FIA Formula 3

Zak O'Sullivan takes lights-to-flag Formula 3 victory in Hungary

Andrew Rickert

23 Jul 2023 — 2 min read

Zak O'Sullivan bolted away from pole in the FIA Formula 3 feature race in Hungary to take a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Dino Beganovic and Franco Colapinto.

Zak O’Sullivan celebrates victory in Hungary. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

The PREMA driver had a much better start than teammate Beganovic, holding the lead early and building a gap that would not be beaten by the chequered flag.

"Nice one guys, the pace was really good," O'Sullivan told his team over the radio following the race.

"Thank you very much!"

The Brit ran away with the lead from the start with teammate Dino Beganovic in pursuit, while Leonardo Fornaroli began to struggle with tyre wear in the early stages, passed easily by Franco Colapinto as Oliver Goethe entered the battle in a three-way fight for the final podium position.

Goethe was past and into fourth on the next lap and set about catching back up to Colapinto.

Campos driver Pepe Martí was on a charge after qualifying thirteenth, up to tenth at the start and in eighth by half race distance as he passed teammate Christian Mansell.

Australian Mansell was the cork in the bottle of a lengthy battle for the final two points-paying positions, a pack of six cars battling for ninth and tenth as the lap count ticked down.

Mansell locked up on lap 15 and was passed by Jonny Edgar, with his MP Motorsport teammate Mari Boya repeating the pass on the following lap.

Fellow Aussie and teammate Hugh Barter was at the opposite end of the six-car pack and moving up through the field, past Taylor Barnard and challenging Luke Browning for 12th on the penultimate lap.

At the front O'Sullivan was unchallenged, crossing the line with a 2.3 second lead ahead of Beganovic and 6.4 seconds ahead of Colapinto.

Mansell dropped out of the points to 11th after being passed by the MP Motorsport duo, with Barter in 13th by the flag.

O’Sullivan takes the chequered flag in Budapest. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

Championship leader Bortoleto maintains his lead after finishing seventh, with O'Sullivan clawing back some ground in second, moving ahead of Pepe Martí in third by just one point. The PREMA driver still faces an insurmountable gap of 43 points to the leader, with just two rounds remaining.

The 2023 FIA Formula 3 championship returns 29-30 July at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

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2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship - Round 8 Hungary Feature Race Result