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Imola F3: Kari passes Stroll for maiden victory

Red Bull junior Niko Kari claimed his first European Formula 3 victory in Race 1 at Imola after making a move on championship leader Lance Stroll.

Niko Kari, Motopark Dallara F312 – Volkswagen

Niko Kari, Motopark Dallara F312 – Volkswagen

James Gasperotti

Starting second, Kari slotted in behind Stroll after the start and put pressure on the Canadian before the safety car came in, as Pedro Piquet got stranded in the gravel.

Stroll continued to lead after the restart, with Kari keeping up but unable to make a move.

However, the safety car was soon out again as David Beckmann went off, the German retiring soon after passing Anthoine Hubert for sixth.

Once it was back to green, Kari stayed close to Stroll and went around the outside of him at Turn 1 to grab the lead.

He then completed the rest of the race in front with Stroll settling for second, less than a second adrift.

Joel Eriksson completed the podium, the Swede making three moves, including an impressive outside move at Tamburello for the spot.

Prema's Nick Cassidy and Hitech's George Russell took fourth and fifth respectively, with Hubert reclaiming sixth after Beckmann's retirement.

Ferrari junior Guan Yu Zhou took his best result since June in seventh ahead of Ralf Aron, Ben Barnicoat and Mikkel Jensen.

Maximilian Gunther failed to score points, as he only gained five positions from 17th on the grid.

That allowed Stroll to extend his championship lead to 86 with only 125 on offer in the remaining races.

Prema was crowned as teams' champion, claiming its fourth straight title in the series.

Race 1 results:

 Pos.Driver TeamTime/Gap
 Niko Kari Motopark 36'05.485
 Lance Stroll Prema Powerteam 0.788
 Joel Eriksson Motopark 0.998
 Nick Cassidy Prema Powerteam 2.301
 George Russell Hitech GP 2.701
 Anthoine Hubert Van Amersfoort Racing 4.997
 Guan Yu Zhou Motopark 6.591
 Ralf Aron Prema Powerteam 7.573
 Ben Barnicoat Hitech GP 7.991
10   Mikkel Jensen Mucke Motorsport 8.409
11   Harrison Newey Van Amersfoort Racing 9.574
12   Maximilian Gunther Prema Powerteam 11.434
13   Nikita Mazepin Hitech GP 12.104
14   Andy Chang T-Sport 18.283
15   Callum Ilott Van Amersfoort Racing 18.391
Ret  Sergio Sette Camara Motopark  
Ret  Ukyo Sasahara T-Sport  
Ret  David Beckmann Mucke Motorsport  
Ret  Pedro Piquet Van Amersfoort Racing  

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