Aron storms to maiden F3 victory at wet Red Bull Ring

Photo: Prema

Paul Aron took his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory in a wet sprint race at the Red Bull Ring. 

The Prema driver climbed up from eighth on the grid to lead Gabriele Mini to the chequered flag, while Caio Collet held onto third from Zak O’Sullivan. 

It was a race of two halves. In the first, reversed-grid pole-sitter Pepi Marti stormed away at the front while Kaylen Frederick tried to hold onto second place. The strong defence of the ART Grand Prix driver allowed Marti to extend a gap of more than 3.6 seconds by the time Aron managed to find a way through. 

Aron immedietly set about closing the gap and had already cut more than a second by the time Mini followed him past Frederick. 

Aron continued to close Marti’s gap, and was helped by a safety car period caused by Ollie Gray and Rafael Villagomez. They had been battling in the midfield when Gray made slight contact with the rear of Villagomez’s car. Villagomez was sent into a spin, which Gray was unable to avoid and both cars could not make it back to the pits. 

On the restart, it looked like a repeat of the initial start with Aron and Mini battling for position and allowing Marti to escape. That didn’t last long, however, and Aron soon closed back in on Marti. 

Marti’s defences turned it a four-car lead battle, with Aron, Mini and Collet all close behind. In the space of a lap, Aron was able to get past Marti, with Mini doing the same a few corners later. Collet tried to get alongside Marti, but had to wait a few laps before pulling off a move. 

Aron and Mini broke away as Marti and Collet battled. Aron was 1.469s clear of Mini at the finish, with third a further 3.509s back. 

Collet managed to take third from Marti, but then came under attack from Zak O’Sullivan and Jonny Edgar. The duo couldn’t find a way past Collet, who secured his second podium of 2023. O’Sullivan finished fourth ahead of Edgar, Marti and Frederick. 

It was a race to forget for Oliver Goethe, who started from row two but stalled. Despite the wet conditions, the field managed to avoid his stationary car, and Goethe got going again at the back. He was making good progress and into the top half of the order when he made contact with Nikita Bedrin and suffered a puncture. He eventually finished 26th. 

Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto also had problems early on. He was trying to move forward from ninth on the grid when he hit the pit limiter and slowed. That dropped him down the order and he began his recovery again. He became stuck behind Luke Browning for several laps but eventually managed to pass him for 10th. 

Dino Beganovic, who is third in the standings, finished eighth ahead of Sebastian Montoya. 

Race result (20 laps)