Isack Hadjar took the win in feature race to take FIA F2 points lead in Britain, as Arvid Lindblad makes it four F3 wins in a row.
F2:
Wheelspin for Hadjar allowed ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins to take the lead while Oliver Bearman got a perfect launch in his PREMA Racing #3 to rise up to second from fifth on the grid. Both MP Motorsport drivers fell back however, dropping from third and fourth to eighth and ninth, Franco Colapinto leading Dennis Hauger.
Crawford profited to take those two spots for P4, as Gabriel Bortoleto took fifth around the outside of Maloney at Copse corner. That move came just before a Lap 1 Safety Car for the stranded Andrea Kimi Antonelli, stationary at Turn 3 after a spin in the opening exchanges following contact with Kush Maini.
Racing resumed on Lap 3, but the Safety Car was back out almost immediately after a spin for Joshua Duerksen coming through Woodcote. Fighting Championship leader Paul Aron for position, the AIX Racing driver got onto the grass that left him spinning into the gravel, but he tagged the right rear of the Hitech en route. The Estonian was left with a puncture and was forced to pit at the end of the lap, while Duerksen was stuck in the gravel and out of the race. Aron was later handed a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.
After losing the place at Copse earlier, Maloney repaid Bortoleto at the same place to take back fifth from the Invicta driver on Lap 7. Hadjar had been close to Bearman’s rear wing, and he got the move done for second place with DRS down the Hangar Straight on Lap 8. Both pitted at the end of the lap for their switch to the Hard compound tyres and left in the same order.
Race leader Martins responded one lap later, along with Maloney, Crawford and Bortoleto. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver was fed back out into the path of the Rodin car, later resulting in a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release. Hauger was the last driver from the top 10 to stop having started on the Softs, handing the lead over to teammate Colapinto who was under pressure from Juan Manuel Correa in second.
After the pitstops, Hadjar closed down compatriot Martins and the ART driver was under serious threat from the Campos behind him. With DRS on Lap 12, Hadjar almost pulled off a pass around the outside of Stowe but had to concede the place after running wide over track limits. Ending Lap 18, Hadjar went side-by-side with Martins through the Vale chicane in an attempt to pass but couldn’t get the move done.
The Alpine Academy Junior ran wide at the final corner to re-open the door and then went off at Turn 1 to allow Hadjar through. The ART driver lost places to Crawford and Maloney in the process as he rejoined at Turn 3, while the American profited from their battle to take the lead of the race from Hadjar entering the Wellington Straight, just as he received his time penalty for the earlier unsafe release.
Colapinto pitted from the lead on Lap 22, was fitted with the Softs and rejoined in seventh position, just ahead of Martins but without tyres up to temperature, dropped behind the Frenchman. Onto Lap 25 and Bortoleto was able to clear Bearman into Stowe for eighth position as the fight for the points continued. Colapinto was back ahead of Martins and into sixth with five laps remaining, but his progress stalled out with three to go as those ahead pushed on in pursuit of Crawford. The DAMS driver’s lead was 2.5s over Hadjar, half of the gap he needed to retain the lead with his penalty applied.
Despite his best efforts, the American couldn’t pull the gap to Hadjar, who claimed his third victory in 2024 and the lead of the Drivers’ Championship with it. Maloney kept within range to move up to second as Crawford wound up third after the time penalty. Colapinto was 10 seconds back in fourth with Martins in the top five. Bortoleto secured sixth for Invicta Racing with Bearman, Enzo Fittipaldi, Hauger and Josep María Martí rounding out the points positions in the top 10.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1809888867740250407
UPDATE: Following the conclusion of the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race from Silverstone, two drivers have been assigned post-race penalties. Firstly, Kush Maini has been assigned a time penalty. During the race, the #9 Invicta Racing car made contact with the #4 PREMA Racing of Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap of the Feature at Turn 3.
After the race, the Race Stewards heard from both drivers that were involved along with team representatives, alongside examining all available video evidence. The Race Stewards determined that Maini as the driver wholly to blame for the contact, electing to award him with a 10-second time penalty as a result.
The penalty does not change Maini’s finishing position of 19th. Finally, Juan Manuel Correa has also received a post-race time penalty. During the race at his pitstop, the DAMS Lucas Oil driver reportedly released the clutch while the mechanic on the right rear wheel was still working, breaching Article 12.2.1.h of the breach FIA International Sporting Code.
Having examined the video evidence as well as hearing from the driver and team representative, the Race Stewards determined that Correa had indeed released the clutch early while work was still ongoing to his car. As a result, the Race Stewards handed a five-second time penalty to Correa. His finishing position is not changed with the application of his penalty.
