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Strong podium finish for Will on BRDC British F3 debut at Spa

Will Palmer claimed a podium finish on his BRDC British Formula 3 Championship debut, as he came home third in race three of the meeting at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The 19-year-old had taken pole position for the encounter by virtue of setting the fastest lap from across the first two races, but had to settle for the final spot in the top-three behind Lando Norris and Matheus Leist.

Earlier in the day, Will had battled hard to come through from the back of the grid to claim a creditable 11^th place finish in the partially reversed-grid race two. He overtook a number of rivals to make up five places on his original grid spot but, more importantly, he posted the fastest lap of the race, a 2m17.088s, securing him pole position for race three.

In warm and sunny conditions, Will led the BRDC British Formula 3 field away as the lights went out to start race three. Despite his fellow front-row starter Matheus Leist perhaps making a slightly better getaway, the 2015 BRDC Formula 4 Champion was able to easily fend off the Double R Racing man at La Source.

He came through the opening lap having opened up a slight lead on his rivals behind but he soon had Carlin's Lando Norris closing him down as the race headed into its middle stages. Unable to match the straightline speed of Norris, Will valiantly held off the 16-year-old as he attempted to pass the first time on the Kemmel Straight, but had to relinquish the position at the same point on the next circuit.

Brazilian Leist was not too far away from the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner either and he took advantage of the huge slipstream available to cars following behind to take second off Will heading into turn five. Despite these setbacks, Will drove a controlled race to manage the gap to the chasing pack, and he eventually took the chequered flag in third to step on to the podium in his very first BRDC British Formula 3 weekend.

Speaking after the race, Will said: "I think it was a good result, although it is slightly disappointing that we didn't convert pole position into the win. We had a good start and had a decent gap after the first lap. We fell away a little bit through the middle and towards the end, and it is almost impossible to defend around here because of the slipstream. I am happy to take P3 though in my first weekend in the championship and my first time at Spa.

"I think the weekend overall has been good, we've had really strong pace with HHC Motorsport. It was good to qualify third and to get the fastest lap too. It is good to end on a good note by getting on the podium."

Will's next outing will be in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 16/17 July.

BRDC British Formula 3 Championship - Spa-Francorchamps - Race Two

1. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, 9 Laps
2. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +0.469s
3. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, +3.696s
4. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, +3.882s
5. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, +4.096s
6. Ricky Collard, Carlin, +4.551s
7. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, +8.424s
8. Ben Hingeley, HHC Motorsport, +9.430s
9. Al Faisal Al Zubair, Fortec Motorsports, +10.568s
11. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, +11.717s

BRDC British Formula 3 Championship - Spa-Francorchamps - Race Three

1. Lando Norris, Carlin, 9 Laps
2. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, +0.508s
3. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, +3.065s
4. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +8.561s
5. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, +8.881s
6. Ricky Collard, Carlin, +10.187s
7. Thomas Maxwell, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +10.694s
8. Eugene Denyssen, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +11.076s
9. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, +11.806s*
10. Ben Hingeley, HHC Motorsport, +15.200s

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