Silverstone European F3: Dan Ticktum snatches win and points lead
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Dan Ticktum took victory and reclaimed the series lead in a thrilling first Formula 3 European Championship race of the weekend at Silverstone


Red Bull Formula 1 team junior Ticktum pulled off a superb manoeuvre at Stowe corner on long-time leader Sacha Fenestraz with four laps remaining to claim the win in his Motopark Dallara-Volkswagen.
Ticktum had qualified third, and bogged down at the start before dipping the clutch again, just holding off team-mate Jonathan Aberdein in the opening corners.
Up front, Prema Powerteam's Ferrari Driver Academy starlet Guan Yu Zhou challenged polesitting Renault F1 junior Fenestraz for the lead.
A bid from Zhou on the Carlin car of Fenestraz at the Brooklands left-hander didn't come off for the Shanghai racer, and allowed Ticktum momentum into the long Luffield right-hander.
Ticktum went right around the outside of Zhou to snatch second place, before setting off after Fenestraz.
For lap after lap Ticktum would get into Fenestraz's slipstream, but didn't quite get close enough to pull off a move for the lead.
On lap 15 of 19, he tucked in behind Fenestraz on the Hangar Straight and made his pass into Stowe - although Fenestraz attempted to hang on around the outside, he had to give best and Ticktum instantly pulled out a two-second advantage.
A late full course yellow - caused when a left-rear puncture sent Ralf Aron spinning into the gravel at Stowe - failed to unsettle Ticktum and he brought the car home for the win.
"When the top three drivers are all a very similar pace, it's very difficult to overtake, as I proved," said Ticktum, "but as Sacha's tyres got relatively worse, mine stayed OK.

"My pass on Zhou was on the limit of everything - it was pretty good.
"Even my pass into Stowe on Sacha was a bit of a lunge as well - I had to make my opportunity count, and once I got in front it was all right."
Aron's puncture was the third for Prema Powerteam in the race, with first Mick Schumacher departing from fourth place, and then Zhou pitting from third - all deflations were at the left-rear.
That should have promoted Motopark man Aberdein to third, but he lost ground at the restart after the FCY, and Enaam Ahmed slipped through into third with his Hitech GP car.
Aberdein also lost a position to Motopark team-mate Juri Vips, who moved up from 10th on the grid to finish fourth, and as he did so the South African launched himself over the kerb on the exit of Club before settling for fifth.
Pre-race championship leader Marcus Armstrong lost places in the opening corners in his Prema car, but progressed to sixth via a stunning outside pass on Hitech's Alex Palou at Copse - Palou finished seventh.
Robert Shwartzman held off Jehan Daruvala in the battle for eighth, while second-race poleman Fabio Scherer claimed the final point in his Motopark car.
Race one result
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dan Ticktum | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 36m13.442s |
2 | Sacha Fenestraz | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 1.458s |
3 | Enaam Ahmed | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 11.498s |
4 | Juri Vips | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 12.659s |
5 | Jonathan Aberdein | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 14.252s |
6 | Marcus Armstrong | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 15.530s |
7 | Alex Palou | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 16.170s |
8 | Robert Shwartzman | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 16.829s |
9 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 17.457s |
10 | Fabio Scherer | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 20.522s |
11 | Ben Hingeley | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 22.520s |
12 | Marino Sato | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 22.922s |
13 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 28.715s |
14 | Nikita Troitskiy | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 31.592s |
15 | Sebastian Fernandez | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 33.739s |
16 | Keyvan Andres | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 34.608s |
17 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 19 | 45.138s |
18 | Sophia Florsch | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 46.270s |
19 | Charles Leong | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 47.583s |
20 | Petru Florescu | Fortec Motorsports | Dallara/Mercedes | 19 | 49.205s |
- | Ralf Aron | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 16 | Retirement |
- | Guanyu Zhou | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 15 | Retirement |
- | Mick Schumacher | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 7 | Retirement |
- | Artem Petrov | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 6 | Retirement |

Silverstone European F3: Fabio Scherer and Juri Vips take poles
Silverstone European F3: Mick Schumacher takes second victory

Latest news
Why the Formula 3 benchmark's 2022 season hinges on qualifying
Prema Racing has long dominated FIA Formula 3, taking the teams’ title in two of the past three seasons. But its start to 2022 has been trickier than usual, and the answers lie in its qualifying performance
How the ultra-tight F3 title fight is taking shape
With just five points separating the top five after two rounds, FIA Formula 3 looks set for another thrilling season in 2022. But who stands the best chance of pulling away from that pack, and who are the contenders bubbling under?
The F3 newcomer making good on his unusual career path
Joining the FIA Formula 3 grid as a rookie with a team new to the series could prove daunting for most, but then there aren't many drivers who have the extensive experience Franco Colapinto brings from his time racing sportscars. The Argentinian explains how his LMP2 experience is already helping him in 2022
The British trio hunting for F3 title glory
The 2022 FIA Formula 3 season kicks off this weekend in Bahrain. British trio Zak O’Sullivan, Ollie Bearman and Jonny Edgar have all become proteges of Formula 1 teams, and are talents to watch this year
How an outsider demolished a rank of F1 juniors
His career has been a slowburner but Gregoire Saucy trounced a collection of F1 juniors in Formula Regional by Alpine last year, and now he’s preparing to do it again in FIA F3. Here’s how the Swiss caught the world by surprise in 2021 and how he plans to do it all over again
Ranking the top 10 F2 and F3 drivers of 2021
With a veritable feast of feeder series talent in 2021, FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 produced some of its most exciting racing yet. Although Prema Racing drivers once again dominated the respective series, drivers from other teams also stole the limelight to mark themselves out as stars of the future, or validate their highly-regarded standing
How Prema continued its dominance of F1's junior ladder in 2021
Taking three of the four titles and producing two outstanding champions in the process, Prema Racing remained the team to beat in Formula 1's feeder series in 2021. Team boss Rene Rosin reveals the traits that helped Dennis Hauger and Oscar Piastri to come out on top in Formula 3 and Formula 2
From zero to hero: How F3's 2021 champion bounced back
After a disastrous 2020 in FIA Formula 3 with Hitech, Dennis Hauger began to doubt himself - with the self-belief he had built through success in junior series evaporating. But after regrouping, he stormed to the F3 title in 2021. Here’s how he did it