F3 | Sprint Race | Austrian GP | Wharton claims first F3 win in dramatic safety-car filled race - Motorsport

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A long-awaited decent race result for ART GP’s James Wharton finally came his way as the Australian crossed the line to secure his maiden F3 win during the Sprint Race at the F3 Austrian GP, full report and results below.

After an intensely close Qualifying, it was Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov who emerged on top. The Bulgarian driver had commanded the weekend from the get-go. Tsolov started his Friday by topping Free Practice and went on to secure his second pole-position of the year. As the championship battle continues to intensify, the Bulgarian has the opportunity to capitalise on a strong result, especially with his main rival, Trident’s Rafael Câmara, only qualifying P7. However, on Sprint Race Saturday, it was all eyes on ART GP’s James Wharton and MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti who lined up on the front-row.

Sprint Race Saturday goes underway at the F3 Austrian GP!

The formation lap went underway as cameras panned to Bruno del Pino who stalled off the line. The Spaniard was set to start P9. However, as drivers drove past him, del Pino desperately made his way back through the field, almost running into the back of Brando Badoer.

Five green lights went out as Wharton got a perfect launch off the line, leading the pack safely into Turn 1. Tucking behind the Australian, Giusti maintained his position in P2. Heading into Turn 3, Ugo Ugochukwu ran wide as he tried to make his way past home-hero Charlie Wurz. Meanwhile, Rafael Câmara went around the outside of Callum Voisin at the penultimate corner to claim his place back in P6. After a quick reaction off-the-line for Tsolov, the Bulgarian was on the move as he had already made up 3 places into P9.

Safety car deployed for Tuukka Taponen

Only three laps were completed before a safety car was deployed for Tuukka Taponen. Involved in an incident with Louis Sharp and Christian Ho, the Finnish driver was left to retire. James Hedley headed into the pits as he suffered damage from the incident as well. Momentarily, Sharp had continued up the road. However, it was not long before he was forced to retire his car as well. Managing to make his way back to the pits, Ho jumped out of his car, having suffered from a broken front-wing as well, the Singaporean was the third retirement of the race.

Wharton sets off and aces safety car restart

As drivers crossed the line to set off on Lap 4, Wharton aced the safety car restart. The Australian had caught Giusti off-guard and went early ahead of the final corner. Further down the field, Tsolov lunged down the inside of Voisin as he slowly approached the back of Câmara. Badoer ran wide as he rode the kerbs, momentarily losing control of his car causing Câmara to run wide. Vulnerable to a charging Tsolov and Voisin, Câmara continued to struggle.

On-track action did not simmer down as Brad Benavides went side by side with Voisin. Behind Benavides, del Pino attempted to lunge down the inside but made contact with Benavides as another yellow flag came out on Lap 7. Meanwhile, at the front of the field, Giusti attempted to make a move on Wharton as he pressured him into a mistake. Wurz had come close to the Top 2, but was still not close enough to overtake Giusti or Wharton.

Ugochukwu made a trip through the gravel traps once more as he continued to fight with teammate Badoer. All eyes were on the Top 2 in the Championship as Tsolov stuck a brave overtake around the outside of Câmara into Turn 4. Struggling to keep all four wheels on track, Câmara had to run onto the gravel traps. The situation was soon noted by the Stewards.

Second safety car for home-hero Wurz

The race had momentarily settled down before chaos unfolded once more. Badoer spun Wurz around headed into Turn 3, as the hopes of a podium-finish for the home-hero faded away. As Wurz retired from the race, Badoer made his way back into the pits before joining the back of the field once more.

In a blink of an eye, Tsolov was now P4 having capitalised on Wurz and Badoer’s collision. Good news for the Bulgarian, the Stewards had decided that no further investigation was needed for his incident with Câmara. As the safety car remained out, Wharton had controlled the race from the start to finish as he showed no sign of succumbing to pressure.

Sprint to the finish line

As the safety car ended, Wharton aced his restart once again. Headed into the first corner, Tsolov was immediately on the move. Fighting for position with Ugochukwu, the Bulgarian ran the American driver wide. Clearly not afraid to get his elbows out, Tsolov maintained his spot in P4. However, not far behind, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak went side-by-side into Turn 5 with Tsolov before the Thai had to run off the track.

During the closing stages of the race, Câmara continued to struggle. Having run wide once again, Mari Boya, Tim Tramnitz and Voisin all made their way through the championship leader as he dropped to P10. Heading four wide into Turn 3, the fight for points from P5 to P10 heightened. However, crossing the line, Wharton claimed his maiden F3 win in a race he controlled from start to finish.