Ernesto Rivera takes maiden F3 Feature Race win after exciting race at Spa
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
Campos' Ernesto Rivera took a second race victory in Formula 3, and his first Feature Race win, after executing a series of calculated overtakes over the course of F3's 15-lap race at Spa. He would finish ahead of VAR's Hiyu Yamakoshi and pole-sitter Freddie Slater in third.
Slater's result helped him close down the gap to championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu to just one point, after the American came home only 22nd on the road in a difficult weekend.
Further back, it was MP Motorsport's Mattia Colnaghi who took his best result of the season in fourth, while ART's Maciej Gładysz and Taito Kato came home fifth and sixth respectively.
They would be followed by MP Motorsport's Tuukka Taponen and Alessandro Giusti in seventh and eighth, while sprint winner Jin Nakamura took ninth, ahead of Rodin's Brando Badoer in 10th,
A chaotic race, and here's how it all played out.
AS IT UNFOLDED - The F3 Feature Race at Spa
Trident's Freddie Slater started the F3 Feature Race around Spa-Francorchamps from pole position. The Briton was eager to make up for losing out in the sprint, starting ahead of MP Motorsport's Tuukka Taponen and VAR's Hiyu Yamakoshi.
However, off the five red lights, the Briton would face a slow getaway, losing ground immediately to Taponen and Yamakoshi. He would have to narrowly fend-off the fast starting Red Bull liveried cars of Ernesto Rivera and Mattia Colnaghi, a deep defence allowing him to hold onto third as the drivers exited Turn 1.
Slater, though, would shape for a challenge for the lead heading down the Kemmel Straight, almost going three-wide into the Les Combes chicane, before he settled in for position.
Further back, though, several drivers ran wide, including championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu and teammate Théophile Naël, who made contact heading into the second sector.
A safety car would be called out for the stricken AIX Racing of Yevan David, with DAMS' Nandhavud Bhirombakdi too pulling into the pits and retiring. The contact on Lap 1 would also cost a major contender for victory big, as Naël would pull into the pits after his incident on Lap 1.
Normal racing action resumed on Lap 4, as Yamakoshi led away from Taponen and pole-sitter Slater. Despite the Japanese driver's moment of oversteer in the Bus Stop chicane, he would hold on to his lead, while Rivera made his way past fellow Red Bull junior Colnaghi to sit fourth.
While Slater would fend off the charging Campos of Rivera, his championship contending rival Ugochukwu would attempt to make up more positions, going past Rodin's Christian Ho to take ninth. Up ahead, the Trident man would instead look ahead, making his way past Taponen to sit second on the road at the halfway point.
Slater wouldn't stop with second, as he took the race lead with a pass down the inside of Yamakoshi at Les Combes on Lap 8, looking to clear away into the distance. The VAR man would keep in touching distance, though, heading onto the following lap.
Even as the Briton fended off Yamakoshi's advances for the lead, a charging Rivera behind took advantage of the slipstream to climb up into third. He would attempt to go for a double pass to snatch second, instead breaking the left hand endplate of his front wing.
Yet, Rivera would wait for the following lap, claiming position from the VAR man on Lap 10, and putting himself as the next man to challenge Slater's lead.
Further back, Taponen's mistake into Turn 1 opened up the door for Colnaghi to improve to fourth, after a late dive into the Les Combes chicane, while ART's Maciej Gładysz took a position on Trident's Noah Strømsted into Malmedy corner.
Despite his defence, Slater wouldn't be able to hold on to the lead on Lap 12, conceding the position to Rivera's Campos for the first time in the race. The Mexican driver quickly opened up the gap to 1.3 seconds, putting him clear of any threats from those behind for the time being.
Slater's excellent pace early on would fade away, as he lost second to Yamakoshi's VAR on Lap 13. However, championship leader Ugochukwu was facing troubles along the way, dropping to 13th after being passed by sprint winner Jin Nakamura and Bruno del Pino into Turn 1.
Heading onto the penultimate lap, Slater had dropped further time to Yamakoshi, only just holding onto the DRS.
Despite pressure from the chasing Colnaghi behind, Slater would hold on to third, while Rivera charged to his second victory of the season, and a first Feature Race win in F3. Here's how it all played out after 15 laps of racing in Spa-Francorchamps!
Classification - F3 Feature Race at Spa
Ernesto Rivera (Campos Racing)
Hiyu Yamakoshi (VAR)
Freddie Slater (Trident)
Mattia Colnaghi (MP Motorsport)
Maciej Gładysz (ART Grand Prix)
Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix)
Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport)
Alessandro Giusti (MP Motorsport)
Jin Nakamura (Hitech)
Brando Badoer (Rodin Motorsport)
Noah Strømsted (Trident)
Nicola Lacorte (DAMS)
Bruno del Pino (VAR)
Pedro Clerot (Rodin Motorsport)
Fionn McLaughlin (Hitech)
Théophile Naël (Campos Racing)
Louis Sharp (PREMA Racing)
James Wharton (PREMA Racing)
Ricardo Escotto (AIX Racing)
Kanato Le (ART Grand Prix)
Michael Shin (Hitech)
Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos Racing)
Gerrard Xie (DAMS)
José Garfias (PREMA Racing)
Enzo Deligny (VAR)
Christian Ho (DAMS)
Fernando Barrichello (AIX Racing) - DNF
Matteo De Palo (Trident) - DNF
Nandhavud Bhirombakdi (DAMS) - DNF
Yevan David (AIX Racing) - DNF
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