Silverstone F3: Viscaal takes maiden series win after thrilling last-lap duel
Bent Viscaal overcame Lirim Zendeli in a thrilling last-lap duel to earn his first FIA Formula 3 race win in the reverse-grid race at Silverstone
A slow start for reverse-grid polesitter Ben Barnicoat handed 2018 German Formula 4 champion Zendeli the race lead on the opening lap with MP Motorsport's Viscaal following in second place.
The safety car was immediately required on the opening lap to recover the stricken cars of Calan Williams (Jenzer) and Viscaal's team-mate Lukas Dunner.
There was also a further incident involving Alex Peroni (Campos), Alexander Smolyar (ART Grand Prix) and David Schumacher (Charouz Racing System) with Schumacher retiring from the race.
Trident's Zendeli maintained his advantage as the race restarted and it quickly became a two-way fight for the lead with Viscaal remaining close to the leader.
Viscaal waited until the 20th and final lap to make his move as he dived down the inside of Zendeli at Copse corner to claim the race lead.
Zendeli retaliated by overtaking Viscaal around the outside of Stowe, only for Viscaal to swoop back around the outside of Zendeli on the exit of Vale.
Viscaal, who was denied a maiden series win in the reverse-grid race at the Hungaroring following two five-second penalties, edged Zendeli by just over a tenth of a second for his first FIA F3 win and MP's first since the 2019 Macau Grand Prix.
Single-seater returnee Barnicoat was unable to achieve a dream podium for Carlin, after he retired with a technical issue, having valiantly defended third position for half of the race.
The final place on the podium instead went the way of Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire, as Liam Lawson ran wide at the penultimate corner and dropped out of podium contention and into fifth place.
Lawson's final lap off-track excursion promoted Zendeli's team-mate David Beckmann into fourth place, Beckmann beating Lawson to the chequered flag by just 0.019 seconds.
Championship leader Logan Sargeant (above), who earned his maiden FIA F3 victory and the points lead on Saturday, found himself just outside the top 10 in the early stages after a failed move on his Prema team-mate Frederik Vesti.
After recovering to 11th place, he moved across on fellow American driver Cameron Das (Carlin) while defending at Copse and the duo collided, forcing Sargeant into retirement.
Sargeant's title rival and Prema team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has struggled with mechanical woes all weekend, recovered from a minor final corner collision with Lawson to take sixth place behind the New Zealander.
HWA Racelab's Jake Hughes edged Formula Regional European champion Vesti for seventh place with Carlin's Clement Novalak in ninth place.
Hughes' team-mate and Ferrari junior Enzo Fittipaldi earned his first point in FIA F3 with 10th place.
Piastri's sixth-place finish leaves him just one point adrift of Sargeant in the drivers' championship.
Silverstone F3 results - 20 laps
Pos | Driver | Team |
---|---|---|
1 | Bent Viscaal | MP Motorsport |
2 | Lirim Zendeli | Trident |
3 | Theo Pourchaire | ART Grand Prix |
4 | David Beckmann | Trident |
5 | Liam Lawson | Hitech GP |
6 | Oscar Piastri | Prema Racing |
7 | Jake Hughes | HWA |
8 | Frederik Vesti | Prema Racing |
9 | Clement Novalak | Carlin |
10 | Igor Fraga | Charouz |
11 | Cameron Das | Carlin |
12 | Max Fewtrell | Hitech GP |
13 | Sebastian Fernandez | ART Grand Prix |
14 | Alexander Smolyar | ART Grand Prix |
15 | Roman Stanek | Charouz |
16 | Matteo Nannini | Jenzer Motorsport |
17 | Enzo Fittipaldi | HWA |
18 | Richard Verschoor | MP Motorsport |
19 | Sophia Florsch | Campos Racing |
20 | Dennis Hauger | Hitech GP |
21 | Jack Doohan | HWA |
22 | Olli Caldwell | Trident |
23 | Federico Malvestiti | Jenzer Motorsport |
24 | Alex Peroni | Campos Racing |
- | Ben Barnicoat | Carlin |
- | Logan Sargeant | Prema Racing |
- | Alessio Deledda | Campos Racing |
- | David Schumacher | Charouz |
- | Lukas Dunner | MP Motorsport |
- | Calan Williams | Jenzer Motorsport |
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