Paul Ricard GP3: Ilott resists Piquet for maiden win
Ferrari Formula 1 junior Callum Ilott scored his first GP3 Series victory from reverse grid pole in Sunday's second race at Paul Ricard.
Photo by: GP3 Series Media Service
Ilott relinquished the lead to a fast-starting Pedro Piquet at the start, with the Brazilian braving it out around the outside of Turn 2 to snatch the place from the ART Grand Prix driver.
But Ilott was able to stick to Piquet's tail as the opening lap progressed, and the Briton took back the advantage with a bold move at the long Beausset right-hander that follows Signes.
From there, Ilott was able to stretch out a small lead over his adversary and was never threatened again, ultimately taking the chequered flag 3.4 seconds clear of Trident man Piquet.
Arden driver Joey Mawson took his first GP3 podium in third, only conceding one position in the opening turns despite running off-track but unable to keep pace with the leading pair.
Alessio Lorandi (Trident) held his grid slot of fourth, and maintained the place to the finish despite coming under pressure from Nikita Mazepin, who earlier passed Giuliano Alesi for fifth.
Points leader Anthoine Hubert (ART) put an early move on Leonardo Pulcini (Campos) to grab seventh place but was unable to make further progress, scoring an extra two points with the fastest lap.
Hubert was involved in a skirmish with ART teammate Jake Hughes on the third lap, which resulted in Hughes sustaining damage to his front wing that forced him into the pits.
Disqualified Race 1 winner Dorian Boccolacci could only recover to 14th from the back of the grid, one place behind rookie MP Motorsport teammate Christian Lundgaard.
MP's other driver Niko Kari, who was also excluded from Saturday's results, sustained a puncture in his fightback after contact with the Jenzer car of Tatiana Calderon.
The Finn retired as a result, while the Sauber F1 junior had to pit for a new nose and finished 16th ahead of Hughes.
Race results:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Callum Ilott | ART Grand Prix | 15 laps |
2 | Pedro Piquet | Trident | 3.4 |
3 | Joey Mawson | Arden International | 5.0 |
4 | Alessio Lorandi | Trident | 6.0 |
5 | Nikita Mazepin | ART Grand Prix | 6.7 |
6 | Giuliano Alesi | Trident | 7.0 |
7 | Anthoine Hubert | ART Grand Prix | 8.4 |
8 | Leonardo Pulcini | Campos Racing | 12.8 |
9 | Ryan Tveter | Trident | 13.1 |
10 | David Beckmann | Jenzer Motorsport | 14.4 |
11 | Simo Laaksonen | Campos Racing | 17.6 |
12 | Juan Manuel Correa | Jenzer Motorsport | 21.3 |
13 | Christian Lundgaard | MP Motorsport | 22.0 |
14 | Dorian Boccolacci | MP Motorsport | 22.2 |
15 | Julien Falchero | Arden International | 23.5 |
16 | Tatiana Calderon | Jenzer Motorsport | 59.0 |
17 | Jake Hughes | ART Grand Prix | 74.3 |
Ret | Niko Kari | MP Motorsport | 11 laps |
Ret | Diego Menchaca | Campos Racing | 15 laps |
Ret | Gabriel Aubry | Arden International | 15 laps |
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