F3 British GP: Colapinto secures sprint victory in mixed conditions

In a mix of wet and dry conditions throughout the F3 sprint race, MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto gambled on slick tyres to see out the victory on British soil. 

How the F3 Sprint race unfolded… 

In usual British fashion the rain had begun to fall as such the formation lap, and the start of the Formula 3 sprint race, was delayed to 9:30am local time. 

When the formation lap got underway, the majority of the field ran the hard tyres while ART’s Gregoire Saucy was the only one to risk the circuit on the wet tyres.

It was a great start from the Red Bull liveried #14 car of Sebastian Montoya, he was quickly followed by Jenzer Motorsport’s Taylor Barnard who made a move on MP Motorsport’s Jonny Edgar for second place. 

However, it was not long before Barnard slipped back as he was overtaken by Colapinto early on in the lap and demoted back to third. Fortunately, the Jenzer driver was able to regain track position to move back, ahead of Colapinto, into second place.

By the end of lap two, the field had clearly gotten their hard tyres into their working window as Edgar continued to fall down to 10th.   

On lap five, race control noted Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli – who was in ninth at the time – for an incorrect starting position. A lap later, race control decided to opt for ‘no further action.’  

As the rain, which had been a threat throughout the race, continue to fall heavier the safety car was deployed at the end of lap eight. PHM Racing by Charouz’s Roberto Faria was seen going wide due to the on-track conditions. 

A couple of drivers peeled into the pit lane as the safety car was deployed. At the end of lap nine, another handful of drivers filtered into the pit lane to exchange their hard tyres for the wet compounds.

On lap 11, only the top 10 drivers decided to brave out the wet conditions while the rest of the field opted to put for wet tyres. Only Jenzer’s Alejandro Garcia and Saucy sat at the bottom of the field without a pit stop, in 26th and 29th respectively.

At the end of lap 12, with six laps to go, the safety car was recalled back into the pit lane which left Montoya to control the pace. It was a good restart until the opening corner, as lap 13 commenced. 

On the run to the first corner, Montoya was tapped on the rear by Barnard which unsettled Montoya’s Hitech. While the Colombian was able to quickly regain control of his car, and return to the circuit, the Hitech driver soon tumbled down the order and settled in 19th place. 

Following the contact and ensuing chaos, it allowed Colapinto to lead the field. On lap 15, Colapinto had a comfortable three-second gap over, Trident’s championship leader, Gabriel Bortoleto who was second.  

As the Silverstone circuit continued to dry up, Colapinto continued to build up his gap on the slick tyres. 

With his own gamble, as he opted on the slick tyres in the wet conditions, Colapinto went on secure the win by 3.7 seconds ahead of Bortoleto, in second, as Campos’ Christian Mansell rounded out the podium in his home event. 

That’s it for the article: F3 British GP: Colapinto secures sprint victory in mixed conditions!

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.