F3: Key Takeaways from Austria
It was a long and exhilarating weekend of racing in the Styrian Hills.
Formula 3 returned this weekend after a short break, having raced last time out in Le Castellet. From the very first Sprint Race on Saturday, it was utter madness in F3 with some crazy but awesome racing throughout. Here's everything you need to know about the whirlwind weekend.
Formula 3 or Snake?
Sprint Race I resembled a game of snake on Saturday as for the majority of the race, at least the top eight to ten cars were incredibly close to each other as everyone vied for position and was in with a chance to win. The lead of the race swapped hands countless times as it switched between Nannini, Sargeant and Novalak before eventually going to Championship Leader Hauger with only a handful of laps to go. There was incredibly close - and relatively contact free for the most part - racing which was brilliant to see. The junior drivers mostly kept their cool and provided everyone with some excellent wheel to wheel racing. If you ever want to convince new people to watch Formula 3, this Sprint Race would make a good reference point. This snake theme then continued throughout the weekend which was fantastic to watch as it really captured the unpredictable nature of Formula 3.Â
Harmonious diving from Hauger
Photo Credit: PREMA Media Centre
PREMA driver Dennis Hauger had another excellent weekend. As mentioned above, he won the first Sprint Race of the weekend. He then managed to climb his way up into third place for the second Sprint Race after the reverse grid put him some way down the order. Then, whilst he wasn't able to convert his Feature Race Pole Position into a win, he drove maturely and claimed second place instead, knowing that in his fight for the Championship it would be better to get some points than risk none by making a failed attempt for the win. After three rounds of the 2021 F3 season, Hauger is the man to beat. Can anyone stop him?
Victory for Vesti
Danish driver Vesti needed a good weekend. The Mercedes junior driver hasn't had a brilliant 2021 campaign so far. But as is always the case in F3, a good weekend can turn everything around. Seventh place in the first race gave him some solid points but it was the second place in Sprint Race II that really began to turn his weekend around. He was then able to steal first place away from Championship leader Hauger in the Feature Race and kept him at bay throughout the rest of the race to claim his first win of the year. The win now puts him up into Championship contention, even if he is still some way off Hauger in first.
Bad Weekend to be Martins, Leclerc and Novalak
Just as it can take one weekend to change things for the better, the reverse is also true. Both Novalak and Leclerc had trouble in Sprint Race I that saw them finish outside the points. Novalak's fate was the same again in Sprint Race II whilst Leclerc drove like he did in France, making up a whopping 21 places over the course of the 24 lap race. But come the Feature Race, Martins and Leclerc were battling hard with the former squeezing the latter a bit too much ahead of turn 4, resulting in Leclerc going off the track and crashing into poor Novalak, taking them both out of the race. Martins was forced to go back into the pits but contact a few laps later saw the Frenchman finish down in P25. After only getting 6 points in the first race and none at all in the second, it was a weekend to forget for the rookie Championship hopeful.
Anything else?
David Schumacher inherited reverse grid pole after a flurry of late penalties ahead of Sprint Race II. With everyone battling behind him during the race, he was able to convert the reverse pole into his first win of the year, which was also the first time he scored points this year. Hoggard also got his first point of the year in the second Sprint Race which is a welcome step forward for him. Finally, Frederik was taken out of Sprint Race II after an incident with Sargeant. He was then forced to sit out the of the Feature Race due to a thumb related injury but looks set to return next time out.
What did you think of F3 this weekend? Was it the best round of the year so far? Let me know in the comments below.
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Comments (5)
Finally a Vesti win… happy with that.
Also, Hauger is a machine! 1st, 2nd and 2nd… utter dominance.
Better late than never for Vesti 😂 yeah Hauger is going to be tough to beat this year if he keeps going like that.
Got to feel for Leclerc a bit in the feature race, sure he could have held back a little and made the overtake later (or not) - but as the saying goes; if you don't go for the gap, you're not a racing driver..
Poor Novalak as a result as well. Weekend to forget for him with zero points.
True - just wrong place wrong time in the Leclerc incident - better luck next time..