The Formula 3 opening round Sprint race, held at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia, was ended after an accident this Friday night (6). Prema teammates James Wharton and Louis Sharp were battling for position when they touched, crashing violently against the barrier. The victory ended up in the hands of Bruno del Pino, from Van Amersfoort.
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The incident occurred on the eighth lap of the race, when the two drivers were battling for seventh place. After a brief moment under yellow flag, race control chose to stop the race, which was not restarted. The drivers, still at the time of the accident, informed the team that they were okay.
The race ended prematurely with a victory for Del Pino, who started from pole position due to the top-ten grid reversal. However, only half points were awarded. Enzo Deligny, also from Van Amersfoort, was second, with Brando Badoer, from Rodin, finishing third, despite having an ongoing investigation for a jump start.
Noah Stromsted, from Trident, was fourth, with Taito Kato, from ART Grand Prix, closing the race in fifth, taking one point home. Maciej Gladysz, also from ART Grand Prix, was sixth. With the result of the seventh lap taken into account, Wharton finished seventh, followed by Sharp. Ugo Ugochukwu, from Campos Racing, and Freddie Slater, from Trident, completed the top-10.
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After starting 19th, Pedro Clerot completed the race in 15th place, after showing combativeness in the short race time. Fernando Barrichello also gained positions over the seven valid laps of the race and finished the contest in 27th position with a car prepared by AIX Racing.
The Melbourne round of F3 will conclude this Saturday with the main race, scheduled for 18h50.
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