Academy Report: Impressing in Imola

The Emilia Romagna GP weekend saw racing back in Europe as a busy few months began for our Formula 2 and Formula 3 hopefuls.

The Williams Racing Driver Academy restarted the season in style thanks to a sublime Saturday victory that featured a last-lap overtake and jubilant celebrations on the Imola podium for Franco Colapinto.

Zak O'Sullivan and Luke Browning also enjoyed their fair share of overtaking in an action-packed three days of feeder series racing around the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Two years after taking his first F3 victory around the undulating Imola circuit, Franco made history repeat in Formula 2 after a stellar drive in a dramatic Sprint Race.

An early Safety Car allowed our Argentine ace to advance to P2 when the race restarted and began closing in on the leader thanks to his superior pace.

After biding his time to strike, Franco used DRS to get alongside and outdrive Paul Aron at Tamburello on the very last lap.

That careful timing didn't give his Estonian rival any opportunity to fight back in a heartstopping grandstand finish that left Franco revelling in champagne celebrations on the podium.

Sunday's Feature Race had a P5 result, too, meaning another 10 points for his championship tally, and Franco sits a hugely respectable P7 in his rookie season.

A frustrating time in Imola meant Zak left Italy without any points.

The weekend began on the back foot, with a P18 qualification and a five-place grid penalty carried over from Australia.

Irrespective, Zak masterfully navigated Lap 1 chaos in Saturday's Sprint Race when five cars crashed out in the opening metres.

He advanced an astonishing 10 positions from P22 to P12 in a single lap and eventually finished P9, just one position shy of the points.

Sunday saw further passes and progress, but his P13 wasn't enough to score in Imola, and Zak will look ahead to the upcoming Monaco weekend instead.

The F3 title fight is hotting up after another high-scoring weekend for Luke, who now sits just three points adrift of the P1 in the standings.

Luke kept in the points-paying positions during Saturday's Safety Car-filled Sprint Race but eventually retired after a collision when attempting a penultimate-lap overtake at Tosa.

However, he shrugged off any late-race disappointment by Sunday morning and turned a P9 start into a P4 finish with a flurry of overtakes throughout the 22-lap race.

Judging by how tight it is at the top of the F3 championship table, those 12 points will prove valuable by the season's finale.