WHARTON TAKES VICTORY IN ACTION-PACKED F3 SPRINT
James Wharton claimed his second Formula 3 Sprint Race victory after a race full of overtakes, penalties, safety cars, and championship drama.
Pole-sitter Gerrard Xie made a strong start and kept the lead when the race began, while Wharton and Freddie Slater fought for second place. Slater briefly moved ahead of Wharton before the Australian fought back and regained the position. A few laps later, Wharton passed Xie to take the race lead.
Before the start, Taito Kato was unable to leave the grid and had to start from the pit lane. Mattia Colnaghi also started from the pits, leaving two empty grid positions. Kato later impressed by setting the fastest laps of the race despite his difficult start.
There was plenty of movement through the field in the opening laps. Noah Strømsted gained eight positions to move from 22nd to 14th, while Kanato Le dropped from 14th to 26th. José Garfias spun and fell to the back before returning to the pits.
The race was interrupted when Ernesto Rivera retired with technical problems. A Virtual Safety Car was first deployed before it was upgraded to a full Safety Car. Just before the neutralisation, Slater had overtaken Xie for second place.
Racing resumed on lap 11, but the biggest moment of the race came a few laps later. Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu spun at Turn 3 while trying to pass Deligny for sixth place. He lost control on the dirty part of the track and crashed out, bringing out another Safety Car and ending his race without points.
Several drivers received penalties during the event. Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi and Christian Ho were both given ten-second penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Ho also received an additional five-second penalty for a jump start. Brando Badoer was handed a ten-second penalty for causing a collision with Ernesto Rivera, while Nicola Lacorte received a five-second penalty for a jump start.
After the final restart, Wharton remained in control at the front. He resisted pressure from Slater and continued to extend his advantage. Behind him, De Palo spun, while Wharton also set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:32.211.
On the final lap, Wharton comfortably held the lead and crossed the finish line to secure victory. Slater finished second, with Xie completing the podium in third. Tuukka Taponen and Deligny rounded out the top five. Strømsted completed an impressive recovery drive from 22nd on the grid to finish in the points in tenth place.
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