The Briton took the lead early on once Tuukka Taponen pitted with damage, and controlled the race out front, resisting pressure from Ugochukwu. The Campos Racing driver went from sixth to second, while Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer took the final spot on the podium in third.
AS IT HAPPENED
It was a clean start from pole for Taponen keeping the lead ahead of Slater, while Mattia Colnaghi retained P3 despite pressure from Badoer. Slater was keen to take the lead early on and looked to go the inside of Taponen at Turn 12. But the two made slight contact, leaving the TRIDENT driver with front wing damage.
The Safety Car was called upon moments later with Maciej Gladysz and Gerrard Xie in the barrier at the exit of Turn 13. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver collided with Jin Nakamura which sent him into the ART Grand Prix rookie, with all three out of the race. Taponen used the opportunity to come into the pitlane having suffered a right rear puncture, and with the other drivers following him in, he only dropped to P6.
The incident between Slater and Taponen was under investigation as the Briton led the field away at the restart on Lap 6. But the Virtual Safety Car was signalled moments later with Salim Hanna having stopped on track at Turn 13.
With the AIX Racing car cleared from the track, racing resumed on Lap 7 and Colnaghi was under pressure from Badoer and Ugochukwu. The Campos driver was showing great pace and went around the outside of both Badoer and Colnaghi at Turn 2 to get up to second with one of the moves of the season.
At the same time, the Stewards ruled that there was No Further Action for the incident between Taponen and Slater. But the Briton had new problems with Ugochukwu right on his gearbox on Lap 12, and he went defensive into Turns 1 and 2 to keep his race lead.
The Virtual Safety Car was called upon on the next lap with Kanato Le having stopped at Turn 12. Racing resumed on Lap 14 and Ugochukwu resumed his attack on Slater, but the top two were not alone, with Badoer, Colnaghi and Théophile Nael all right behind.
The Safety Car was out on the next lap following a three-car collision at Turn 1 between the AIX cars of Fernando Barrichello and Yevan David, as well as Enzo Deligny. Barichello was left on the side of the road with a broken rear left suspension, while David and Deligny continued on – although the Van Amersfoort Racing driver retired in the pitlane. The Sri Lankan driver was later given a 10-second time penalty for the incident.
Slater led the field to green on Lap 18 of 24 as Nael and Taponen went wheel-to-wheel at Turn 1. The MP driver was not pleased, believing he had been run off the track by his Campos rival. On Lap 19, the Briton extend his lead out front to 1.1s, breaking the DRS barrier to Ugochukwu.
The American fought back on Lap 21 but was too far behind to make a move. Ugochukwu was closer to his title rival on the penultimate lap, even looking up the inside at Turn 9, but once again Slater held on. On to the final lap and Ugochukwu once again had his DRS wing open but was still not close enough to Slater to make a move.
The British driver had done enough and took his first ever victory in FIA Formula 3 and with that the championship lead going into the summer break. Ugochukwu settled for P2 ahead of Badoer, while Colnaghi ended up in fourth. Nael held on to fifth ahead of Taponen, while Ernesto Rivera was seventh. Nicola Lacorte finished eighth, while PREMA Racing duo James Wharton and Louis Sharp rounded out the points.
KEY QUOTE – Freddie Slater, TRIDENT
“Just finished the Feature Race here in Budapest, finally got the win on the board, seven podiums in seven rounds, it’s been an incredible rookie season so far and we are fighting hard. Massive thank you to the team for working really hard overnight to improve the pace, yesterday was a bit of a struggle, today was even better. So massive thank you to them for digging deep overnight and giving me a car that could do that.”
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
For the first time this season, Freddie Slater leads the Drivers’ Championship on 130 points, with Ugo Ugochukwu down to second on 122. Théophile Nael is third on 85 points, while Brando Badoer moves up to fourth on 71, as Ernesto Rivera rounds out the top five with 70.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing continue to lead the way on 277 points, with TRIDENT 196. Van Amersfoort Racing with 131 points are third, while Rodin Motorsport sit fourth on 120, as ART Grand Prix round out the top five on 119.
UP NEXT
The drivers will now get a few weeks to rest before hitting the track in Madrid for a two-day test on August 24-25. After that is Round 8 in Monza from 4-6.
