Bruno Michel's Debrief: Closest title fight for years

12 July 2022

CEO Bruno Michel delves into the big talking points following Round 5 of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 season.

From Isack Hadjar's statement of intent to Jenzer Motorsport's big step forward, Michel gives his thoughts on how the '22 campaign is unfolding

PERFECT SCORE

Another round, another impressive weekend for rookie Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman claimed a maiden pole position before securing the Feature Race win – his third victory so far, posting the fastest laptime along the way. It’s the first time this season that a driver achieves the perfect Sunday score, with 28 points. He had added another point to his tally in the Sprint Race, which brings his current total to 97 points. He is the driver with the most wins so far, and he has moved up to second place in the Championship, only one point behind Victor Martins.

ROUND 5 HIGHLIGHTS

Jak Crawford finally took a well deserved maiden F3 win, in Spielberg Sprint Race, making it his fourth podium of the year. Together with Hadjar, that’s two Red Bull juniors taking victory at the Red Bull Ring.

Meanwhile, Caio Collet took his best F3 result to date with second in the Sprint Race. The Brazilian has had a pretty challenging season up until now, clearly not getting the results he and MP Motorsport had hoped at the start of the campaign. Let’s see if this new piece silverware will boost him for the next rounds.

It was also a momentous weekend for Ido Cohen, who claimed his first ever F3 points, with ninth, from P13 on the starting grid. Round 5 was actually a step in the right direction for Jenzer Motorsport: on Sunday, both Cohen and William Alatalo finished in the points.

Another team enjoyed its strongest weekend to date, as Van Amersfoort Racing pocketed 16 points thanks to Franco Colapinto. The Argentine driver returned to the podium in the Sprint Race, with P3 and collected more points with sixth on Sunday. It is the first time this season that he scores in both races.

A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS

First, let’s take a look at the Drivers Championship because I don’t remember the top 3 being this close since the end of the 2020 campaign where Oscar Piastri, Théo Pourchaire and Logan Sargeant battled for the crown.

After five rounds, seven points cover Victor Martins, Isack Hadjar and Arthur Leclerc. Martins has been in the lead since Bahrain, but he is yet to achieve a clean and dominating weekend. At Spielberg, he was frustrated that a red flag cut the Qualifying session short. He felt he had the car to challenge Hadjar at the top of the Standings. Then in the Sprint Race, he could not find the pace to charge his way to the top of the field. In the Feature Race, he claimed P2, his fifth rostrum in 2022. This helped him keep the top spot in the Championship, but his closest rival, Hadjar, is just one point behind. As for Leclerc, he dropped one position, but remains within touching distance having pocketed 20 points in Austria.

Behind the top three, Jak Crawford, Roman Stanek and Oliver Bearman are still in the fight for this year’s title as well.

As for the teams, once again PREMA Racing enjoyed a strong weekend with a win on Saturday and another podium finish on Sunday. It has extended its lead over ART Grand Prix to 85 points. Meanwhile, Hitech Grand Prix, in third, has reduced the gap to the French squad by 12 points, whereas reigning champions Trident remain in touch. Round 6 in Budapest at the end of this month will be crucial ahead of the summer break and the triple header which will conclude the season.