03/08/2025 23:04
Rising New Zealand motorsport star Louie Sharp is believed to have
set a new Formula 3 record in the Hungarian Grand Prix support
races. Sharp, who drives for Rodin Motorsport is in his first
season of FIA F3, is the defending GB3 champion, having also won
the British F4 title in 2023 - something Lando Norris also achieved
in his junior career. The 18-year-old, who was born in the UK and
moved to New Zealand as a child, started 28th in the wet feature
race on Sunday morning, but carved through the field to finish
11th. It is believed this is the greatest number of positions ever
gained in an F3 race. Those 17 places gained in the feature race
were after Sharp gained 12 places in the safety car-affected Sprint
on Saturday to finish 16th, meaning he made a total of 29 overtakes
across the weekend. After car problems at Spa, the team have
identified an engine problem costing straight-line speed, meaning
he was down in 28th in qualifying. Sharp has a best finish of
fourth in the Imola Sprint, and was sure that the performances
showed he was a better driver than his qualifying result showed.
"We really had no pace once again in qualifying – I'm not a P28
driver," he said. "It seems to be the same old issues, and we're
struggling to understand what they are. Every weekend, it seems to
be getting worse, and we're getting slower and slower. "I started
the season at the front, and we've just kept slipping backwards as
others have moved forward – it's very, very frustrating. "We
bounced back really well, the fact that I was able to make up so
many positions in both the dry and the wet shows that even when
we're struggling with the car, I can still move forward and race
well. "It was really enjoyable. I was able to make some really cool
overtakes - the pass on [Mercedes F1 junior Noah] Stromsted was
probably one of my best ever, and then the Feature Race in the wet
was even more fun, carving through the pack."
