Roundup of the third round of 2022 F3 season as Victor Martins retained his championship lead in Spain.
Martins entered this round tied for the lead with Arthur Leclerc heading into a weekend of hot temperatures across Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which saw Lirim Zendeli return to F3 for the first time since 2020 for an one-off appearance with Charouz.
Tyre degradation however was the biggest challenge for the entire field across the entire weekend as we bring a detailed round-up of all the action in Spain.
Practice
Lirim Zendeli on his one-off return to F3 to replace David Schumacher at Charouz led the field out for their opening practice runs, although it would be Carlin’s Zak O’Sullivan who set the early pace with 1m 35.420 ahead of Brad Benavides.
Ushijima displaced O’Sullivan in the 15th minute with 1m 34.869 but the lead soon changed hands as Pepe Marti, David Vidales, Oliver Rasmussen, Zane Maloney, Roman Stanek, Arthur Leclerc and Victor Martins all went top in rapid succession across a five-minute spell mid-session.
Nobody would eventually go on to better Martins’ 1m 32.796 throughout the remainder of the session as the Frenchman ultimately headed Leclerc, Stanek, Jak Crawford and Franco Colapinto at the checkered flag.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 1m 32.796 |
| 2 | Arthur Leclerc | PREMA | + 0.076 |
| 3 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 0.508 |
| 4 | Jak Crawford | PREMA | + 0.536 |
| 5 | Franco Colapinto | VAR | + 0.543 |
| 6 | Zane Maloney | Trident | + 0.569 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 0.762 |
| 8 | Kaylen Frederick | Hitech GP | + 0.841 |
| 9 | Alexander Smolyar | MP Motorsport | + 0.861 |
| 10 | David Vidales | Campos | + 0.880 |
| 11 | Caio Collet | MP Motorsport | + 0.891 |
| 12 | Oliver Rasmussen | Trident | + 0.950 |
| 13 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 1.028 |
| 14 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | + 1.057 |
| 15 | Kush Maini | MP Motorsport | + 1.080 |
| 16 | Juan Manuel Correa | ART GP | + 1.102 |
| 17 | Ido Cohen | Jenzer | + 1.170 |
| 18 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 1.604 |
| 19 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | + 1.637 |
| 20 | Hunter Yeany | Campos | + 1.665 |
| 21 | Lirim Zendeli | Charouz | + 1.717 |
| 22 | Reece Ushijima | VAR | + 2.073 |
| 23 | Federico Malvestiti | Jenzer | + 2.102 |
| 24 | Enzo Trulli | Carlin | + 2.425 |
| 25 | Zak O’Sullivan | Carlin | + 2.624 |
| 26 | William Alatalo | Jenzer | + 2.687 |
| 27 | Francesco Pizzi | Charouz | + 2.735 |
| 28 | Laszlo Toth | Charouz | + 2.912 |
| 29 | Nazim Azman | Hitech GP | + 3.165 |
| 30 | Brad Benavides | Carlin | + 3.169 |
Qualifying
Kaylen Frederick led the field out for the opening runs in blisteringly hot track conditions but it was Isack Hadjar who set the initial representative pace as he posted 1m 34.181 to go fastest but it was soon a MP Motorsport one-two as Collet headed Smolyar with 1m 34.026.
Several drivers then decided to return to the pits after their opening fliers which meant that the top three of Collet, Smolyar and Martins were split by just 0.082s after the opening runs.
Frederick again led the field out after a short respite with the lead soon changing hands as Hadjar, Oliver Bearman, Smolyar then Martins all went top, with Martins eventually heading Smolyar and Leclerc ahead of the final runs.
Come the checkered flag amidst chaotic traffic, Roman Stanek stole a surprise maiden F3 pole position with 1m 33.516 to snatch pole ahead of Martins, Smolyar, Hadjar, Leclerc, Bearman, Collet, Frederick, Jak Crawford, Juan Manuel Correa, Vidales and Zane Maloney.
