McLaren-backed Matteo De Palo stormed to a maiden Formula 3 feature-race victory around the infamous Silverstone circuit, rounding out the British Grand Prix weekend.
Closely behind the young Italian were Ernesto Rivera and Maciej Gladysz, who finished on the final step of the podium after several intense battles for their positions.
The grid was set from Friday’s qualifying results, with Audi-backed Freddie Slater sitting on pole position for his home race. Alongside him was Theophile Nael, aiming for a second consecutive podium finish this weekend.
Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu started the race down in twelfth, as he aimed to limit the damage to his championship lead.
Lights out for Silverstone
As the lights went out for the Feature race, Slater and Nael had even starts, fighting each other down to Turn 1. The Briton had Nael alongside him heading into the first turn; however, he made a decisive move to cut his rival off. Allowing him to continue leading the race from pole position.
Behind the leading duo, Louis Sharp also had a fast start, keeping himself within DRS of those in front. Behind him, there was an intense battle forming between the Red Bull juniors of Ernesto Rivera and Fionn McLaughlin. Rivera attempted to defend against his rival; however, the Irishman was too strong and got past him at the beginning of Lap 2.
On that same lap, Matteo De Palo started his charge to the front of the field. The TRIDENT driver who endured a difficult start to the season looked to be coming alive at Silverstone. De Palo made crucial moves on Sharp and Nael in successive laps, creating a TRIDENT 1-2 early in the race.
Importantly, on the following lap, the Italian sailed past his team-mate Slater at the front of the field. This placed him in the race lead just six laps into the Feature Race.
Whilst De Palo led the field, his tyres looked significantly more grained than those around. Thus, in the closing stages of the race, the McLaren junior risked pressure from those behind with better tyres.
Nael made a dive on the Slater for second place on Lap 7. But the Briton anticipated the move and crucially kept his Campos rival behind. However, the move prompted Slater to attack his team-mate rather than defend against the Frenchman. The Audi-backed driver, reclaimed the lead in the final corners of that very same lap.
Mid-race battle for the podium intensifies
An unsung hero in the opening laps was Maciej Gladysz. Despite being in his first F3 season, the ART Driver seemed to be up for a continued battle to Rivera. The pair continued to trade places for sixth on the road.
On Lap 9, McLaughlin attempted a move on Gladysz, but his aggressive attack saw him lose several places, dropping him down to tenth with a potential penalty for forcing his rival off the track.
With 10 laps down, Slater remained in the lead of the race. But De Palo reignited his attack on his team-mate ahead, hoping to reclaim the lead. But as the top three battled one another, they kept bringing their rivals into the fight. Drivers down to ninth were within DRS range of one another, creating a costly train if a driver made a mistake.
There was a double move on Lap 12. De Palo attempted to get past Slater in the final corners; however, the Briton continued his strong defence until the final turn. As the pair headed toward the main straight, the McLaren-backed driver finally got past his team-mate to reclaim the lead.
Meanwhile, Sharp tried to overtake Nael for a podium, but the Kiwi driver made a crucial mistake. The PREMA driver dropped from third to ninth in the span of a few corners, marking a difficult lap for Sharp.
On Lap 15, the top two found themselves out of DRS range from the rest of the field. But on pace and tyres alone, De Palo looked stronger than his rival, who had to hold on for seven more laps.
Final podium dash
On Lap 18, the Safety Car was deployed after Ricard Escotto came to a stop on circuit following contact with one of the DAMS drivers.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 20, setting up a dramatic one-lap sprint to the chequered flag. De Palo led the field away, but immediately came under intense pressure from teammate Slater and Nael behind.
As the field crossed the start-finish line to begin the final lap, Slater made an excellent restart. De Palo locked up into the opening corners; the Briton pulled alongside his teammate in a fight for the lead.
The pair made contact three times over the course of the final lap, with the fierce battle ultimately dropping Slater to fifth by the chequered flag.
De Palo crossed the line first to secure victory, while Rivera and Gładysz completed the podium. Nael initially finished second on the road but was handed a time penalty for earlier contact with Sharp, demoting him to 16th in the final classification.
Elsewhere, Fernando Barrichello’s race ended in disaster after he spun on the final lap, resulting in a late retirement.
Championship leader Ugochukwu capitalised on the chaos ahead, finishing fourth to extend his advantage at the top of the standings heading into the next round.
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