Motorsport TechnologyReigning F3 champions Prema, partnered by Acronis, continued their dominance of the series as Formula Regional European champion Frederik Vesti notched his first win in abysmal conditions.
The 18-year-old Dane had started from pole position and had the advantage of a clear track ahead of him and a clean get away meant that the race was in his hands. He still had to withstand early pressure from Trident’s Lirim Zendeli, who rocketed to second from sixth into Turn 1.
LIGHTS OUT!
Vesti maintains his lead from the off#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F3 pic.twitter.com/9sv8PVjaBl
— Formula 3 (@FIAFormula3) July 11, 2020
Behind the leader, it was no surprise that there were several spins, Aleksandr Smolyar bringing out the virtual safety car on lap 4 before Carlin’s Clement Novalak picked up a puncture and Roman Stanek spun off into the gravel trap.
With visibility steadily worsening, a collision between the ART of Sebastian Fernandez and Carlin’s Enaam Ahmed brought about a red flag. And, after a short wait to see if the weather would abate, the race was called off at half distance.
It meant that Vesti was left celebrating his maiden F3 victory from the Trident trio of Zendeli, David Beckmann and Olli Caldwell. Oscar Piastri was next for Prema, from Richard Verschoor and Logan Sergeant as Liam Lawson, Theo Pourchaire and Jake Hughes rounded off the top ten.https://twitter.com/PREMA_Team/status/1281877734524948493
And the WIN goes to @frederik_vesti who executed a perfect race leading from lights to (red) flag 🚩#FIAF3 #AustrianGP #WeRaceAsOne pic.twitter.com/nQ4bGKV5h8
— PREMA (@PREMA_Team) July 11, 2020
Fraser Masefield