2023 British F3 Feature Race: Goethe leads Trident 1-2 at Silverstone

We had changeable weather throughout yesterday and the topsy-turvy conditions were most prevalent in the 2023 British F3 Sprint Race, but what about today’s Feature? There were a few drops of rain falling around Silverstone prior to lights out, but not enough for any driver to think that slick tyres were the answer.

The thirty Formula 3 drivers were headed by a Trident 1-2 after Leonardo Fornaroli and Oliver Goethe topped qualifying on Friday.

2023 British F3 Feature Race

Fornaroli got us underway and led us around the first lap. His teammate Goethe was under real pressure from Pepe Marti and the pair went side-by-side through Stowe. Further back at Vale, Ciao Collet was tagged into a spin by Jonny Edgar, with the latter retiring from damage.

Luke Browning was also forced wide in Club by Hugh Barter at the end of the first lap, Browning stalled and couldn’t get going again. Unsurprisingly, the Safety Car was called on Lap 2 of 22. Paul Aron and Marti were absolutely neck and neck when the Safety Car was called and were questioning who was P3 at that time.

The race resumed on Lap 7, Fornaroli again led away without trouble behind. The drivers were well behaved for the most part, but we didn’t go much further before another incident. Zak O’Sullivan, who had a moment in the gravel on the opening lap, was forced wide again through Luffield by Kaylan Frederick but got going again.

As DRS was enabled, the top six were covered by less than three seconds as Fornaroli, Goethe, Marti, Aron, Christian Mansell and Gabriel Bortoletto all vying for the lead. Goethe was pressuring Bortoletto for the lead and this finally told on Lap 15, as the German powered past his teammate with ease into Brooklands.

Playing the game

Max Aron’s engineer said it was now time to “play the game” and his driver put in a move on Marti into Stowe. He overtook off the circuit though, so had to let the Spaniard back through. The rain began to fall too, and a lack of grip was perhaps the issue for Roberto Faria, as he clashed with Tommy Smith and slammed into the barriers.

The Safety Car was called as the rain continued to fall and the drivers were trying to keep their tyres warm, but would they get going again? With the incident pretty much cleared and the rain intensifying, Smith was the only one who gambled and pitted for wets.

We had a two-lap shootout at the end of the race, as the field drove around on a wet track with dry tyres. Smith absolutely scythed through the field to get up to 11th by the finished, but at the front, the order stayed the same as they slipped and slided their way to fe chequered flag. This was Goethe’s first F3 win and what a win it was!

Dino Beganovic also deserves a mention. After starting 30th and last because of a mechanical issue on Friday, the Swede climbed to P16 by the end of the race. Ciao Collet was also excellent in the latter stages, ending up 9th after being last after his crash.

Full classification