F3:
It was a dramatic start to the day as light rain prior to the race getting underway prompted 28 of the 30 drivers to switch to the wet tyres, with Rodin Motorsport’s Voisin and Piotr Wisnicki the only ones to stick to slicks. But as the cars rounded the track on the Formation Lap, the rain stopped causing several drivers to pit for the Hards prior to lights out.
Pole-sitter Luke Browning made a strong start from Pole on his Wets, while Leonardo Fornaroli was on the charge as he made his way past Trident teammate Sami Meguetounif before going round the outside of Max Esterson at Maggots and Becketts for second. But a Safety Car was required as Cian Shields stopped by the side of the track at Turn 3, just as his Hitech teammate Browning was told that more rain was expected.
We were back racing on Lap 3, as Voisin put his slick tyres to use, going round the outside of Esterson at Turn 3 before getting past Fornaroli down the Wellington Straight. He then took over the lead of the race from Browning on the run down to Copse corner. He was not the only one on the move as the drivers that pitted for slicks at the end of the Formation Lap were also flying.
That included Tim Tramnitz who was up to second by Lap 4, while Lindblad trailed him ahead of Fornaroli, Tommy Smith, and Minì. Another Safety Car was then deployed following a collision down the Wellington Straight between two other Hard tyre runners Dino Beganovic and Sophia Floersch. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver came on the radio to say she was okay and jumped out of the car, while the PREMA car continued.
But there was another surprise as Tramnitz pitted from P2 for the wet tyres, with heavy rain now falling. This prompted a number to come in while others including leader Voisin and now third-placed Lindblad stayed out. Voisin, who had a five-second lead at one stage, was then handed a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his overtake on Esterson.
But we were back racing at the start of Lap 8 of 22 and this time around it was the Wet tyre runners making the moves, with Browning and Fornaroli getting past Voisin in the first sector. Tramnitz was a major winner in this situation as having pitted for the wets he came from the back to P7 ahead of Hitech debutant James Wharton.
Another Safety Car was required on Lap 9 though after Joshua Dufek spun at the exit of Stowe, causing Alexander Dunne and Sebastián Montoya to crash into the barriers as they looked to avoid the AIX Racing car. We had now entered the final 15 minutes of the race and with the pack now bunched up together, PREMA came on the radio to tell Minì, now in P23, that the rain was stopping soon.
As the racing resumed, Browning extended his lead over Fornaroli to over one second, while León went round the outside of Esterson at Stowe to take P3. With 10 minutes to go, it looked like we had reached the crossover point with slick tyre runners Voisin, Lindblad and Minì slowly beginning to make their moves through the field.
Back at the front, Wet tyre runner León was flying as he dived down the inside of Fornaroli to take second place. With seven minutes left, those on dries started to make their moves with VAR telling León that they were quicker by one second a lap. Voisin was up fourth, Lindblad was sixth and Minì was eighth.
Entering the final five minutes, Voisin got past Browning down the Hangar Straight to take back the lead he had lost earlier. But with the penalty hanging over his head, Lindblad and Minì, who were fighting for P2 just behind him were effectively battling for the lead.
The three drivers were flying at the front as Voisin crossed the line in P1, but with his penalty, he dropped to third. This promoted Lindblad to first giving him a clean sweep of wins, a Formula 3 first in which a driver has won every race during a single weekend with Minì in second.
VAR’s Smith finished fourth ahead of Wisnicki who had come from last position on the grid, while Oliver Goethe made a charge on the slicks to place sixth. Fornaroli put a late move on Browning to finish sixth with Nikita Bedrin in ninth as León rounded out the points in P10.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1809863267675762778
UPDATE: Following the conclusion of the FIA Formula 3 Feature Race in Silverstone, MP Motorsport driver Alexander Dunne has been penalised. The Irish driver has been handed a 10-place grid penalty by the Stewards after he was found to have re-joined the track in an unsafe manner.
The incident occurred on Lap 4 where Dunne ran wide at the exit of Turn 5 abefore cutting back onto the circuit. As he did, he caused Van Amersfoort Racing’s Sophia Floersch to move left which led her to collide with PREMA Racing’s Dino Beganovic, ultimately leading to her retirement from the race.
The Stewards determined that Dunne was wholly responsible for the incident, and he will serve the penalty at the next race in which he participates. Also, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak has had a five-second time penalty removed.
The AIX Racing driver had an additional five-second added to his race time at the chequered flag, however following a post-race investigation by the Race Stewards, they determined that the Thai driver had correctly served his time penalty during the Feature Race. It moves Inthraphuvasak up one position in the results to 20th, with Hitech Pulse-Eight’s James Wharton dropping down a place to 21st.
Here’s how F2, F3 sprint panned out
[Note: The story is as per press release]