Carlin’s Lando Norris dominated Sunday at Snetterton as he took pole position, race one victory and fastest lap as the 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 season got underway in Norfolk. The 16-year-old was joined on the podium by Finnish driver Aleksanteri Huovinen and Douglas Motorsport’s Enaam Ahmed in the opening encounter of the year, as the new era of British Formula 3 got underway in spectacular fashion.
After plenty of pre-season testing, it was finally time to get racing on Easter Weekend and glorious sunshine greeted the BRDC British F3 paddock for morning qualifying. Strong winds however made on-track conditions difficult as the 20-minute session got underway and the cars began to circulate, building temperature into their Pirelli tyres.
After 10 minutes, Carlin’s Ricky Collard sat atop the timing screens, closely followed by Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery and Norris. As times continued to drop however, the red flags flew to bring a halt to the session to recover a stricken car. With just over seven minutes left on the clock, the session was set up for a dramatic finale and so it would prove.
With two minutes remaining, Norris moved into top spot with a 1m45.048s putting him 0.215s quicker than Collard but the 2015 MSA Formula runner-up responded brilliantly to snatch back first place on his next lap. As the chequered flag flew, Indian Tarun Reddy looked to have secured pole position as he went quickest but both Collard and Norris lurked behind on their last laps and sure enough Collard moved back ahead as time elapsed. That put all the pressure back on Norris as he blasted up the Senna Straight but he didn’t disappoint as he bested Collard by just 0.041s to claim pole position for race one.
A number of downpours soaked the 300 circuit ahead of the opening race of the season and all cars fitted wet Pirelli tyres as they headed to the grid. Norris lined up on pole and made a strong getaway to lead into turn one, which was in contrast to his stable-mate Collard who couldn’t find traction off the line and dropped to fifth. Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery moved into second with Tarun Reddy third, whilst Double R’s Huovinen moved into fourth from sixth on the grid. He continued that progress by passing Reddy for third and soon moved past Sowery for second.
By the end of lap two, Norris has disappeared from his rivals and held a lead of 6.493s as Sowery dropped to fifth, Collard thus assuming third and Enaam Ahmed taking fourth as he enjoyed some strong opening laps having lined up eighth on the grid. After the race, Collard was handed a three-second time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage when passing Sowery.
Further back, HHC Motorsport’s Ben Hingeley had a storming first half of the race, rising to sixth having started 14th, and he would hold this position until the end. Double R’s Enzo Bortoleto also battled hard and he snatched eighth from Sean Walkinshaw Racing’s Thomas Maxwell, which would give him reverse grid race two pole position for tomorrow (Monday).
Norris continued to dominate up front as Ahmed overtook Collard to move into the final podium spot, and he began to open up a comfortable gap on the 19-year-old. It was all about Norris though as the 2015 MSA Formula champion took the chequered flag after 12 laps over 19 seconds ahead of Huovinen, with Ahmed claiming third. Collard finished fourth on track with Sowery fifth, but that order was reversed when Collard was handed his time penalty. Ben Hingeley took sixth and Dane Jan Jonck enjoyed a strong first race in British F3 to finish seventh. After Bortoleto in eighth came HHC Motorsport’s Sisa Ngebulana, with Double R’s Matheus Leist completing the top-10.
The BRDC British Formula 3 action continues tomorrow with race two getting underway at11:20, with the final encounter of the weekend commencing at 15:25.
BRDC British Formula 3 – Snetterton – Qualifying Top-10
1. Lando Norris, Carlin, 1m44.570s
2. Ricky Collard, Carlin, +0.041s
3. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, +0.136s
4. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +0.198s
5. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, +0.214s
6. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, +0.448s
7. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, +0.517s
8. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, +0.649s
9. Omar Ismail, HHC Motorsport, +1.113s
10. Jan Jonck, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +1.119s
Click here for full results.
BRDC British Formula 3 – Snetterton – Race One Top-10
1. Lando Norris, Carlin, 12 Laps
2. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, +19.095s
3. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, +28.308s
4. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +33.447s
5. Ricky Collard, Carlin, +34.595s
6. Ben Hingeley, HHC Motorsport, +36.388s
7. Jan Jonck, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +41.945s
8. Enzo Bortoleto, Double R Racing, +45.215s
9. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, +47.895s
10. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, +50.672s
Click here for full results.
2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Standings after race one of 24
1. Lando Norris, Carlin, 35 points
2. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, 29 points
3. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, 24 points
4. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, 21 points
5. Ricky Collard, Carlin, 19 points
6. Ben Hingeley, HHC Motorsport, 17 points
7. Jan Jonck, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 15 points
8. Enzo Bortoleto, Double R Racing, 13 points
9. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, 12 points
10. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, 11 points
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