Hadjar wins FIA F3 opener after track limits penalty for Bearman

Formula 3

Posted on

| Written by

Isack Hadjar has taken the first win of the season for Hitech after Oliver Bearman was penalised for exceeding track limits.

For the partially reversed-grid sprint race it was Zak O’Sullivan on pole, with Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman joining him on the front row for the pair’s first ever FIA F3 races. Kush Maini started from the pit lane, after being relegated by missing the FIA weighbridge when called into it during qualifying yesterday.

O’Sullivan got away with the lead, while fifth-starting Alexander Smolyar was overtaken by rookie Isack Hadjar. Roman Stanek reported on the first lap that he had a puncture. Both he and Franco Colapinto had to pit, sending them to the back of the field despite locking out the front row of the feature race tomorrow between them.

On lap 5, Bearman was able to pass O’Sullivan and take the lead of the race. A lap later, Victor Martins and Gregoire Saucy were forced to go to the ART pits, Martins immediately out of the race and Saucy’s elimination following only moment later

By lap 13, pit lane starter Maini had made up 14 positions to be 16th but was unable to progress much further, finishing the race 15th.

On lap 16 both Hadjar and Smolyar were able to pass O’Sullivan for the podium places behind Bearman as O’Sullivan’s tyres seemed to give out, leaving him vulnerable to Arthur Leclerc.

Bearman was shown the black-and-white flag for track limits on the final lap, while in the lead of the race by more than three seconds from Hadjar. He crossed the line ahead but was issued a 5-second time penalty after the chequered flag, giving Hadjar the rookie win while Bearman retained second, Smolyar taking the final podium place.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Formula 3 Bahrain race one results

Position Car Driver Team
1 18 Isack Hadjar Hitech
2 6 Oliver Bearman Prema
3 11 Alexander Smolyar MP
4 3 Zane Maloney Trident
5 4 Arthur Leclerc Prema
6 26 Zak O’Sullivan Carlin
7 10 Caio Collet MP
8 17 Kaylen Frederick Hitech
9 9 Juan Manuel Correa ART
10 20 David Vidales Campos
11 25 William Alatalo Jenzer
12 31 Reece Ushijima HWA
13 1 Jonny Edgar Trident
14 23 Ido Cohen Jenzer
15 12 Kush Maini MP
16 19 Nazim Azman Hitech
17 30 Rafael Villagomez HWA
18 15 Ayrton Simmons Charouz
19 16 Francesco Pizzi Charouz
20 28 Enzo Trulli Carlin
21 21 Hunter Yeany Campos
22 27 Brad Benavides Carlin
23 14 Laszlo Toth Charouz
24 2 Roman Stanek Trident
25 29 Franco Colapinto HWA
26 24 Niko Kari Jenzer
27 5 Jak Crawford Prema
28 22 Pepe Marti Campos
29 8 Gregoire Saucy ART
30 7 Victor Martins ART

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Formula 3

Browse all Formula 3 articles

Author information

Hazel Southwell
Hazel is a motorsport and automotive journalist with a particular interest in hybrid systems, electrification, batteries and new fuel technologies....

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

2 comments on “Hadjar wins FIA F3 opener after track limits penalty for Bearman”

  1. I was very impressed by Arthur Leclerc in this race. He never seemed to get held up. He’d cruise up to the back of the car ahead and make a decisive move to overtake. No half-hearted attempts as we saw from some other drivers.

  2. Super frustrated with the live feed not showing Oliver Bearman going over the track limits after the penalty was given.

    Note: Not that i dont belive it, just that i would like to see it in action why and in what corner he got the penalty.

Comments are closed.