Gabriel Bortoleto has taken his first Formula 3 win, leading a Trident 1-2 as a late safety car saw the penalized Gabriele Mini drop down the order.
It was rookie Bortoleto who jumped polesitter Mini at the start, taking the lead going into the first corner, with Mini also losing out to Gregoire Saucy, dropping the Italian down to third by the end of the opening lap.
Mini took back second place from the ART driver on the fourth lap, while Bortoleto managed to build a three-second gap over the two drivers.
A three-way fight between Tommy Smith, Mari Boya, and Caio Collet ended in a tangle between the first two, sending Smith into a spin and forcing Boya to pull over with suspension damage.
Whilst Smith managed to continue on, a safety car was needed to clear the stricken MP car of Boya, undoing all of Bortoleto’s hard work at the front.
The safety car restart allowed Mini to jump the Brazilian, but a five-second penalty was handed to him for an infringement at the starting procedure.
Elsewhere in the field, Luke Browning, who started 17th, found himself in the points after the safety car restart, managing to fight himself up to fifth.
Dino Beganovic managed to keep it clean after the safety car restart, passing both Kaylen Frederick and Saucy, eventually finishing fourth, which promoted him to the final podium position, alongside Bortoleto and Oliver Goethe.
Beganovic’ Prema teammate Paul Aron lost position after the safety car restart, dropping down to tenth, his finishing position after scrapping with his teammate and Williams Academy driver Zak O’Sullivan for the remainder of the race.
Mini’s attempt to build a gap was undone by a late safety car, caused by another incident involving Smith, this time with PHM’s Roberto Faria, leaving both cars stricken and unable to continue, the race finishing under the safety car, dropping Mini down to eighth.
Saucy finished just off the podium in fourth, ahead of Browning and sprint race winner Pepe Marti. Frederick, the penalized Mini, Sebastian Montoya, and Paul Aron wrapped up the top ten finishing positions, with race winner Bortoleto also taking the point for fastest lap.
