David Vidales won the Barcelona Formula 3 sprint race but is under investigation for allegedly forcing second-placed Jak Crawford off the circuit at turn one.
The Spaniard took a provisional home win after leading every lap from partially-reversed-grid pole, but is currently under investigation for pushing Crawford onto the run off at turn one when the American driver attempted to take the lead late in the race.
Zane Maloney had originally claimed partially-reversed-grid pole but was disqualified from the qualifying session after missing the weighbridge, meaning he would start from the pit lane. That promoted home racer Vidales to pole, with Juan Manuel Correa alongside him and Jak Crawford and Kaylen Frederick behind.
Despite a three-way fight into turn one between Vidales, Correa and Crawford, it was the polesitter who emerged in the lead, Correa slotting in behind him as the front of the pack got away in the order it had started.
Isack Hadjar, starting from eighth, had a disastrous start and found himself having to recover from well down the order. When DRS was enabled on lap three, he was able to clear Josep Maria Marti through turn four to claim 14th in his steady progression back into the points positions.
On the following lap, Crawford was able to use DRS to pass Correa through the final turn, passing him on the straight and pulling out a more-than-half-second gap quickly.
“I’ve got no front grip,” Correa said on the radio, on lap six, after slipping further back from Crawford, almost into the clutches of Frederick behind.
Suddenly, championship leader Victor Martins began to fall down the order, going from ninth to 20th within a few corners on lap seven. He was able to return to the pits but did not get back into the race, the points leader out of any opportunity to reinforce his lead in the sprint race.
Franco Colapinto’s car, also on lap seven, had a visibly loose engine cover on the right side, appearing almost like a sail protruding from the back of…