Maloney however was disqualified post-session for missing the weighbridge after the grid had been set, which meant that Vidales inherited reverse-pole for the Sprint Race whilst Maloney started both races from pit lane.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 1m 33.516 |
| 2 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.052 |
| 3 | Alexander Smolyar | MP Motorsport | + 0.097 |
| 4 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | + 0.210 |
| 5 | Arthur Leclerc | PREMA | + 0.215 |
| 6 | Ollie Bearman | PREMA | + 0.231 |
| 7 | Caio Collet | MP Motorsport | + 0.234 |
| 8 | Kaylen Frederick | Hitech GP | + 0.289 |
| 9 | Jak Crawford | PREMA | + 0.309 |
| 10 | Juan Manuel Correa | ART GP | + 0.341 |
| 11 | David Vidales | Campos | + 0.357 |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | VAR | + 0.447 |
| 13 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | + 0.524 |
| 14 | Oliver Rasmussen | Trident | + 0.525 |
| 15 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 0.601 |
| 16 | Reece Ushijima | VAR | + 0.664 |
| 17 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 0.801 |
| 18 | Zak O’Sullivan | Carlin | + 0.804 |
| 19 | Hunter Yeany | Campos | + 0.826 |
| 20 | William Alatalo | Jenzer | + 1.052 |
| 21 | Lirim Zendeli | Charouz | + 1.170 |
| 22 | Kush Maini | MP Motorsport | + 1.219 |
| 23 | Nazim Azman | Hitech GP | + 1.279 |
| 24 | Ido Cohen | Jenzer | + 1.350 |
| 25 | Enzo Trulli | Carlin | + 1.457 |
| 26 | Federico Malvestiti | Jenzer | + 1.580 |
| 27 | Brad Benavides | Carlin | + 1.821 |
| 28 | Francesco Pizzi | Charouz | + 2.033 |
| 29 | Laszlo Toth | Charouz | + 2.059 |
| DSQ | Zane Maloney | Trident | + 0.410 |
Sprint Race
At lights out, Vidales made a great start to lead Manuel Correa and Crawford with no opening lap incidents across the order, with the Spaniard soon building a gap over his closest rivals as Manuel Correa struggled to fend off Crawford.
Crawford eventually passed his American compatriot on Lap Five for second, just two laps before joint-championship leader, Victor Martins retired from ninth with power issues.
Franco Colapinto meanwhile suffered an engine cover failure on Lap Nine which resulted in his retirement two laps later, whilst Bearman struggled with rear tyre degradation throughout the race.
Up front, Crawford reeled in Vidales and attempted a race-winning overtake on Lap 12 at the first corner, which culminated in Vidales just nudging Crawford over the sausage kerb which disrupted the American’s pace enough for Vidales to sprint away to a controlled victory.
Collet meanwhile cleared Frederick and Manuel Correa on Laps 13 and 18 respectively to secure third ahead of Arthur Leclerc who cleared Frederick and Manuel Correa in the closing stages to finish fourth, with Smolyar sneaking sixth ahead of Frederick at the checkered flag.
Stanek, Reece Ushijima and Isack Hadjar benefitted from Martins and Colapinto’s retirements as well as Bearman’s tyre issues to round out the top ten, as Crawford claimed the point for fastest lap.
Martins’ retirement ultimately cost him the championship lead to Leclerc who moved top on 43 points just ahead of Crawford by one point, whilst Stanek, Martins and Hadjar rounded out the top five.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | David Vidales | Campos | 20 | 32m 38.784 |
| 2 | Jak Crawford | PREMA | 20 | + 1.268 |
| 3 | Caio Collet | MP Motorsport | 20 | + 6.482 |
| 4 | Arthur Leclerc | PREMA | 20 | + 9.081 |
| 5 | Juan Manuel Correa | ART GP | 20 | + 10.326 |
| 6 | Alexander Smolyar | MP Motorsport | 20 | + 11.239 |
| 7 | Kaylen Frederick | Hitech GP | 20 | + 11.839 |
| 8 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 20 | + 12.370 |
| 9 | Reece Ushijima | VAR | 20 | + 15.274 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 20 | + 16.057 |
| 11 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | 20 | + 16.908 |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 20 | + 17.427 |
| 13 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 20 | + 18.137 |
| 14 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 20 | + 19.983 |
| 15 | William Alatalo | Jenzer | 20 | + 23.465 |
| 16 | Oliver Rasmussen | Trident | 20 | + 24.284 |
| 17 | Kush Maini | MP Motorsport | 20 | + 24.858 |
| 18 | Zak O’Sullivan | Carlin | 20 | + 25.438 |
| 19 | Federico Malvestiti | Jenzer | 20 | + 29.713 |
| 20 | Lirim Zendeli | Charouz | 20 | + 32.164 |
| 21 | Zane Maloney | Trident | 20 | + 35.784 |
| 22 | Enzo Trulli | Carlin | 20 | + 36.292 |
| 23 | Ido Cohen | Jenzer | 20 | + 39.535 |
| 24 | Francesco Pizzi | Charouz | 20 | + 39.941 |
| 25 | Brad Benavides | Carlin | 20 | + 41.105 |
| 26 | Laszlo Toth | Charouz | 20 | + 42.196 |
| 27 | Hunter Yeany | Campos | 20 | + 68.603 |
| RET | Nazim Azman | Hitech GP | 16 | Mechanical |
| RET | Franco Colapinto | VAR | 10 | Bodywork |
| RET | Victor Martins | ART GP | 7 | Power |
Feature Race
Pole-sitter, Stanek led from pole but Martins swept round outside of Turn One to claim the lead to head Stanek as Hadjar leapfrogged Smolyar for third, whilst Bearman improved to fifth ahead of Frederick, Crawford and Collet as Leclerc dropped from fifth to ninth at the start.
