A good result has gone begging for Louis Sharp after showing strong pace in qualifying and the start of the race, with the Kiwi finishing ninth after a questionable move from rival Theo Nael.
There was a little bit of pre-race drama as drivers did an extra formation lap with oil on the track, with both laps completed behind the safety car.
Off the start, Sharp got a good initial launch but was stuck behind Freddie Slater and Theo Nael, who both did well to hold their spots. Slater immediately started to defend hard from Nael, with the top three remaining in their starting order on the first lap.
Behind Sharp sat Matteo de Palo, as Ernesto Rivera started to battle with the drivers behind, allowing the top four to drive away. De Palo soon started to attack the Kiwi, where he was able to get past Sharp to slot into third.
However, Sharp did not let de Palo run away as he remained within half a second of the cars ahead. The top three started to attack each other, keeping Sharp in it. At the same time, the drivers behind started to close in, with Fionn McLaughlin and Rivera keeping Sharp honest.
It was soon noted that de Palo’s front-right tyre had an early band of wear, indicating he might be pushing harder than the others around him. He held a half-second gap over former leader Slater, meaning it was now a Trident 1-2.
On lap seven, a gap had formed ahead and behind Sharp, as Slater and Nael started to get their elbows out. This helped the Kiwi get back in the fight as Slater re-took the lead.
The gap to the leader now sat at just over a second, with a four-tenth gap ahead, and a six-tenth gap behind.
It was clear that tyre preservation would become a huge factor towards the end of the race, as commentators noted that Sharp was preserving his Pirelli tyres well.
With ten laps to go, Slater led over teammate de Palo, while Nael sat in third, with Sharp putting the pressure on. The Kiwi went for a move into turn 5, which did not pay off, leaving him in Rivera’s clutches.
The top six soon closed in, and it was a train with nine to go. Sharp then got confirmation from his engineer to attack, saying that if he thought he had more pace, he was good to go.
Sharp then attacked in turn 13, but the move did not pay off. Nael ran wide off track, and rejoined right in front of the Kiwi – leaving him off line, and sending him plummeting. It continued to unravel for Sharp as he soon found himself at the back of the top 10 – after attacking for third moments earlier.
The race was certainly not over at the front of the field as de Palo held a slim lead over Slater, with Nael being chased by Rivera. Sharp sat in ninth behind Noah Stromsted, only three tenths off with four to go.
Ricardo Escoto soon parked on track with a fault, and the safety car was brought out. The safety car was called in with one to go, leaving a shootout imminent.
De Palo soon got a good jump and soon srtarted to defend from home town hero Slater, as he hunted for a home win. However, the two Trident teammates collided, sending Slater down the order.
Sharp was able to keep it clean to finish eighth on track, but was soon promoted to seventh after Nael was handed a ten-second penalty for his rejoin ahead of Sharp. However, Nael’s penalty will mean little to the Kiwi, who will be asking what could have been if not for Nael’s creative defending.
De Palo took his first victory in Formula 3 over Rivera, with Gladysz taking third. Sharp’s teammate James Wharton finished fourth, with Ugo Ugochukwu in sixth.
Formula 3’s season will resume in Belgium, with on-track action starting on the 17th July.
