Silverstone, no points in a race impacted by rain
The Feature Race that closed the seventh round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, held on the Silverstone track, was impacted by the adverse weather conditions. A downpour of rain, which fell just minutes before the start on the Northamptonshire circuit, forced the drivers to choose whether to tackle the race with rain tyres or slicks. All three Trident Motorsport drivers opted for dry tyres.
The choice, however, did not prove to be a good one. Rafael Câmara, who started from third on the grid, immediately slipped to twelfth position within a few corners. Charlie Wurz also sank to twentieth and Noah Strømsted, investigated for unsafe release on the formation lap, twenty-fourth. The increasing rain forced the Trident Motorsport drivers to switch to rain tyres.
The first to return to the pits was Wurz, followed the next lap by Câmara. There wasn’t even time to attempt a comeback before a car went off the track on the final corner, first forcing the race direction to call in the safety car and then to put an early end to the race.
The Feature Race then ended after just 14 laps with the Trident Motorsport drivers failing to get into the points. Charlie Wurz, the best placed, finished sixteenth. Rafael Câmara, despite finishing twenty-second, managed to maintain the lead in the drivers’ championship with an unchanged advantage. Noah Strømsted finished twenty-sixth.
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is taking a week off, with the next event scheduled for the penultimate weekend of July on the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: “Today’s Feature Race was affected by rain and the forecasts proved unreliable. Our drivers started with slick compounds, but the weather conditions worsened and they were forced to come back to the pit lane to fit rain compounds. Perhaps weshould have been conservative and taken the track with rain tyres with one of the cars. Rafael Câmara has nevertheless extended his lead in the standings, with three races to go in the season, while in the Teams’ standings we have dropped to second place”.