Noah Strømsted wins frantic Austria F3 Feature Race

Noah Strømsted delivered Trident a superb victory in a breathless Formula 3 Feature Race at the Red Bull Ring, emerging from a chaotic lead fight to beat Ugo Ugochukwu and teammate Freddie Slater in Austria.

Strømsted strikes late in Spielberg thriller

The race had promised action after an eventful Saturday, when Ernesto Rivera claimed victory in the Spielberg F3 Sprint Race, and Sunday’s Feature Race did not disappoint. Hiyu Yamakoshi started from pole after his sharp qualifying performance, covered in detail here: Hiyu Yamakoshi claims first F3 pole in Spielberg qualifying, but the order changed almost immediately.

Yamakoshi initially defended from championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu, only for the Campos Racing driver to launch strongly out of Turn 1 and take the lead into Turn 3. Behind them, the Trident pair of Strømsted and Slater settled into the fight, while Tuukka Taponen ran inside the top five.

An early Safety Car followed a Turn 1 incident involving Maciej Gładysz and Yevan David, with Ernesto Rivera also spinning on the opening lap. At the restart, Slater was decisive: he passed Strømsted into Turn 3, then Yamakoshi into Turn 4, quickly putting himself in range of Ugochukwu.

Lead battle swings between Ugochukwu, Slater and Strømsted

The race was interrupted again by a Virtual Safety Car after Fernando Barrichello and Michael Shin made contact exiting Turn 4, sending both into the gravel and out. Once racing resumed, positions continued to change rapidly, with Taponen moving ahead of Strømsted and Alessandro Giusti climbing into sixth.

Slater then took the lead from Ugochukwu on Lap 9 as he chased a first Formula 3 win, before Yamakoshi briefly moved into second when Ugochukwu ran wide to avoid contact. But the Campos driver fought back, attacking into Turn 4 to reclaim second after several laps locked behind the VAR car.

The decisive phase came in the closing laps. Slater made a rare mistake at Turn 9, putting two wheels into the gravel, yet held on as the leading group ran nose-to-tail. Ugochukwu retook the lead on Lap 22, Slater answered one lap later, and then Strømsted seized his moment to make it three different leaders in three laps.

Ugochukwu wins last-lap duel for second

Behind Strømsted, Ugochukwu and Slater produced a fierce final-lap battle, pushing each other to the limit through Turns 4 and 5 before Ugochukwu secured second. Pedro Clerot charged to fourth after a strong sequence of overtakes, with Jin Nakamura completing the top five.

Taito Kato finished sixth ahead of Taponen, pole-sitter Yamakoshi, Nicola Lacorte and Kanato Le, rounding out a top 10 that reflected the relentless movement and pressure of a standout Austrian Feature Race.

Strømsted strikes late in Spielberg thriller