Giuliano Alesi secured his third consecutive Sunday victory in the GP3 Series after jumping into the lead at the start at Spa-Francorchamps and never being headed thereafter.
A slow start from polesitter Julien Falchero enabled his fellow Frenchman Alesi to take the lead into La Source, and despite a great drive from ART Grand Prix’s George Russell from eighth on the grid, the Trident driver held on to take the win.
Niko Kari was an early charger, jumping ahead of Russell before passing Kevin Jörg and Arjun Maini in the opening two laps, before Dorian Boccolacci and Jack Aitken clashed on the Kemmel Straight, with both drivers hitting the pits for repairs at the end of the lap to promote him up to fourth.
Russell then found a way back passed Kari, with Ryan Tveter moving ahead of Falchero for second to make it a Trident 1-2, but it was not long before Russell was on the move again, finding a way into third at Les Combes on lap seven before jumping Tveter for second down the Kemmel Straight two laps later.
The gap to Alesi was insurmountable, with the Frenchman claiming the win by 3.323 seconds, with Russell extending his championship advantage to thirty-four points, mainly thanks to Aitken’s failure to score.
Tveter held onto third, while Nirei Fuzukumi took fourth for ART Grand Prix with a last lap lunge on Falchero, with the Campos Racing driver ultimately being forced to settle for fifth.
Kari crossed the line in sixth, but the Red Bull-backed Arden International driver was handed a five-second time penalty for pushing Fuzukumi off track as the two battled for position that dropped him out of the points to ninth. Maini therefore inherited sixth for Jenzer Motorsport, while Anthoine Hubert climbed from nineteenth on the grid to claim seventh for ART Grand Prix, with Trident’s Jörg claiming the final point.
Spa-Francorchamps Sprint Race Result
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