Race Report

2022 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix
FIA F3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Circuit: Spa-Francorchamps (B), Length 7,003 km, 26^th - 28^th August 2022, Rounds 13 + 14
www.spa-francorchamps.be

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2022:
Ido Cohen (ISR), Federico Malvestiti (ITA), William Alatalo (FIN)

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Alatalo shines in Spa with two top ten finishes

The 2022 FIA F3 met up for their seventh race event of a total of nine as part of the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2022 program on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps (B) circuit. Spa is one of the most challenging venues on the calendar, and is one where good overtaking is to be expected. However, Spa is also known for being cool and wet!

Qualifying

Friday, 26/08/22, 15.30 – 16.00, Weather: Wet, 17°C

Free practice started on Friday morning on a damp track. With slick tires on the cars, William finished 14^th, Ido was 17^th and actually very close behind, and Federico was 25^th.
Shortly before qualifying it started to rain quite heavily. Everyone opted for rain tires and the battle for starting positions began. Only in the second part of the session, after an interruption with the red flag, did the track dry out quickly and the drivers were able to put on the slicks. To get the best out of them, our drivers pushed their limits and the monitors lit up. Traffic and a yellow flag just before the end made it difficult for our drivers to move more to the front. William still qualified in a very good 13^th place, just 0.04s off what could have been a pole position in the race with the reverse top 12 – a shame! Ido finished in 21^st place, followed by Federico in 22^nd place.

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FIA F3 Championship

Race One (Sprint-Race, 40 Minutes)

Saturday, 27/08/22, 10.35, Weather: Overcast, 18°C

The sprint race started on Saturday morning in cold temperatures. Expectations were high and FIA F3 surely delivered on an eventful race. William had excellent reflexes when the lights went off at the start, immediately moving up from 13^th to 8^th place. Despite reporting a problem with his brakes, Ido had a clean start and found his way up to 18^th place. Federico also get well underway and defended 23^rd place. Already in the second lap, a safety car had to be deployed, neutralizing the race for several laps. On lap 6 the race got underway again and the drivers were eager to gain positions. Another dramatic turn of events saw two drivers making contact at high speed at Blanchimont on lap 7. Luckily both drivers were unhurt. To clean away the debris well the race got suspended with a red flag and the field made it's way back to the pitlane. William was now in 6^th place, Ido in 18^th and Federico in 21^st. At 11:30, the race got back underway with the drivers following the Safety Car around for a rolling start. After the restart William went momentarily wide and even touching the gravel - which resulted in a drop of 4 positions. William was now in 10^th place and had to build up his momentum again. He picked up speed fast and was determined to get the positions back. In the final lap, William was able to show some great moves with a bid dive on Vidales to snatch the 7^th position from him. After that, taking advantage of the slipstream, William overtook Benavides and crossed the line in an excellent 6^th place. Unfortunately, after the race start, Ido's brake issue started affecting his race a lot and the Israeli driver eventually had to retire his car in the pitlane right before the final laps. Federico fought hard throughout the race and was able to move up position after position. He eventually crossed the line in 19^th position.

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FIA F3 Championship

Race Two (Feature Race, 45 Minutes)

Sunday, 28/08/22, 08.50, Weather: Overcast, 14°C

At lights out on Sunday morning, William made a good start and was immediately on the move up to 10^th place. Behind him, Ido and Federico also managed a good start and were trying to find their way past in the opening corners. Unfortunately, at the Bus Stop chicane chaos happened. Maini misjudged his braking point and caused an accident that involved several cars. William managed to avoid him, but unfortunately Ido got caught up in the accident. As a result Ido had to retire with damage on his car without even completing a full lap. The Safety Car was deployed to clean the track. Federico found himself with a puncture on his rear left tyre and had to slowly go back to the pits for a quick change. When racing resumed, William was in 9^th position and wanting more. Our Finnish-Ethiopian driver soon managed to overtake Benavides in order to move up to 8^th. William then quickly closed up to Smolyar and again made a great move to conquer 7^th place. Another Safety Car had to be deployed briefly and with 8 laps to go, the race went back underway. William held on to 7^th place at the restart and in the following laps. At the final corner of the final lap, Vidales cut the chicane and didn’t give the position back, which left William to cross the finish line in 8^th place. Federico’s race wasn’t easy as the Italian driver received a 10sec stop and go penalty for driving too fast under safety car conditions when catching up after his tyre change. Serving this penalty put him back once more. Federico crossed the line in 26^th place. After the race, the stewards examined the videos and penalized Vidales, and as a result putting William back in a superb 7^th position.

We are looking forward to the next race which will take place already next week, on the weekend of 4^th September in Zandvoort in Holland.

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Championship standings after 14 out of 18 races:

1^st Isack Hadjar (F), 106 points; 2^nd Oliver Bearman (GBR), 105 points; 3^rd Victor Martins (F), 104 points; 4^th Arthur Leclerc (F), 101 points; 5^th Roman Stanek (CZE), 96 points; 6^th Jak Crawford (USA), 80 points; 18^th William Alatalo (FIN), 18 points; 23^rd Ido Cohen (ISR), 2 points

Ido Cohen (ISR)

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Federico Malvestiti (ITA)

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William Alatalo (FIN)

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2022 FIA F3 Championship

For more information:

• www.fiaformula3.com
• www.italiaracing.net