In one of FIA Formula F3’s most chaotic and unpredictable races, Franco Colapinto took home the third win of his F3 career and his first of the season. Mixed conditions saw the field try different tyre strategies, but once it became clear that slick tyres were the way to go, the Argentinian driver built an impressive gap to claim victory.

By Daniele Spadi

Colapinto, who started the race fourth, passed MP teammate Jonny Edgar on the outside of Turn 3 and Jenzer’s Taylor Barnard on the inside of Turn 4 to jump to second on the opening lap. Barnard then retook second when Colapinto ran wide at Becketts, but the Argentine driver remained in third until the safety car came out on the eighth lap as heavier rain hit the eastern part of the circuit.

When the race restarted on lap 13, Barnard and Montoya made contact, handing Colapinto the lead. He stretched out his gap over second-placed Gabriel Bortoleto until the chequered flag fell on lap 18, by which point he was 3.730 seconds in front.

Colapinto, who previously drove for MP Motorsport in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020 and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) in 2021, gave the team their first F3 win since Caio Collet took victory in the penultimate sprint race of the season at Zandvoort last year. The result also marked Colapinto’s first official win of 2023, but it was his second on track after he lost the sprint race victory in Australia because of a technical infringement.

“It’s actually the second time I’m sitting here in the middle of the sofa!” Colapinto said after the race. “We were disqualified, unfortunately, for just a really, really small thing in Australia after an amazing race, so it doesn’t feel like the first [win].

“Of course, it’s good for the points and good for the team mostly. I’m proud of the effort that everyone has been doing in the season. Maybe the results just [have] not been what we were expecting at the beginning, but the important [part] is to come back slowly, and we still have a few more weekends to keep getting good results and stay up there at the front.”

‘Slicks were the right decision’

When the safety car came out on track because of heavy rain, the Williams academy driver stuck with slick tyres and showed great confidence in the car thereafter as the rain intensified and then attenuated again.

“[The conditions] were really tricky,” Colapinto said when asked about the state of the track in the middle of the race. “Maggots/Becketts was super wet and only high speed, so the lack of grip was really, really big. It just made it a bit more fun for us drivers out there.

“Of course the slicks were the right decision, but at one point, it was not really clear. It was very, very wet; there was a lot of spray; and the tyres were cooling down like crazy, so I had to work really hard on them to keep them up to [temperature]. When I was in front, it was a bit more easy because we had a lot of pace.”

A race of patience and trust

After a good start, the MP Motorsport driver stayed calm throughout the race, biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to come around.

“The car was amazing, and I was just quite fast in the start. I had quite a lot of grip, I think, compared to the others in lap one, so that made me do a few overtakes. Then I just lost the rear in Maggots/Becketts that was still really wet out there in lap one, and I lost a place,” Colapinto explained.

“But then it was all in the hands of the team and they decided to stay out, so the win is from them. I was not very sure about the slicks, but I trusted them and they made the right decision. I’m super happy for them. They did an amazing job.”

The MP driver talked about the importance of communicating efficiently with his team during the race as they worked to determine the best strategy.

“We are not used to speaking so much on the radio because we don’t really need to make that much strategy in our races,” he told Feeder Series. “The conditions were really tricky and it was very close to put wets or stay on slicks. I think it was just a super tough choice, and fortunately we went for the right one. The communication was also really, really good with the team. The guys in the pit wall did an amazing job, and I’m just happy for them and for all the effort that they [made].”

An emotional win

This weekend has been extremely challenging for the MP Motorsport team as they mourn the loss of Dilano van ’t Hoff, who tragically lost his life in a crash at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps last weekend while representing the Dutch team in FRECA. In such a psychologically burdensome weekend, Colapinto said his sprint race win was even more special.

“This one was for Dilano. We were racing for him already on Sunday in Red Bull Ring,” he said.

“MP is going through a really tough moment, and I’m really happy to take the win, more for him, more for the family, for Sander [Dorsman, team manager]. “It has to be a super, super difficult moment for him and for everyone that knew [Dilano] at MP.

“I used to know him really well and it’s a really, really sad loss in motorsport. That these things still happen in 2023, it’s just difficult to understand. [I’m] happy for the win, good points, but more happy for giving him this win.”

Header photo credit: Formula Motorsport Limited