Théophile Naël won the Macau Grand Prix.

      Théophile Naël won the Macau Grand Prix, held this weekend for the 72nd time on the classic street circuit often compared to Monaco but considered even more challenging.

      The French Pinnacle Motorsport driver crossed the finish line just 0.250 seconds ahead of Mari Boya, his teammate who finished last Formula 3 season third in the standings. Also on the podium was 17-year-old Enzo Deligny, who is due to make his debut in F3 with Prema Racing next season.

      Unlike yesterday’s qualifying race, today’s Macau Grand Prix was rich in incidents, and Naël only took the lead after the fourth period when the safety car was deployed.

      From pole started Freddie Slater, a Prema driver, but he was overtaken by Mari Boya at the first corner, and the Briton had to fend off attacks from Naël, who had started the race third. R-ace GP driver Deligny took advantage of the situation and managed to pass Théophile.

      Taito Kato, a Japanese driver competing under a French license for ART, misjudged his speed entering the Lisboa turn and collided with Mattia Kolnagi of PHM Racing, after which a pile-up of several cars formed in the next corner and the safety car was deployed.

      On the restart Slater managed to overtake Boya and build a three-second gap to the field, but on lap nine at the same Lisboa turn Oscar Wurz could not avoid contact with the barriers.

      Another restart was given on lap 11, and Mari Boya was determined to fight back, attacking Slater on the exit of Mandarin. Freddie fought desperately but could not keep the car on track and hit the barrier in the final corner. His race was over and the safety car was again deployed — this time on lap 12 of 15.

      Théophile Naël spent almost the entire distance trying to attack Deligny, but Enzo was able to hold his position. On the final restart, given on the penultimate lap, both drivers ran close behind Mari Boya, who after Mandarin repelled the attack from the R-ace GP driver but was powerless against Naël, who passed both and took the lead.

      So he only headed the race right at the finish, but that no longer mattered. Théophile became the winner of a very prestigious junior event, which will bring the 18-year-old driver additional attention. He already has a contract with Campos Racing, however, and will continue racing in Formula 3 next season.