Lindblad completes Silverstone double victory in action-packed affair

PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad took his second win in two races after winning a dramatic feature race at Silverstone in wet and dry conditions ahead of teammate Gabriele Minì and Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin.

The British driver survived a race in the rain on slick tyres and was able to restart on a drying track to finish second. Voisin was then given a 10-second penalty, which put him in P1 and Minì in second place.

WHEN IT HAPPENED

The day began dramatically, as light rain before the start of the race prompted 28 of the 30 drivers to switch to wet tyres, with Voisin and Rodin Motorsport’s Piotr Wisnicki the only ones to stick with slicks.

But as the cars completed the formation lap, the rain stopped, so several drivers pitted for their hardtails before the lights went out.

Pole sitter Luke Browning made a strong start from pole on his wet tyre, while Leonardo Fornaroli launched a charge, passing his Trident teammate Sami Meguetounif and then moving around the outside of Max Esterson at Maggots and Becketts to take second place.

However, a Safety Car was required as Cian Shields pulled over to the side of the track at Turn 3 just as his Hitech teammate Browning was told that heavier rain was expected.

Things started to pick up again on Lap 3 when Voisin took advantage of his slick tyres, passed Esterson on the outside at Turn 3 and then passed Fornaroli on the Wellington Straight, taking the race lead from Browning on the way to Copse Corner.

He was not the only one on the move, as the drivers who pitted for a tire change at the end of the formation lap were also on the move.

This included Tim Tramnitz, who was in second place on lap 4, with Lindblad behind him ahead of Fornaroli, Tommy Smith and Minì.

Another safety car was deployed after a collision on the Wellington Straight between two other hard tyre drivers, Dino Beganovic and Sophia Floersch. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver radioed to say she was OK and jumped out of the car while the PREMA car continued.

But there was another surprise: Tramnitz pitted from P2 to put on rain tyres as the rain was now falling heavily. This prompted some to pit, while others, including leader Voisin and now third-placed Lindblad, stayed out.

Voisin, who had a five-second lead at one point, was then given a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when overtaking Esterson.

But by the start of lap 8 of 22 we were back in the race and this time it was the riders on the rain tyres who set the pace, with Browning and Fornaroli passing Voisin in the first sector.

Tramnitz was the big winner in this situation, as after pitting to change rain tires, he came from the back of the field to P7, ahead of Hitech debutant James Wharton.

However, another Safety Car was required on lap 9 after Joshua Dufek spun out of Stowe and Alexander Dunne and Sebastián Montoya crashed into the barriers while attempting to avoid the AIX Racing car.

We were now in the last 15 minutes of the race and when the field was tightly packed together, PREMA radioed Minì, who was now in P23, to tell him that the rain would soon stop.

When racing resumed, Browning extended his lead over Fornaroli to over a second, while León passed Esterson on the outside at Stowe to take third place.

With ten minutes to go, it seemed like we had reached the turning point and the riders on slick tyres, Voisin, Lindblad and Minì, slowly started to move through the field.

Further ahead, wet-tire rider León was flying like crazy as he passed Fornaroli on the inside to take second place.

With seven minutes to go, the drivers began their manoeuvres on dry surfaces, with VAR León reporting that they were one second faster per lap. Voisin was fourth, Lindblad sixth and Minì eighth.

In the final five minutes, Voisin overtook Browning on the Hangar Straight to regain the lead he had previously lost, but with the penalty looming, Lindblad and Minì, battling for P2 just behind him, effectively battled for the lead.

The three drivers were ahead when Voisin crossed the line first, but his penalty dropped him to third place. This allowed Lindblad to move up to first place and secure a clear victory, making it a first in Formula 3 where one driver won all the races in a single weekend, with Minì finishing second.

VAR driver Smith finished fourth ahead of Wisnicki, who had started from last place on the grid, while Oliver Goethe caught up on slicks to finish sixth. Fornaroli overtook Browning in the closing stages to finish sixth. Nikita Bedrin finished ninth, while León completed the points-scoring positions in tenth place.

KEY QUOTE

“I’ve just won the main race at Silverstone, what a race. I’m lost for words, I can’t say anything, it was so uncertain out there, the conditions were constantly changing but we stuck to the slicks and it paid off in the end. And to get the one-two here at Silverstone, at home, is beyond my wildest dreams. With my family here and everyone else, it’s an incredible result, so thank you to everyone who supported me and we look forward to the future races.”

CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING

The lead in the drivers’ championship has now changed for the fifth race weekend in a row, as Gabriele Minì’s second place puts him back at the top of the overall standings with 119 points. Arvid Linblad’s two wins help him to second place, six points behind his PREMA Racing teammate, while Luke Browning drops to third with 110 points. Leonardo Fornaroli is fourth for Trident with 93 points, while Oliver Goethe completes the top five with 85 points. In the team standings, PREMA Racing’s sixth win of the season brings it 312 points and is 135 points ahead of ART Grand Prix in second place and Trident in third with 153 points. Campos Racing remains in fourth place with 141 points, five ahead of fifth-placed Hitech Pulse-Eight.

NEXT

The tripleheader is now over, meaning the riders and their teams now have a week off before heading to Budapest for Round 8 from July 19-21.