F3: Mari Boya won the rain race at Silverstone

      Marie Boy won the rainy Sunday Formula 3 race at Silverstone. Along with him on the podium were Théophile Naël and Noël Leon.

      Sunday morning greeted the participants with dry but cloudy weather and a possibility of rain during the race. Rain sprinkled just before the warm-up lap, delaying the start by five minutes. However, only a few drivers chose to fit wet tires to their cars. The others preferred slicks, especially since the rain stopped by the start of the warm-up lap, although some sections of the track had already become wet.

      The drivers started from the grid, and Marie Boy, on wet tires, easily took the lead, overtaking the competitors on slicks. It became evident during the first lap that slicks were the wrong choice for the start. Pole-sitter Nikola Tsolov dropped to 14th, second starter Ugo Urochukwu to 17th, and championship leader Rafael Camara to 19th.

      Rain continued to fall steadily, but none of the slick tire drivers rushed into the pits, as the forecast promised rain would cease by mid-race. Meanwhile, Boy pulled away from Théophile Naël, who in turn could not shake Noël Leon off his rear wing, with Leon showing the best time on lap three of twenty-two. The speed difference between drivers on wet tires and slicks was about ten seconds per lap.

      On lap four, Lawrence Van Hoepen, who posted the fastest lap, overtook Saturday's sprint race winner Tasana Pul Intra Fusak in the battle for 4th place. On the next lap, Intra Fusak overtook Roman Bilinski.

      On lap eight, some drivers on slicks decided to pit for wet tires. Another lap later, Camara, Tsolov, Urochukwu, Stromstedt, and Hedly also came in as the rain intensified.

      On the eleventh lap, Louis Sharp lost control of his car on the wet track exiting the last turn and became stuck in the gravel. Yellow flags appeared, and a safety car was deployed.

      Lawrence Van Hoepen, in fifth place, received a five-second penalty for a false start. The rain intensified so much that Tsolov lost control in one of the turns and went off the track. He did not hit the gravel and was able to continue, finishing 21st. A similar dangerous moment occurred with Camara, but he managed to return to the race.

      On lap fourteen, race management decided that continuing the race was too dangerous under the conditions, and red flags were shown. The peloton, following the safety car, returned to the pit lane.

      After a 15-minute wait, it was decided not to resume the race. The results were finalized after the twelfth lap, awarding half points.

      For Marie Boy, this victory was his first of the season and the second of his career. Théophile Naël’s second place matched his best result. Noël Leon achieved his first podium of the season. The championship leaders Camara, Tramnitz, and Tsolov scored no points.

      The next Formula 3 round will take place from July 25 to 27 at the Spa circuit in Belgium.