Sochi GP3: Beckmann steals win from Mawson with last-lap move

Trident's David Beckmann denied Joey Mawson a maiden GP3 win with a last-lap overtake in the Sochi sprint race as local hero Nikita Mazepin crashed.

Mawson looked set to take a lights-to-flag win, having held off Beckmann in the middle of the race and then building a lead of over a second.

But a late virtual safety car stint ended with him losing all of his lead as both Beckmann and Richard Verschoor ended up right behind the race leader.

Mawson kept them at bay for most of the lap but couldn't defend from Beckmann's DRS attack on the back straight, which meant he was forced to settle for second.

It is Beckmann's third victory in as many rounds since he joined Trident.

Mawson still secured his best result of the season and second podium finish during his rookie campaign.

Title rivals Mazepin and Anthoine Hubert spent most of the race fourth and fifth, the latter tapping Simo Laaksonen into a spin on the second lap but escaping a penalty.

However, Mazepin dramatically hit the wall with just two laps remaining, handing Hubert fourth place, and a 31-point lead.

Juan Manuel Correa made a forceful move on Gabriel Aubry for fifth, while the former's teammate Tatiana Calderon took seventh.

Saturday winner Leonardo Pulcini took the final point-scoring position in eighth followed by Jannes Fittje and Ryan Tveter.

Both Jake Hughes and Giuliano Alesi pitted with damage after making contact, for which the latter was penalised later on.

Callum Ilott also endured a torrid race, which he spent on the outside of the top 10 before he pitted with a suspected mechanical problem, the Ferrari junior losing his mathematical chance to take the crown.

Race results

Cla	Driver	Team	Time
1	David Beckmann	Trident	-
2	Joey Mawson	Arden International	0.6
3	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	1.0
4	Anthoine Hubert	ART Grand Prix	4.5
5	Juan Manuel Correa	Jenzer Motorsport	5.7
6	Gabriel Aubry	Arden International	10.4
7	Tatiana Calderon	Jenzer Motorsport	11.2
8	Leonardo Pulcini	Campos Racing	11.8
9	Ryan Tveter	Trident	13.2
10	Jannes Fittje	Jenzer Motorsport	14.7
11	Pedro Piquet	Trident	15.1
12	Devlin DeFrancesco	MP Motorsport	20.8
13	Sacha Fenestraz	Arden International	25.3
14	Simo Laaksonen	Campos Racing	25.9
15	Diego Menchaca	Campos Racing	26.4
16	Jake Hughes	ART Grand Prix	57.4
17	Giuliano Alesi	Trident	100.3
18	Callum Ilott	ART Grand Prix	1 lap
	Nikita Mazepin	ART Grand Prix	3 laps