Norris wins as Collard takes Championship lead

Lando Norris has clinched a fantastic win around the Rockingham Motor Speedway this afternoon leading home a Carlin 1-2 in the BRDC British Formula Three championship. Norris, who had lined up on pole, led away before Collard stole the lead in the opening moments; the battle raged on between the team mates until Norris took the race lead back ensuring the first victory of the weekend. Collard meanwhile came home in second to mark a brilliant team result – his podium and a strong haul of points mean that he now leads the championship by three points. Vaidyanathan was also on form to clinch seventh as the flag fell – this great result will also see him line up on the front row of the grid for race two.

Rain an hour before the race looked to provide a head scratcher however it didn’t last and the field were able to line up on the grid on their slick Pirelli tyres. However as the lights went out it was Collard who was in the better position on the grid with a slightly drier line allowing him to launch extremely well and make a run for the lead – taking it successfully from Norris. Meanwhile Vaidyanathan got away well despite losing a position on lap one and was running well in seventh – maintaining a good gap to Tarun Reddy behind.

At the front, the Carlin pair continued to run closely to one another as both fought well for the lead of the race and, with tyres once again playing their part, Norris was soon able to close the gap to Collard as he looked to take the win. With just a couple of laps remaining in the race, Norris pulled up close behind Collard as they made their way down the start/finish line; running side by side they swapped positions as Norris attacked and Collard defended however the latter was unable to keep the positon and Norris swept in to the lead of the race.

The positions remained as they were until the flag fell with Norris charging home to take a fantastic win with Collard just behind him and taking another podium – and securing another Carlin 1-2. Collard’s strong consistency also sees him take the lead of the BRDC British F3 Championship by three points. Vaidyanathan meanwhile maintained his position and as a result of his seventh place finish will line up on the front row of the grid tomorrow morning for the second race of the weekend.

Race winner Norris said of his victory, “I didn’t get a particularly great start which meant that Ricky [Collard] was able to get past me however I made sure to stay with him for the next few laps. I was pushing quite hard and although I was close, knew I didn’t have the pace to attack so I made a decision to look after the rear tyres; he was pushing to stay ahead so I thought I’d have a chance in the final laps. With 3 laps remaining I was able to close the gap to him and managed to get close to him coming off the start/finish line and try a move – we were side by side and switching positions. I could get the cut on him around the back of the circuit and made it stick to take the win. It’s a really great place to be but now I want to focus on getting a faster lap time in race two ahead of the final race.”

Collard added, “It felt like a proper battle out there between me and Lando! However it was fair and clean racing which is exactly what we want and what people want to see. I had a fantastic start again but maybe pushed a little too hard, my tyres dropped off a little and he was able to get past me. But it’s great points, the car feels on the money and we’re now in the lead of the championship. We’re strong here and I’m looking forward to tomorrow – hoping we can have another strong team race with Ameya [Vaidyanathan] on the front row too.”

Vaidyanathan said, “My initial start was ok but I lost momentum and position however the overall position was really great and it means that we line up on the front row of the grid for race two tomorrow. The aim is to get a good start and have the view ahead pretty clear – we also need to make sure that we put the lap in to make sure we qualify well for race three.”