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Formula 3 - Collet and Martins take MP Motorsport 1-2 in opening session at Sochi

24.09.21

MP Motorsport pairing Caio Collet and Victor Martins topped the final Free Practice session of the season by more than two tenths, ahead of Frederik Vesti, as title challenger Jack Doohan had to be wheeled into the pitlane with an issue after the chequered flag in Sochi.

Alex Smolyar led the field out on home soil, and it was the ART Grand Prix driver who punched in the fastest of the opening flyers, setting the standard at 1:56.211. 

Collet, Clément Novalak and Logan Sargeant were the only drivers to beat 1m 55s as track conditions improved and took the top three positions ahead of a spell in the pits. 

Ayumu Iwasa and Jak Crawford stole the spots below Collet when they returned to the track. Meanwhile, Championship leader Dennis Hauger got stuck in traffic after two purple sectors and was forced to pull out of a flyer. The Norwegian was eventually able to complete a fast lap and finished the session in eighth, three tenths off the pace. 

Martins managed to avoid any holdups but missed out on P1 to his teammate by 0.083s. The MP Motorsport duo were more than two tenths ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Vesti, who completed the top three. 

A flurry of late laps were set shortly after the chequered flag, but none could trouble the top three. Iwasa had been bumped down to fourth, as Matteo Nannini rounded out the top five. Novalak and Sargeant remained a part of the top 10 throughout the session but had to settle for sixth and seventh. 

Oliver Rasmussen and Arthur Leclerc were the final drivers to make the top 10 and pushed Crawford and Doohan to 11th and 12th. The latter had to be wheeled into the pitlane by marshals after coming to a halt at the end of the session, with just three hours to go until a pivotal Qualifying session.