F3 prepared for the first feature race of the season at the Australian Grand Prix. The rain was coming down around Albert Park which put a further challenge on the 30 drivers.
Without any running in Australia in the rain, drivers were all going in blind. Rafael Câmara, the decorated rookie, was starting on pole alongside Noah Strømsted.
With the rain flooding the track, the Formula 3 grid opted to have four laps behind the safety car, into a rolling start to avoid any collisions or issues from the conditions.
The rolling start
The lights went out on the safety car and Rafael Câmara prepared to lead the grid for the first feature race of the season. Into the final two corners Câmara went, immediately managing to establish a lofty gap from his Trident teammate in the background.
Tim Tramnitz made a move for fourth on Nikitia Begrin but fell short, almost hitting the wall around the corners. Câmara seemed to find a confidence behind the wheel of the Trident – the gap an impressive 2.286 seconds just a lap in.
Two cars cut into the grass and gravel at the back of the grid – Nikola Tsolov and Callum Voisin losing control under the difficult conditions and bringing out an early Safety Car.
Green Flag
On lap 5, the SC was called in, with Câmara looking again to establish the impressive lead he managed in the last restart.
Once again Câmara went early but the FRECA champion seemed to find grip that no one else could, establishing a second gap into the first corners.
Further down the grid, Santiago Ramos took a run through a puddle while fighting for positions against Dufek, barely holding on to control of the car. Ramos managed to win the sprint race yesterday but was struggling in the wet conditions.
Inthraphuvasak made a move down the inside of Charlie Wurz. But he wasn’t close enough to the Trident driver to make it stick.
Nikola Lacorte had a spin further down the grid but maintained control of the car. Louis Sharp ran wide at turn 3, going through the gravel but bringing his car back on track into 18th place.
Martinius Stenshorner and Ugo Ugochukwu were fighting for ninth place. Stenshorne made a dive down the inside, taking the place from Ugochukwu into turn 3.
Meanwhile, Câmara had an exceptional 3.7 second lead from the rest of the grid. Where the other 29 drivers seemed to be struggling with grip in the precarious conditions – Câmara was driving as if it was a dry and sunny day.
Ugochukwu lost another place to Roman Billinski who moved the McLaren driver wide and took the ninth place from the driver.
Second half of the race
Stenshorne was chasing Inthraphuvasak right on the gearbox of the Campos. Roman Billinski got himself in the fight. Nearly making contact with the McLaren junior as they made their way onto the start finish straight.
On turn 3, Billinski made a brave move around the outside. But he just had to back out of the attack as he was pushed to the edge of the track.
On lap 13, Christian Ho was in the wall on the outside of turn 3. The DAMS Lucas oil’s crash bringing out a second SC. Only a few laps before Ho had lost the back end of the car, the conditions getting the better of the driver.
The SC meant that importantly, Rafael Câmara’s nearly five-second lead was once again being cut down. Giving his teammate in Strømsted another chance at challenging him for the win. As the SC led the grid around the track, the rain began to fall harder on Albert Park. Blinding the drivers with the severity.
It was forecast to lighten after a few minutes with just five laps to go.
On lap 18, a red flag was waved, the session stopping due to the amount of rain under the safety car period. With 18 laps done, full points would still be rewarded to the drivers if the race was not resumed.
As the cars funnelled into the pit lane, it was called that the race would not be resumed. Confirming Rafael Câmara’s win from his teammate Noah Strømsted and Théophile Nael finishing the podium.
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
