Isack Hadjar claimed his second Formula 3 win in his rookie season at Hitech Grand Prix’s home race after holding his nerve until the dying minutes of the race to beat the long-time race leader Victor Martins on the penultimate lap of the race.
Determined to make amends after an unwanted result in Friday’s qualifying session, Martins wasted no time diving into Van Amersfoort Racing’s rookie Reece Ushijima to snatch the race lead as the Japanese-American driver found himself under pressure from Kush Maini in the opening sectors.
However, after holding on to the lead since the lights went out, Martins had to settle for a second after sustaining pressure from Ushijima in the final few laps, allowing compatriot Hadjar to take his second Formula 3 victory for Hitech.
There was a sterling effort from Ushijima, who started on the reverse grid pole, which paid off to seal his maiden F3 podium in third, ahead of the Free Practice pacesetter Kush Maini in fourth for MP Motorsport. At the same time, Kaylen Frederick rounded out the top 5 in the second Hitech car.
Roman Stanek completed the race in sixth, as Trident teammate Zane Maloney made improvements to finish seventh from 10th, marking his third-best race finish from the season.
To finish eighth, PREMA Racing’s Arthur Leclerc outperformed both teammates, as Oliver Bearman ended the session in ninth, while Jak Crawford rounded out the top 10.
Zak O’Sullivan will be hoping for a shot at home glory in Sunday’s Feature Race when the lights go out at 8:35 local time after securing his and Carlin’s maiden F3 pole in Qualifying.
Sprint Race results:
| 1 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:46.643 |
| 2 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | 1:46.777 |
| 3 | Reece Ushijima | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:46.676 |
| 4 | Kush Maini | MP Motorsport | 1:46.678 |
| 5 | Kaylen Frederick | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:47.176 |
| 6 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 1:47.218 |
| 7 | Zane Maloney | Trident | 1:47.130 |
| 8 | Arthur Leclerc | PREMA Racing | 1:46.881 |
| 9 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA Racing | 1:46.912 |
| 10 | Jak Crawford | PREMA Racing | 1:47.217 |
| 11 | Caio Collet | MP Motorsport | 1:47.112 |
| 12 | David Vidales | Campos Racing | 1:47.337 |
| 13 | Franco Colapinto | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:47.314 |
| 14 | Zak O’Sullivan | Carlin | 1:47.775 |
| 15 | Jonny Edgar | Trident | 1:47.541 |
| 16 | Hunter Yeany | Campos Racing | 1:47.550 |
| 17 | Ido Cohen | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.401 |
| 18 | Gregoire Saucy | ART Grand Prix | 1:47.345 |
| 19 | William Alatalo | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.065 |
| 20 | Josep Maria Marti | Campos Racing | 1:47.300 |
| 21 | Juan Manuel Correa | ART Grand Prix | 1:47.560 |
| 22 | Nazim Azman | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:47.597 |
| 23 | Rafael Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:47.688 |
| 24 | Filip Ugran | MP Motorsport | 1:47.588 |
| 25 | Francesco Pizzi | Charouz Racing System | 1:48.012 |
| 26 | Federico Malvestiti | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.809 |
| 27 | Enzo Trulli | Carlin | 1:48.848 |
| 28 | Brad Benavides | Carlin | |
| 29 | Laszlo Toth | Charouz Racing System | |
| 30 | Zdenek Chovanec | Charouz Racing System |
