FIA Formula 3 driver Franco Colapinto returned to the Austrian GP circuit after last year’s triumph in the Formula Regional European Championship where he achieved two Grand Slams. The ROFGO Junior driver had a strong qualifying session finishing in the top ten on one of the most competitive junior single-seater championships in the world and secured a second-row start for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Franco fired off the line, immediately attacking Red Bull Junior Driver Crawford in a tight battle down to Turn 4, where he snatched P3 from the American right before the Safety Car was called on track.
After the leading ART car’s retirement, Colapinto moved up to second place starting to close the gap on Alpine Academy driver Caio Collet ahead of him. Around the halfway point of the race, he fell victim to Crawford’s Prema car who took his position with the help of the extra power of DRS just before the second Safety Car period.
Once the race went green again, Colapinto got a perfect getaway at the restart and held on to his position, fending off the attack from Ferrari Academy driver Arthur Leclerc all the way down to the finish line, scoring his second FIA F3 podium in his rookie season.
The Austrian GP circuit nestled in the mountains welcomed the FIA F3 grid with completely different conditions on Sunday morning. Due to the heavy rain, the race went green behind the Safety car with a rolling start. Despite the poor visibility, Colapinto got well off the line staying away from trouble, slipping down into P12 battling with the elements.
With only 5 laps to go, a collision brought out the Safety Car resulting in a 3-lap sprint to the finish line. Once the field was finally released, several cars tangled in front of Franco who cleverly avoided any contact and dipped into P7. That is where the Visit Argentina supported driver crossed the line and was promoted to P6 after the post-race penalties, scoring eight points to round off his most fruitful race weekend to date moving up to P7 in the championship.
Franco Colapinto:
“We are back! Super happy with my weekend at the Red Bull Ring. It felt great to be on the podium again and we brought home a good haul of points for the championship. Big thanks to the guys at VAR for the mega car and thanks to my sponsors, partners, and all my fans for the incredible support!”
The 2022 FIA F3 Championship season continues at the Hungaroring on 30-31 July.