Lindblad jumps ART drivers to earn Bahrain F3 Sprint win

Red Bull Academy driver Arvid Lindblad jumped both ART drivers before cruising to the top step of the podium on his debut Formula 3 outing for Prema in Bahrain.

Getting off to a fierce start, polesitter Laurens Van Hoepen led the pack into Turn 1 before his team-mate Nikola Tsolov snatched the top position to lead an ART 1-2.

The scrappy start saw Van Hoepen briefly retake first place from his team-mate until Tsolov’s bold move around the inside saw him snatch the lead once again.

Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic got off to a smoky start, earning a 10-second penalty for causing a collision on the first lap that led to a puncture and tyre change.

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Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson held on to third place throughout the first half, utilising the fight between the ART drivers when DRS was enabled to close the gap to the race leader until Lap 9 when Lindblad and Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli jumped him for track position.

The top five broke away from the rest of the pack, chasing their first race win of the season, snapping the track-long DRS train to challenge the ART pairing.

Van Hoepen retook the lead once again in Lap 11 until Tsolov stole it back after a side-by-side scuffle, while Luke Browning picked up a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage with a move around the outside of Christian Mansell.

Lindblad reappeared down the inside, going shoulder to shoulder with Van Hoepen clinging onto second place until a lockup saw him lose his advantage.

The ART pairing swapped track positions for one lap until Van Hoepen made a brief lockup in Turn 11 that dropped him to third place.

Tsolov gained a half-a-second lead going into Lap 14 before Lindblad made a bold lunge down his inside in Lap 15 before Tsolov reclaimed the lead after finding a gap at Turn 4.

The 16-year-old snatched the lead ahead before the first braking zone in the crucial final three laps, breaking away by almost two seconds to force the ART pairing to fight for second.

Breaking the DRS train, Lindblad led into the final lap while Fornaroli stole the second podium position from Tsolov as Gabriele Mini powered his way through the field jumping drivers to finish in seventh place.

Finishing with five seconds to spare, Lindblad earned his first win of the season on his debut while Tsolov dropped his race lead to finish in fourth after being overtaken by his team-mate and Fornaroli.