, Stanek and Colapinto, collided in the opening laps of the race and retired from the race alongside ART Grand Prix teammates, Saucy and Martins, who also came together to see their respective races come to a premature end.
Starting from second, Bearman was able to take the lead of the race from O’Sullivan as the Carlin driver dropped slowly dropped down the order.
Hadjar was able to make positions moved up to second as he overtook Maloney as Smolyar followed him through to claim the final podium position.
Fortunately for Hadjar, he was three and a half seconds away from Bearman which earned him the race victory after the Brit’s penalty was applied.
The Prema was able to finish on the podium as he fell down to second with Smolyar finishing in third place. Maloney and Arthur Leclerc had a drag race to the line but it was the former that claimed fourth with the latter taking fifth after a fantastic fightback from 13th on the grid.
Reverse polesitter O’Sullivan finished the race in sixth with Caio Collet in seventh, Kaylen Frederick in eighth, Juan Manuel Correa in ninth and Vidales in 10th.
Feature Race
Martins, who experienced a horror of an opening race following a collision with his teammate Saucy, went on to claim his first race win of the season with a fine drive from fifth to first.
After a fantastic Safety Car restart, the Frenchman bided his time and lunged past polesitter Colapinto on lap 15 for the win.
Francesco Pizzi and Maloney both grounded to a halt after spinning on the opening lap as Caio Collet and Nazim Azman joined the duo in retiring from the race.
There were many collisions throughout the second race of the weekend as four drivers were forced into making pit stops due to sustaining punctures or damage.
Out in front, Colapinto did very well to hold onto his lead for a long time as the Argentine driver looked to secure a first win in Formula 3.
However, once he was overtaken by Martins, he battled with Leclerc for second place before being handed a five-second time penalty for track limit infringements and saw his chance of a podium evaporate.
Prema’s Leclerc went one better from the first race and earned a rostrum finish after starting from 13th on the grid. The Monegasque driver quickly diced his way through the pack to end up only one and a half seconds behind winner Martins.
Saucy and Juan Manuel Correa benefitted from Colapinto’s penalty as they moved up to third and fourth respectively as the Argentine finished fifth.
Prema teammates Bearman and Jak Crawford followed in sixth and seventh with Vidales in eighth William Atatalo in ninth and Frederick in 10th.
What’s Next?
The Formula 3 drivers take a month-long break after the first round of the season as they return back to track action in Imola.
Victor Martins and Arthur Leclerc are the leading duo in the championship as it stands and will be looking to continue to stake their claims for the title at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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