F3 British GP: Arthur Leclerc commands feature race win
3rd July 2022Arthur Leclerc secured Prema’s first win of the F3 season after the Monegasque put in a commanding performance to hold off the advances of Calin’s Zak O’Sullivan.
How the race unfolded…
It was a great start from the pole sitter, O’Sulivan, as Leclerc filtered in behind the Carlin driver into the first corner. As the pack arrived into Stowe, turn 15, Leclerc just managed to overtake O’Sullivan for the lead of the race as the safety car was deployed.
It was deployed because contact was made with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Franco Colapinto who ended up on the grass with terminal suspension damage.
At the end of lap three, as the safety car returned to the pit lane, Leclerc swapped positions to hand the race lead back to O’Sullivan – to avoid any repercussions from race control. As the British Carlin driver paced the pack towards the restart, he finally bolted as he crept around Stowe but Leclerc managed to remain close as the Carlin went back to racing speed.
On lap six, Leclerc finally returned to the front as the Monegasque driver managed to slip his car down the inside line at Luffield. O’Sullivan tried to retaliate down into Copse, turn nine. The British driver forced Leclerc to take the inside line into the fast right-hander which caused the Monegasque to be slightly off line at the exit of Copse. Despite his best efforts, Leclerc managed to hold off O’Sullivan.
The safety car was redeployed, on lap 10, after VAR’s Rafael Villagomez smashed into the barrier early on in Copse. It was found the Hitech of Nazim Azman had moved over to the outside line, into Copse, to get a better racing line.
However, the Hitech accidentally made contact with Villagomez whose front wing popped off the nose and got locked underneath his car. As a result, Villagomez couldn’t escape the inevitable crash. Fortunately, he was okay and soon climbed out of the wrecked car.
At the end of lap 14, the safety car returned to the pit lane once again. Compared to the first restart, Leclerc bolted as the pack arrived at Stowe corner. As the Monegasque bolted earlier than usual, this caught O’Sullivan – in second – napping.
This allowed Leclerc to complete lap 15 with minimal pressure from the Carlin pole sitter.
After a few laps setting up a move on third placed Collet, Prema’s Oliver Bearman finally managed to take the outside line into Brooklands – which turned into the inside line at Luffield. A lap later, Bearman tried to take P2 from O’Sullivan into Stowe but the Briton was able to put the power down on the exit of turn 15 to ensure he stayed ahead between Vale and Club corner.
As a result of the intense fight behind him, Leclerc was able to take the chequered flag in a calm manner.
Top three:
- Arthur Leclerc, Prema
- Zak O’Sullivan, Carlin
- Oliver Bearman, Prema
That’s it for the article: F3 British GP: Arthur Leclerc commands feature race win! What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
Read more F3 here
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- F3 British GP: Zak O’Sullivan takes maiden pole position
- 2022 Spanish Grand Prix: Victor Martins commands feature race win
- 2022 Spanish GP: David Vidales secures sprint win pending investigation
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