Lights to flag win by Alesi
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| Written by | Photo: Fanni Váradi |
After finishing 8th during yesterday’s feature race Ryan Tveter had the chance to start from pole position on the last race before the summer break of GP3 Series.
The American got the start well and so did his teammate Giuliano Alesi who attacked him from the back, aiming first place on the 17 laps long race. For the second sector, the Frenchman won the battle taking the leadership away, followed by his 3 teammates, Tveter, Joerg and Boccolacci who was under pressure by Alessio Lorandi during the whole lap when finally, the Italian overtook him at Turn 14 in the end of it.
The first lap could not finish without any drama, as Fukuzumi and Pulcini contacted each other causing puncture for both, falling back on grid and being forced to pit. The Italian got new medium tyres and could return to race, unlike the unlucky Japanese who had to retire.
Tveter tried to take back first place, closing up to Alesi using his DRS options but did not manage to pass by the Ferrari junior. In the meantime, there were some changes in positions between Russell and Schothorst for P12 and Hyman and Baptista for P10 during the fifth and sixth laps.
It was not the best weekend for Arden’s Dutch Steijn Schothorst whose race finished before time again due to mechanical issues causing yellow flag at Sector 1 for a lap.
Another dramatic battle started for P4 when Alessio Lorandi got a rear right puncture at Turn 5 because of some debris on track. The Italian kept defending and tried to save his race but could not control his car and ran out at Turn11 before stopping next lap at Turn1. The Jenzer Motorsport driver had to give up the sprint event after an incredible feature race yesterday.
Following Lorandi, Bruno Baptista had to finish early causing Virtual Safety car period. At the restart, the championship leader restarted well and overtook Raoul Hyman getting already ninth position.
Yesterday’s winner Jack Aitken made it a bit too wide and ran out on track overtaking Boccolacci with a questionable movement in lap 11 at Turn4 for fourth place. One lap later the Briton made a mistake at Turn 1 loosing several positions falling back to P7 just before his teammate George Russell. The ART drivers then contacted when Aitken got a puncture and both had to pit. Russell got new front wing and went back to race, while the Renault junior had to retire from the sprint race.
Another puncture affected the race, now with Julien Falchero at Turn1 with only 3 laps before the end. Following a virtual safety car period George Russell run the fastest lap of the race with 1:33.715 while Trident drivers made it a 1-2-3-4 victory for the Italian team with Giuliano Alesi on front followed by Ryan Tveter, Kevin Jörg and Dorian Boccolacci.
After last round in Silverstone, this is the second win for the Ferrari Academy driver who was very happy with his results: “The race was filled with positive emotions because at the start both of my teammates went wide and I managed to take the lead. After that I managed to keep it until the chequered flag. I made a few mistakes here and there, but I still managed to stay ahead. I’m really happy. A big thank you to the team: they set up the car with their heart and with love. I’m so happy that their hard work shows in today’s results” said Giuliano after the race.
Results
Driver Team
1. Giuliano Alesi Trident
2. Ryan Tveter Trident
3. Kevin Jörg Trident
4. Dorian Boccolacci Trident
5. Anthoine Hubert ART Grand Prix
6. Niko Kari Arden International
7. Raoul Hyman Campos Racing
8. Marcos Siebert Campos Racing
9. Arjun Maini Jenzer Motorsport
10. Leonardo Pulcini Arden International
11. Matthieu Vaxivière DAMS
12. George Russell ART Grand Prix
13. Tatiana Calderon DAMS
Not Classified
Julien Falchero Campos Racing
Jack Aitken ART Grand Prix
Bruno Baptista DAMS
Alessio Lorandi Jenzer Motorsport
Steijn Schothorst Arden International
Nirei Fukuzumi ART Grand Prix
Fastest Lap
George Russell 1:33.715 on lap 16
The next round will take place in Spa between the 25th and 28th of August after the summer break.