Aleksandr Smolyar takes debut FIA F3 win after tense four-way battle
Aleksandr Smolyar has won Race 2 of the FIA Formula 3 round at the British Grand Prix, ahead of David Beckmann and Clément Novalak—but the final results await the outcome of an investigation into Smolyar’s conduct as the race leader.
UPDATE: A post-race penalty demoted Smolyar to sixth—read the full story here.
Aleksandr Smolyar celebrates his debut FIA Formula 3 victory at Silverstone. (Image: Supplied/Formula Motorsport Limited)
Smolyar started on pole for the reverse-grid race, and controlled the start well off the line. He was soon under pressure from the chasing pack, having to defend immediately from Beckmann—who was himself under pressure from Novalak.
Behind them, the three Prema Racing cars were line-a-stern, but not for long, with Jake Hughes quickly past championship leader Oscar Piastri and challenger Logan Sargeant.
Piastri had a questionable exchange with Theo Pourchaire, and went wide off the track into the gravel, dropping him to P16 in the running order.
Jack Doohan, at the rear of the field after a collision on Saturday, suffered a puncture after contact from behind by Alessio Deledda.
Doohan bemoaned the performance from the team, citing his qualifying performance as the reason behind his vulnerability during the race.
Aleksandr Smolyar leads the FIA Formula 3 field at Silverstone. (Image: Supplied/Formula Motorsport Limited)
Sebastian Fernandez, running fourth, was given a 10 second stop-go penalty for being delayed on the formation lap, and and the Italian was immediately into the pits to serve the penalty.
The running order on Lap 4 was Smolyar, Beckmann, Novalak, Peroni, Vesti, Lawson, Hughes, Verschoor, Sargeant, Pourchaire—with the French rookie holding the fastest lap from tenth position.
Smolyar was instructed to push and wasted no time heading off down the road, holding the lead with an 1.1 second gap back to Beckmann
Igor Fraga threw a spanner in the works when he pulled off on Lap 5, bringing out the Safety Car for the first intervention of the day.
The recovery took quite a few laps, with Smolyar counting down the time required to hold off the frantic pack behind him. He held his own at the restart, and the battle resumed.
On Lap 11, with DRS active for the first time after the Safety Car intervention, drivers all the way down the field began sizing up their rivals.
DRS activation proved to be a consistent gremlin for championship leader Oscar Piastri, who retired to the pit lane with his DRS flap stuck open.
LAP 12/20
Championship leader Oscar Piastri is in the pits as his team looks at his DRS 🔍
If he doesn't make it back out, it will be his first DNF of the season#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F3 pic.twitter.com/kVbvq1G83JAugust 2, 2020
The order at the front was Smolyar, Beckmann, Novalak, Peroni, Vesti, Lawson—all within one second of the driver ahead.
Lawson was first to strike, but Frederik Vesti had more grip on the outside, and the Dane held on to fifth position. This challenge cost both drivers some valuable time, with Vesti falling 2 seconds behind Peroni ahead in fourth.
The front four were closer than ever before, all now within 0.4 seconds of the driver ahead.
Logan Sargeant sailed past kiwi Liam Lawson for P6, but that was trivial in the rear-view mirror of the battling forward pack.
The top four was still tightly bunched with five laps to go, as Vesti closed in from behind to make it a five-way battle.
Smolyar, on the defensive as the leader of the pack, was warned by his team to stop weaving on the straights—with his conduct to be investigated after the race.
The Russian rookie was the first across the line, with David Beckmann and Clément Novalak completing the podium.
“My first win and it was a tough one,” said Smolyar.
“I had to defend a few times, but I am super happy with the car and super happy that I managed to hold my place.”
“It was an amazing race and I hope that it is just beginning and that we can fight more, and even better, for the next races.”
The moment that @AlexSmolyar1 became an #F3 race winner... 🥳
The rapid Russian led from lights out to win Race 2! 🙌#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/KT2nsGM72KAugust 2, 2020
Aussie Alex Peroni secured fourth place, his highest finish since his podium debut in Austria.
American Logan Sargeant set the fastest lap from sixth, while Australian Oscar Piastri remains in the championship lead despite retiring from Sunday’s race.
Calan Williams finished with a season-high P14, while Jack Doohan finished in P27.
Kiwi Liam Lawson finished in P6.
UPDATE: A post-race penalty demoted Smolyar to sixth—read the full story here.
