The German-Danish and Colombian drivers managed to put in significant recovery drives in the FIA Formula 3 races on Saturday and Sunday held on British soil. Boya, however, was out of luck this weekend
The seventh round of FIA Formula 3 at Silverstone was utterly chaotic due to rain, which played an unusual and dramatic role in Sunday's race. Oliver Goethe and Sebas Montoya secured points positions with their Campos Racing Dallara F3 cars, while Mari Boya did not have luck on his side in Britain.
As mentioned, the rain made its first appearance during the practice session, disrupting the normal testing program for teams and drivers. On a wet track that began to dry and then got wet again, the best Campos Racing driver was Boya in fifth place with a time of 2m00.873s, Montoya was further back with a time of 2m01.999s, while Goethe clocked 2m02.683s. In the qualifying session, there was more excitement with the track initially dry, then slightly wet, only to improve surprisingly in the final moments. Unfortunately, the Campos Racing drivers could not set their laps in those final minutes and ended up in low positions. Goethe was fifteenth with a time of 1m45.628s, Montoya seventeenth with a lap of 1m45.784s, and Boya twenty-second with a time of 1m46.429s.
Saturday's sprint race, initially scheduled for the morning, was postponed to late afternoon due to the harsh weather conditions in the morning. Goethe gained a couple of positions when the lights went out, but unfortunately, his race ended on the fourth lap due to a collision with Max Esterson at Copse, which sent both cars into the barriers and brought out the safety car. The race resumed on lap 8, with Montoya climbing through the pack lap by lap. By the 11th lap, he was on the verge of the top ten. Montoya overtook Sami Meguetounif and, after 18 laps, crossed the finish line in seventh place. Boya finished 16th when the checkered flag fell.
In Sunday's race, rain began to fall just before the start, prompting half the grid, including Goethe and Boya, to pit at the end of the formation lap to switch to wet tires. Montoya completed that first lap in 12th place until the safety car came out, with the race resuming on the third lap. However, on lap nine, Montoya couldn't avoid Joshua Dufek, who spun, and along with Alex Dunne, the three were out of the race. The safety car was back on track with Goethe having climbed to 15th place. But just as the race was about to restart, Goethe and Campos Racing decided to pit and switch to slick tires for the race's end. This turned out to be the right strategy, as Goethe began to make rapid progress, first closing the gap and then overtaking drivers non-stop. His recovery ultimately led him to finish in sixth place. Boya, meanwhile, ended up 23rd with severely worn wet tires on an almost dry track.
After Silverstone, Goethe moves up two positions in the drivers' standings and is now fifth with 85 points. Boya and Montoya are in 12th and 18th place with 40 and 16 points, respectively. Campos Racing climbs to fourth place among the teams with 141 points.
The eighth round of the season will move to Hungary, at the Hungaroring, on July 20 and 21.
Photos: © Dutch Photo Agency
