Noah Strømsted takes victory after thrilling action in Austria F3 Feature Race

Credit: Formula 3

Trident's Noah Strømsted came out on top in an exciting Formula 3 Austria Feature Race, winning out ahead of a fiercely duelling Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater, who rounded out the top three in F3 at the Red Bull Ring.

It was an exciting last-lap duel between the latter pair, with both drivers even pushing each other close to the gravel in Turns 4 and 5, while Rodin's Pedro Clerot pulled off a series of overtakes to finish fourth, as Hitech's Jin Nakamura rounded out the top five.

He would finish ahead of fellow Japanese driver Taito Kato, who was sixth. MP Motorsport's Tuukka Taponen finished seventh, ahead of pole-sitter Hiyu Yamakoshi in eighth, while DAMS' Nicola Lacorte and ART's Kanato Le rounded out the top 10 respectively on Sunday in Austria.

A race that saw nonstop action from start to finish, and here's how it all played out!

AS IT UNFOLDED - F3 Feature Race (Austria)

Van Amersfoort Racing's Hiyu Yamakoshi started the Austrian Feature Race from pole position, ahead of championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu and Ferrari junior Tuukka Taponen.

With 26 laps of racing to go, it was a disclaimer to expect non-stop action, as had been demonstrated in Saturday's sprint race.

While the VAR man cut across off the five red lights and fended off Ugo Ugochukwu, the Campos man got an excellent exit off Turn 1. A strong run down to Turn 3 would see him claim the race lead, while the Trident duo of Noah Strømsted and Freddie Slater kept it clean to sit third and fourth, ahead of Tuukka Taponen.

However, the safety car would be called out on Turn 1, following an incident towards the rear of the field. ART's Maciej Gładysz would be stranded on the outside of Turn 1, alongside AIX's Yevan David, who had gone off at Turn 1, in an attempt to take avoiding action.

Also down the order was Saturday sprint winner Ernesto Rivera, who had a spin on the exit of Turn 1 as he dropped back, although the safety car would help him close back up to the rest.

Off the safety car restart, Slater would pull off two quick moves on teammate Strømsted into Turn 3, before following on with a move on pole-sitter Yamakoshi into Turn 4. He would quickly close up to race leader Ugochukwu, before the virtual safety car was called out on Lap 5.

This time, it was another AIX Racing driver in the thick of action, as Fernando Barrichello made contact with Hitech's Michael Shin on the exit of Turn 4, sending both off into the gravel, and out of the race.

Further ahead, Rodin's Christian Ho would go wide at Turn 10, putting two wheels into the gravel and losing positions.

Racing action would resume again on Lap 7, with several drivers making up ground. The most notable were Taponen getting past Strømsted, while MP Motorsport's Alessandro Giusti made his way up to sixth past Jin Nakamura.

There would be a change for the race lead onto Lap 9, though, as Slater managed to make a move past championship leader Ugochukwu, as he attempted to put himself in the best position for a maiden F3 win.

There would be a change for second onto Lap 10, as Yamakoshi dived past in Turn 3, with Ugochukwu going wide and ceding position to avoid contact. Further back, the fast-starting Campos of Théophile Naël held the fastest lap, as he had climbed up to 18th, in search of points.

The Spanish driver would make up another position on Matteo De Palo, climbing up to 17th on the road after an unsuccessful move for the Trident man saw him lose position.

A mistake for Giusti into Turn 9 saw him go wide on Lap 16, costing him three positions, as he still remained in the top 10. As Slater faced immense pressure from Yamakoshi behind, a further change for position in fifth saw Taito Kato climb up ahead of Taponen.

After several laps of staring at the rear wing of the VAR ahead, Ugochukwu finally made his move into Turn 4, shaping up for a move before diving to the inside of the pole-sitter to move into second.

A rare mistake from Slater saw him put two wheels into the gravel at Turn 9, leaving him vulnerable to losing the lead onto Lap 20. However, as the top four ran nose to tail up to Turn 4, the Audi junior maintained his lead. Instead, it would be teammate Strømsted moving up to third.

The lead would change hands on Lap 22, with Ugochukwu reclaiming the position he had lost in the beginning of the race, despite going deep into Turn 4.

However, this would leave him vulnerable on the following lap, with Slater getting back ahead into Turn 4. An attempt by the Campos man to come back into the winding Turn 6 saw Strømsted put himself up into second, making it a Trident 1-2 with three laps of racing to go.

Strømsted would make it three different leaders in three laps, claiming the lead from his teammate the following lap. Further back, an all-Japanese duel between Yamakoshi and Kato would bring several drivers into the mix, with Rodin's Pedro Clerot ascending several places to lift himself up into fourth with a stellar move down the outside of Turn 6.

A fierce last-lap duel between Slater and Ugochukwu resulted in both drivers pushing each other to the hilt, as the latter reclaimed second on the road.

An exciting race with a last-lap finish, and here's how it all panned out after 26 laps of F3's Feature Race at the Red Bull Ring.

Classification - F3 Feature Race (Austria)

1. Noah Strømsted (Trident)

2. Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos Racing)

3. Freddie Slater (Trident)

4. Pedro Clerot (Rodin Motorsport)

5. Jin Nakamura (Hitech)

6. Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix)

7. Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport)

8. Hiyu Yamakoshi (VAR)

9. Nicola Lacorte (DAMS)

10. Kanato Le (ART Grand Prix)

11. Alessandro Giusti (MP Motorsport)

12. James Wharton (PREMA Racing)

13. Enzo Deligny (VAR)

14. Louis Sharp (PREMA Racing)

15. Matteo De Palo (Trident)

16. Théophile Naël (Campos Racing)

17. Christian Ho (DAMS)

18. Bruno del Pino (VAR)

19. Ernesto Rivera (Campos Racing)

20. Salim Hanna (AIX Racing)

21. Mattia Colnaghi (MP Motorsport)

22. Brando Badoer (Rodin Motorsport)

23. José Garfias (PREMA Racing)

24. Fionn McLaughlin (Hitech)

25. Gerrard Xie (Hitech)

26. Nandhavud Bhirombakdi (DAMS)

27. Michael Shin (Hitech) - DNF

28. Fernando Barrichello (AIX Racing) - DNF

29. Maciej Gładysz (ART Grand Prix) - DNF

30. Yevan David (AIX Racing) - DNF