WHAT WE LEARNED: The key takeaways from Round 7 at Silverstone

It was quite a few days at Silverstone, as the rain played a huge part in both races, which were also won by the same driver, in PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad.

The British rookie has launched himself firmly into the Drivers’ Championship fight by becoming the first driver to win both races on a single weekend, but there are plenty more stories to unpack from a frenetic Round 7.

LINDBLAD STANDS TALL ON HOME SOIL

Lindblad came into his home weekend having already made a great start to his rookie season, as his two victories put him sixth in the Championship on 77 points – trailing then leader Luke Browning by 29 points.

But his performance at Silverstone was otherworldly, taking the lead at the start of the Sprint Race before sailing off into the distance to take victory.

READ MORE: Arvid Lindblad’s Silverstone Weekend in his Words

Weather conditions helped in the Feature, but the 16-year-old’s bold call to give up track position and to pit for slick tyres was inspired.

His ability to keep it clean when the rain came back should be praised and when it dried out, he picked off his rivals one by one to take his second win of the week.

Lindblad now heads to Budapest second in the Standings on 113 points, trailing his teammate Gabriele Minì by just six points as we get set for the final three rounds of the year.

BOLD CALLS ARE REWARDED

The Silverstone Feature Race was entertaining because it put pressure on the drivers and their race engineers to make the right calls at the right time.

That is what Callum Voisin and Piotr Wisnicki did when they chose to stay on the Hard tyres when the rain fell right before the Formation Lap.

The decision of Lindblad, Minì, and Tommy Smith to not only pit for the slicks at the end of the Formation Lap but to stick with them when the rain fell proved be an excellent choice.

RACE ANALYSIS: How decisions under pressure played a huge role in the Silverstone Feature

On top of that, the late decisions made by Oliver Goethe and Nikita Bedrin to switch to the Hards was the right one and got them points that they looked to set miss out on had they stayed on the wets.

It was a race of fine margins and with the weather playing such a crucial part, it was anyone’s best guess as to which tyres to be on. However, the drivers that took the risk of sticking to the Hards were the ones rewarded.

CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD CHANGES HANDS… AGAIN

The battle for the Drivers’ Championship looks set to go down to the wire as for the fifth race weekend in a row, we have a new leader.

Gabriele Minì is new leader in the clubhouse having taken stop spot from Browning after he finished P6 in the Sprint and P2 in the Feature Race.

He regains a lead he lost after Barcelona to Leonardo Fornaroli, who also had top spot taken away from him a week later in Spielberg by Browning.

READ MORE: Browning remains confident in title bid despite ‘tough weekend’ at Silverstone

In fact, Browning is the only driver on the grid to have led the Championship for two consecutive rounds, having topped the Standings at the start of the year in Sakhir and Melbourne.

With three rounds to go, it shows just how tight things are currently in Formula 3, with the top seven in the Standings all separated by just 41 points, and any more changes at the top could be decisive.

SLOW STARTERS FIND MID-SEASON FORM

By their own admission several teams and drivers did not have the start to the year they would have wanted, but we have seen that a return to familiar venues, and with the help of the in-season test, the form of a few has turned around.

For example, Van Amersfoort Racing did not score a point in the opening two rounds but straight after the test and with a return to Imola, Noel León immediately finished on the Sprint Race podium.

That gave them eight points and in the four rounds since, they have added 38 more to their tally and are currently seventh in the Standings, looking to chase down MP Motorsport for sixth.

Rene Rosin: ‘Still more to come’ from PREMA chargers after Lindblad’s Silverstone sweep

Rodin Motorsport were also in a similar situation to VAR after the first few weeks of the season, but the team were always positive that their form would turn around.

That it has, as Joseph Loake scored their first eight points across both races in Monte Carlo, and now Voisin has given them their first podium of the year after finishing third in the Silverstone Feature.

On top of that, Wisnicki’s P5 added to their points tally and now they are on 40 points and chasing down VAR for seventh.

It’s an impressive turnaround for both teams, who will be hoping to end the season on a high and to carry that momentum into 2025.