Second victory of the season for Arthur Leclerc, winner of race 1

Arthur Leclerc scored his second victory of the season this Saturday during sprint race 1 of the Zandvoort meeting.

Published on 04/09/2021 à 11:28

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Second victory of the season for Arthur Leclerc, winner of race 1

And two for Arthur Leclerc! Charles' brother indeed won his second victory of the season at Zandvoort, dominating race 1 of the Dutch Zandvoort meeting. The protégé of Ferrari indeed beat Logan sargeant (Charouz) and Ayumu Iwasa (Hitech) Saturday morning. The Monegasque managed to make the difference at the start. Starting from third position, Charles' brother took off superbly which allowed him to pass pole sitter Amaury Cordeel (Campos) and Logan Sargeant (Charouz) from the outside in the Tarzan corner.

Arthur then thought he had done the hardest part, but the American, third in the championship last year with Prema, put a lot of pressure on him throughout the first part of the race. It also grew in Leclerc's mirrors at the first corner during laps 5 and 7, forcing him to lock his wheels, but Arthur ultimately held on. The Belgian Amaury Cordeel, who started on pole, saw his race stop on the first lap, after being pushed from behind by Alexander Smolyar (ART Grand Prix). The Russian was obviously penalized with a stop and go for this.

Second victory for Arthur Leclerc this season! 🏆#DutchGP #F3 pic.twitter.com/EhSLwSSrzJ

- CANAL + Sport (@CanalplusSport) September 4, 2021

When it comes to the fight for the championship, the big guns of the series have rather neutralized each other. Jack Doohan (Trident), who was the best placed favorite, finished ahead of Dennis Hauger (Prema), Victor Martins (MP Motorsport) and Frederik Vesti (ART Grand Prix). Championship leader Hauger was noted for an unusual mistake made in the chicane. When attacking Martins, the Norwegian actually took a lap in the gravel trap, and left his 8th place to Clément Novalak, before taking him back a few laps later. The Prema driver also overtook Martins in the banking to take 7th place, just ahead of the Habs.

The other Frenchman Clément Novalak (Trident), long in the group of favorites, strangely fell in the ranking at the end of the race, finally finishing 11th. He does not score any points but will start on the front row of race 2. Was this what he wanted? In any case, he will start just behind Ido Cohen (Carlin), poleman on Saturday evening (17:55 p.m.) thanks to the reverse grid.