PREMA scores triple points finish in Silverstone race 1
Starting from outside the top-5 due to the reverse grid format for the Sprint Race, the PREMA drivers secured three points finishes in the opening race of the FIA Formula 3 Championship at Silverstone.
Arthur Leclerc, who started from P11 following to a positive qualifying session in P2, made the most gains. The Ferrari Driver Academy-supported Monegasque had the pace to gain positions and moved up to P8 in the end by jumping in front of both his teammates.
Series rookie and fellow FDA stalwart Oliver Bearman had a challenging start as he was nudged around the opening lap and only managed to reclaim one position to P9. Driving at his home racetrack, the British rookie was starting from P7.
An early mishap also conditioned Jak Crawford. The American Red Bull Junior driver had contact early and progressively dropped back, but eventually managed to secure the final top-10 position.
Today's results enable PREMA Racing to retain the lead of the team championship.
#4 - Arthur Leclerc
"It was a really positive race, but the result is not awesome with P8 at the end. However, we can be really happy because the pace was amazing, the car was great as well, and we kept climbing positions. With a few more laps, we could have done even better. It is positive for tomorrow as the race is longer and we are starting P2. Let's see how it goes."
#5 - Jak Crawford
“It hasn't been the greatest race for me. I had a good start, but I had contact in the opening lap, and after that, I wasn't as fast as I expected because of the big slide and the resulting oversteer. In the end, I was just falling back and trying to hang on. Starting higher up tomorrow, hopefully we can rebound in the feature race.”
#6 - Ollie Bearman
"A difficult race. I lost a position at the start, and then I got pushed off the track trying to retake it and lost another spot because of that. It was a challenging first lap. From there, I was trying to take the ground back, but it was a DRS train. I managed to gain one at the end. P9 it is, I'm hoping to improve for tomorrow."