F3: Noah Stromsted achieved his first career victory

      Trident driver Noé Stromsted claimed victory in Saturday's F3 sprint race at Spa, marking his first career podium finish.

      Saturday morning greeted the youth championship participants with dry and sunny weather. By the time of the start, the air temperature had risen to +18°C, and the track surface to +25°C.

      Pole-sitter Freddie Slater from Hitech maintained his lead, although Stromsted attempted an attack at the fourth turn. In the battle for third place, contact allowed Charlie Wurz to pass Bruno del Pino. However, by the end of the lap, Bruno had regained third position.

      On the second of twelve laps, Rafael Camara overtook Callum Voazen for tenth place. Wurz made another attack on del Pino and moved back into third. During the lap, Camara advanced to ninth, overtaking Roman Bilinski.

      On the third lap, on the DRS straight before the fourth turn, Stromsted attacked Slater and took the race lead. In a bid to create a gap, Noé set the fastest lap. Behind, Hugo Ugochukwu overtook del Pino in the fight for fourth position.

      On the following lap, Ugochukwu passed Wurz and moved up to third. In the middle of the pack, Marie Boi was moving forward and by the fifth lap, had climbed to tenth place.

      On the sixth lap, Bruno del Pino lost another position, being overtaken by Martini Stenshorne at the fourth turn. On the seventh lap, on the DRS straight, Ugochukwu overtook Slater for second place. Behind the leaders, Tasana Pol Intaraasuwasak and Nikola Zolov overtook del Pino.

      On the eighth lap, Slater dropped out of the top three after Wurz used DRS at the fourth turn to pass him. Bruno del Pino fell to tenth, sequentially overtaken by Camara and Boi.

      On the ninth lap, Stenshorne, Zolov, and Camara overtook Slater. At the end of the lap, Zolov overtook Stenshorne on the brakes before the final chicane for fourth place. On the tenth lap, Zolov also overtook Stenshorne on the DRS straight.

      Marie Boi, who was eighth by the tenth lap, received a five-second penalty for crossing track limits. Immediately after the finish, these five seconds were added to his time, dropping him from the top ten to fifteenth in the results.

      Danish driver Noé Stromsted confidently took his first career victory. Hugo Ugochukwu finished second and, for the first time in his career, stepped onto the podium. On the final lap, Charlie Wurz managed to hold off Zolov and finished third. This was the best result of the Austrian driver’s career.

      Nikola Zolov’s fourth place moved him up to second in the championship standings, overtaking Timo Trahmic, who scored no points. Championship leader Rafael Camara finished fifth.

      

      Driver | Team | Laps

      ---|---|---

      Noé Stromsted | Trident | 12

      Ugo Ugochukwu | Prema Racing | 12

      Charlie Wurz | Trident | 12

      Nikola Zolov | Campos Racing | 12

      Rafael Camara | Trident | 12

      Tasana Pol Intaraasuwasak | Campos Racing | 12

      Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech TGR | 12

      Bruno del Pino | MP Motorsport | 12

      Benedikt Badoer | Prema Racing | 12

      Félicien Slater | Hitech TGR | 12

      Arios Djušti | MP Motorsport | 12

      Jing Si | Hitech TGR | 12

      Tomas Tramnic | MP Motorsport | 12

      Roman Bilinski | Rodin Motorsport | 12

      Marie Boi | Campos Racing | 12

      Niklas Leòn | Prema Racing | 12

      Nico LaCourte | DAMS Lucas Oil | 12

      Twan Naèl | Van Amersfoort Racing | 12

      Calan Voazen | Rodin Motorsport | 12

      Timo Tapponen | ART Grand Prix | 12

      Bastian Benavides | AIX Racing | 12

      Dorian Worton | ART Grand Prix | 12

      Santiago Ramos | Van Amersfoort Racing | 12

      Lennart van Hёpen | ART Grand Prix | 12

      Dario Hedley | AIX Racing | 12

      Liam Sharp | Rodin Motorsport | 12

      Nicolò Marinangeli | AIX Racing | 12

      Inigo Domingo | Van Amersfoort Racing | 12

      Calan Kho | DAMS Lucas Oil | 12

      — | Miki Zagazeta | DAMS Lucas Oil | 8