Bahrain – Sprint: Tsolov resists the Slater threat

While Joshua Dufek (Hitech GP) started from pole position, it was Freddie Slater (AIX Racing) and Nikola Tsolov (Campos) who led the way in this Sprint Race in Bahrain. Respectively 3rd and 5th on the grid, the two men quickly found themselves at the front, taking advantage of Dufek's tire problems.

Leader from the third lap, Freddie Slater showed very good things for his first race in F3, who is doing a stint this weekend for AIX Racing. Despite the pressure from the Bulgarian in his exhausts, the Englishman showed great maturity in resisting his opponent, although helped by the use of DRS.

The rider who will compete in the FRECA with Prema this season was smart, taking advantage of Nikola Tsolov's attacks to systematically defend his position. Unfortunately, Freddie Slater finally gave way at the start of lap 11 when the Campos rider launched a fatal attack at the end of the start/finish straight.

The late-race Safety Car nearly reshuffled the cards with a two-lap sprint, but Nikola Tsolov proved strong enough to hold off Freddie Slater despite his tire problems. Tuukka Taponen (ART Grand Prix) completed the podium. For the Bulgarian, this is his fourth career Formula 4 victory, in his third season.

On the French side, Alessandro Giusti (MP Motorsport) earned his first points in F3. The Parisian, who started 4th, suffered late in the race when he tried to get the better of Martinius Stenshorne (Hitech GP), which allowed Callum Voisin (Rodin Motorsport) to slip past him before his teammate Tim Tramnitz overtook him on the final lap. He thus took the checkered flag in 7th place, which gives him 4 points. Théophile Naël (VAR) was forced to retire after just 8 laps.

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