F1 News
Tsolov triumphs in chaotic F3 sprint race, Brit Browning in P11
- Estéban den Toom
While the Formula 1 drivers are yet to hit the track, the Formula 3 drivers have already raced around the Red Bull Ring for the sprint race. Saturday's session was a triumph for Nikola Tsolov, who shot from third place to first. Brit Luke Browning, who sits in second place in the F3 standings, finished in 11th in the sprint.
Right at the start of the race, a virtual safety car was deployed. Kacper Sztuka's car had to be towed away. After Christian Mansell tightened up the field on the fourth lap of the sprint race, Dutchman Van Hoepen maintained his P5. The entire top ten will receive points: 10 for the first-place finisher and one for 10th place. No points for Luke Browning, unfortunately.
Arvid Lindblad suffered a puncture on the 16th lap of the sprint race, and on the 17th lap, it was Sebastian Montoya who caused a safety car at the Red Bull Ring. The Colombian crashed hard into the wall, causing a lot of debris on the track. One more lap was driven after the safety car was off the track.
Luke Browning started the sprint race in fifteenth place, having finished first during qualifying. With the reversed grid, this would then mean 12th place during the sprint race, but the Englishman also received a grid penalty of three spots after qualifying. In the sprint race, the Hitech GP driver finished 11th. During tomorrow's feature race, Browning will be allowed to start from pole position as normal. The Brit will be hoping for a race victory in Austria in order to strengthen his championship chances.