Arthur Leclerc holds steady under pressure for FIA Formula 3 victory at Zandvoort
Arthur Leclerc has emerged from a race-long chase by Logan Sargeant to claim his second FIA Formula 3 victory in race one at Zandvoort.
Arthur Leclerc took the lead into turn one and held off Logan Sargeant to take victory. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
Reverse polesitter Amaury Cordeel was bogged down slightly off the start, with second-place Logan Sargeant looking to take the lead of the race from the first corner.
Arthur Leclerc, however, was charging around the outside from the second row of the grid, and emerged from turn one at the front of the pack.
Behind them, the day went from bad-to-worse for Cordeel, tagged by Alexander Smolyar into a spin.
Smolyar was awarded a black-and-orange flag for his broken front wing as well as a 10-second penalty for his efforts.
All eyes were on Leclerc and Sargeant, as the American applied continuous pressure to the leader but was unable to find his way past.
Championship leader Dennis Hauger set the timing screens alight on lap 13 as he set the fastest lap of the race, before mounting a challenge on Victor Martins.
The PREMA driver went into the chicane far too hot and had to skid through the gravel, losing the position to Martins and falling behind Clément Novalak after a drag race around almost half of the lap.
The action was brought to a halt as Hunter Yeany and Johnathan Hoggard collided in turn one, bringing out the safety car.
The pair had run two-wide into the corner and Yeany's understeer sent him on a collision course with Hoggard.
Arthur Leclerc, Logan Sargeant, and Ayumu Iwasa celebrate on the podium at Zandvoort. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
The leaders held their stations at the restart, while Ayumu Iwasa came under fire from Jak Crawford as the two Red Bull junior drivers battled for third position.
Leclerc was unbeatable, taking the chequered flag ahead of Sargeant, while Iwasa held off Crawford for third.
"I am really happy to have won," he said.
"It was a difficult one because there was a lot of pressure from Logan, who was really fast."
"I was struggling a little bit with the balance, so we need to work a little bit to find a bit more pace, but I am really happy with the result."
"There were no mistakes, I only really made one mistake at all, so I am happy with the win."
In the championship battle, Australian Jack Doohan gained two positions to finish sixth ahead of Dennis Hauger, who charged through the field from twelfth to seventh.
Hauger maintains his lead on 166 points, with Doohan behind on 138 points.
Fellow Aussie Calan Williams finished sixteenth.
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