Franco Colapinto emerged triumphant in an exhilarating wet-to-dry Sprint Race at Silverstone, claiming his first win of the season.
Despite challenging conditions Franco Colapinto from MP Motorsport, showcased his skill and composure during the F3 Sprint race at Silverstone. While Gabriel Bortoleto and Christian Mansell also delivered impressive performances.
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The race began with the arrival of rain just before the lights went out. All drivers (Except for Grégoire Saucy) opted for slick tyres. Pole-sitter Sebastián Montoyalaunched himself off the line well to remain in the lead, with the young British driver Taylor Barnard surging to second by overtaking Jonny Edgar on the outside at Turn 1. Jonny Edgar seemingly was able to generate heat into his tyres, started falling back down the field.
In a remarkable move, Colapinto swiftly passed Barnard, diving to the inside at Village, catapulting him from fourth to second. However, a mistake through Maggotts and Becketts allowed Barnard to reclaim second place, while Luke Browning surpassed Edgar to secure fourth at Stowe. Gabriele Minì also overtook Edgar, followed by Bortoleto and Paul Aron on Lap 2.
The battle for 5th at this point was an interesting one. Bortoleto applied pressure on Minì, with skillful positioning. The Brazilian driver strategically overtook the Hitech, causing him to lock up into Vale on Lap 6.
Down came the rain
As the clouds finally opened on Lap 8, the Safety Car was deployed. Most drivers however stayed on slicks, Dino Beganovic took the opportunity to switch to wet tyres.
Several drivers followed suit during the subsequent lap behind the safety car; including Browning, Martí, Goethe, O’Sullivan, Aron, and the MP duo of Edgar and Boya. Beganovic’s pit stop advanced him to 11th place, with only those on slicks yet to pit ahead of him.
Those in the top ten chose to remain on dry tyres before the Safety Car came in at the start of Lap 13. Taylor Barnard was fast off the mar and closely trailed Montoya. However he may have misjudged his speed against Montoya as he made contact with him at Turn 1. This severely interfered with Montoya’s race dropping him down to 15th. While Barnard himself lost a place to third.
Aron swiftly gained ground, moving up to fourth with five laps remaining, capitalising on his wet tyres. As the rain subsided though, those on slicks began to regain tyre temperature, giving them the advantage.
Minì initially lost positions to both PREMA drivers but recovered to fifth after overtaking Beganovic and Aron on consecutive laps, all while still running on dry tyres. Hugh Barter and Leonardo Fornaroli followed suit, securing sixth and seventh place respectively on Lap 16.
Gallant Fight back
Despite his earlier spin, Montoya gallantly fought back and entered the points in eighth place, overtaking both PREMA drivers on wet tires along the Hangar Straight with three laps to go. Ido Cohen climbed to ninth, displacing Aron, as the track had become too dry for wet tires.
At the front, Colapinto maintained his composure, crossing the finish line to claim victory in the Sprint Race, with Bortoleto securing second which extends his Championship lead.
Christian Mansell defended his position on the final lap, maintaining his third place podium spot. Collet couldnt get passed, so brought it home with a commendable fourth place finish.
Minì finished in fifth place, followed by Hugh Barter, who achieved his best F3 result to date. Fornaroli secured seventh for Trident, while Montoya made an impressive recovery to eighth, Ido Cohen in ninth and Aron rounding out the top ten.
Franco Colapinto expressed his joy and gratitude after the race, saying, “Super good race, super happy with the points and win. It was really tricky with the rain out there on the slicks and trying to make the right decision with the strategy, but the team did an amazing job, I just had to drive the car.”
In the Drivers’ Championship, Bortoleto’s second-place finish increased his lead to 120 points. Josep María Martí held on to second place with 76 points, closely followed by Dino Beganovic and Zak O’Sullivan with 75 and 73 points respectively. Gabriele Minì climbed to fifth place with 71 points.
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F3 Sprint Race Silverstone