The Safety Car was then deployed on Lap Four after Rafael Villagomez crashed at Turn 12 a lap earlier, having been clipped by MP Motorsport’s Kush Maini and sent sliding into the barriers whilst the Indian was punished with a 10s time penalty for causing a collision.
Once the Safety Car returned to the pit lane at end of Lap Seven, Martins comfortably controlled the start as Crawford cleared Frederick into the first corner with Collet following through at Turn Five.
Carlin’s Brad Benavides lost control of his steering at the start of Lap 11 which sent him into the barriers at Turn Two, which meant another Safety Car period for four laps.
Once the race resumed on Lap 15, Martins sprinted away to victory with the bonus point for fastest lap as Stanek fended off Hadjar, Smolyar, Bearman, Crawford and Collet as the top seven drivers held station.
Colapinto meanwhile benefitted from a collision between Leclerc and Vidales on the second Safety Car restart to climb to ninth, with the Argentinean then passing Frederick in the closing laps for eighth.
Juan Manuel Correa rounded out the top ten after enduring a tough battle against Leclerc which saw the Monegasque pass him via a wide moment over the grass into Turn One on Lap 20, only for Manuel Correa to be handed back the position at the end of that lap.
Leclerc ultimately finished 14th after he was hit with a five-second time penalty for his collision with Vidales, which landed him just behind Zane Maloney who recovered from a pit-lane start to finish 13th.
In the driver standings, Martins reclaimed the title lead with 62 points as Stanek improved to second with a six-point deficit to the Frenchman but ahead of Crawford and Hadjar, as Leclerc dropped to fifth after having led the championship following the Sprint Race.
F3 will next be in action at Silverstone, UK across weekend of 1-3 July for the British round of this nine-round season.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 24 | 43m 43.673 |
| 2 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 24 | + 2.368 |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 24 | + 3.026 |
| 4 | Alexander Smolyar | MP Motorsport | 24 | + 3.624 |
| 5 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 24 | + 4.348 |
| 6 | Jak Crawford | PREMA | 24 | + 5.420 |
| 7 | Caio Collet | MP Motorsport | 24 | + 6.633 |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | VAR | 24 | + 6.899 |
| 9 | Kaylen Frederick | Hitech GP | 24 | + 8.431 |
| 10 | Juan Manuel Correa | ART GP | 24 | + 12.094 |
| 11 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | 24 | + 14.186 |
| 12 | William Alatalo | Jenzer | 24 | + 15.236 |
| 13 | Zane Maloney | Trident | 24 | + 17.510 |
| 14 | Arthur Leclerc | PREMA | 24 | + 18.398 |
| 15 | Oliver Rasmussen | Trident | 24 | + 18.747 |
| 16 | Lirim Zendeli | Charouz | 24 | + 21.287 |
| 17 | Ido Cohen | Jenzer | 24 | + 26.079 |
| 18 | Francesco Pizzi | Charouz | 24 | + 26.651 |
| 19 | Nazim Azman | Hitech GP | 24 | + 27.867 |
| 20 | Reece Ushijima | VAR | 24 | + 28.281 |
| 21 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 24 | + 28.482 |
| 22 | Federico Malvestiti | Jenzer | 24 | + 29.713 |
| 23 | Enzo Trulli | Carlin | 24 | + 29.906 |
| 24 | Laszlo Toth | Charouz | 24 | + 31.123 |
| 25 | Kush Maini | MP Motorsport | 24 | + 54.804 |
| 26 | Hunter Yeany | Campos | 24 | + 85.486 |
| 27 | Zak O’Sullivan | Carlin | 24 | + 2 Laps |
| 28 | David Vidales | Campos | 15 | Puncture |
| 29 | Brad Benavides | Carlin | 10 | Steering |
| 30 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 2 | Power |
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