Kato finishes 25th in Silverstone Feature Race
Silverstone CircuitOn Sunday 5 July, the Feature Race for FIA F3 Round 5 was held at Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom.
Feature Race: P16 on the grid → P25
Before the start of the Feature Race, fluid was found on the track surface from the exit of the final corner to around the pole position grid slot. Two formation laps were completed behind the Safety Car (SC) for the clean-up and safety checks. As a result, the race was shortened by one lap from its original distance and was held over 21 laps.
As in the previous day’s Sprint Race, battles developed throughout the field from the early stages. Starting from 16th on the grid, Kato lost positions on both lap 1 and lap 2. He was unable to recover ground afterwards, and by lap 13 had dropped to 24th.
On lap 17, Kato moved up to 22nd, but on lap 18 a car stopped on track with a mechanical issue, bringing out the SC. The race restarted with one lap remaining, and Kato again lost positions on that lap, finishing 26th.
After the race, the driver who had taken the chequered flag in first place was disqualified following post-race scrutineering, which promoted Kato to 25th in the final classification. At the end of Round 5, Kato is 10th in the Drivers’ Standings.
Round 6 will be held at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium from 17 to 19 July.
FIA Formula 3 Round 5 at Silverstone was a really tough race weekend for us. We struggled with pace from Free Practice, and it was a difficult session. Qualifying was also difficult, and we had some issues with the car. I think something was wrong, but we could not identify the cause during the race weekend.
We were missing a lot of pace and struggled with the tyres and tyre management as well. We need to find out what the issue was. I think the car is already back at the factory, so the team will investigate the cause and we will see how it goes.
We never give up. We will stay strong and stay hungry. This is part of racing, and it is what it is. The next round is at Spa, which is one of my favourite tracks. I have confidence, and the team has confidence as well, so I am really looking forward to it. I cannot wait for the next round.
FIA Formula 3 Round 5 at Silverstone was a really tough race weekend for us. We struggled with pace from Free Practice, and it was a difficult session. Qualifying was also difficult, and we had some issues with the car. I think something was wrong, but we could not identify the cause during the race weekend.
We were missing a lot of pace and struggled with the tyres and tyre management as well. We need to find out what the issue was. I think the car is already back at the factory, so the team will investigate the cause and we will see how it goes.
We never give up. We will stay strong and stay hungry. This is part of racing, and it is what it is. The next round is at Spa, which is one of my favourite tracks. I have confidence, and the team has confidence as well, so I am really looking forward to it. I cannot wait for the next round.
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