Written by Sean McKean, Edited by Juan Arroyo
In a race filled with drama from the very start, it was MP Motorsport’s Jonny Edgar that took the chequered flag first. It is the Briton’s first Formula 3 win of his career.
Before the lights even went out, polesitter Ollie Goethe went out of the race on the way to the grid due to a suspected mechanical failure. As a result, the original start had to be aborted. Another formation lap was added in order to clear Goethe’s stalled Trident.
Caio Collet led the field to Turn 1 on the start. Jonny Edgar jumped to second at Turn 4 and Gabriel Bortoleto followed in third. Despite a clean start from the front-runners, sprint race winner Franco Colapinto found the tyre barriers in Turn 5. The Argentinian driver was forced to retire with broken suspension, which brought out the first of three safety cars in the race.
When the race got back going on Lap 5, the midfield began to devolve into chaos. From P3 to P10, everyone was separated by a hair, and it seemed only a matter of time until something gave.
Going for a move along the outside of Turn 1, Bortoleto locked up and rejoined the track next to Grégoire Saucy. The ART driver subsequently found the tyre barriers himself in the first Lesmos, bringing out the second safety car of the morning.
After a lengthy clean-up, the race resumed on Lap 11. More calamity struck Trident when Leonardo Fornaroli found himself with a puncture. As he tumbled down the order, a five-car breakaway up front was giving the race entertainment. However, the race had another defining moment when Pepe Martí collided with Ido Cohen in Variante, causing the last safety car.
The last restart went off without a hitch, as Jonny Edgar went on to take first the chequered flag for a maiden Formula 3 win. Zak O’Sullivan finished out a quiet race in second, and Taylor Barnard rounded out the podium having climbed his way up from eighth.