Nasr wins amid Monza F3 chaos
Felipe Nasr survived a chaotic first race of the new British Formula 3 season at Monza to score the second win of his F3 career and take an early lead in the title race
The Brazilian Carlin driver only qualified fifth, but kept his head cool through three safety car periods, and his nose clean as rivals around him crashed into each other.
There was drama before the start when poleman Will Buller (Fortec) and five other drivers failed to reach the pit exit in time to take up their grid slots.
Buller, Fortec team-mates Harry Tincknell and Fahmi Ilyas, Sino Vision pair Hywel Lloyd and Adderly Fong, plus reigning Sudam F3 champion Yann Cunha (T-Sport) all started from the pitlane.
This sextet all gained ground immediately when Jack Harvey (Carlin) and Pipo Derani (Double R) came together at the start - putting the Brazilian out and forcing the Racing Steps Foundation-backed Briton back to the pits with front suspension damage.
Kevin Magnussen grabbed the lead from Carlin team-mate Jazeman Jaafar at the Rettifilio chicane after the first restart, before Rookie Cup rivals Bart Hylkema (T-Sport) and Kotaro Sakurai (Hitech) made contact approaching the Variante Della Roggia - pitching Sakurai into a roll and necessitating another safety car.
Racing resumed at mid-distance and Magnussen managed to eke out a 1.1-second lead, but the Dane could not break the tow and Fortec's Lucas Foresti began challenging for the lead as they rounded the Parabolica and began lap 10 of 14.
Foresti completed the pass at the Rettifilio chicane, but conceded the place back to his rival further round the lap and Magnussen led again as officials deployed the safety car for the third time when Pietro Fantin (Hitech) exited stage right on the main straight after contact with Double R's Scott Pye.
This turned the race into a three-lap sprint and Magnussen, Foresti and Nasr all headed into the first chicane together at the re-start.
Foresti emerged with the lead, but came under attack as the trio headed into the Roggia. Contact between Magnussen and Foresti under braking spun the Brazilian round and also did for the Dane's front wing. This allowed Nasr to escape with the lead and he powered on to a 3.116s victory.
Jaafar picked up the pieces of his rivals' misfortune and held off team-mate Carlos Huertas in a photo finish for second. The Colombian's solid drive to third meant a podium lockout for Trevor Carlin's team.
Buller completed the first lap in 14th, but picked his way carefully through the chaos to finish fourth, ahead of Rupert Svendsen-Cook (Carlin) and Riki Christodoulou (Hitech).
The mayhem ahead helped Lloyd and Menasheh Idafar (T-Sport) rise to seventh and eighth by the flag, while Foresti recovered from his contact with Magnussen to finish ninth.
Hitech's Bruno Mendez rebounded from a crash in practice to finish 10th on his British F3 debut, ahead of pitlane starters Tincknell, Ilyas, Fong and Cunha.
Magnussen wound up 15th after pitting for a new front wing.
Results - 14 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 30m56.691s 2. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 3.116s 3. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 3.166s 4. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 4.103s 5. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW + 5.140s 6. Riki Christodoulou Hitech Dallara-VW + 6.674s 7. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 9.995s 8. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW + 10.018s 9. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 10.137s 10. Bruno Mendez Hitech Dallara-VW + 11.324s 11. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc + 11.447s 12. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc + 13.553s 13. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 13.857s 14. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW + 14.121s 15. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW + 1m21.068s Retirements/Not classified: Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 10 laps Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 9 laps Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 9 laps Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 2 laps Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1 lap Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1 lap
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