F3: Herta closes season with win at Barcelona

Colton Herta raced to his fourth victory of the season Sunday in the EuroFormula Open season finale at Barcelona, capping a successful first season in the series by Carlin Racing.

The 16-year-old Herta started second behind newly crowned champion Leonardo Pulcini, who was fastest off the line from third, passing both Herta and polesitter Ferdinand Habsburg for the lead. Herta passed Habsburg to slot in behind Pulcini until lap 4, when he and Habsburg passed him for the lead. The fight between Herta and Habsburg was as tense as the previous day, with less than a second separating the two for the majority of the race. As the leaders fought, Pulcini was able to close back in, and was running in a close third.

Despite the pressure from behind, Herta extended the gap ever from Habsburg and held on for the win, sealing third place in the championship standings.

"We've had such a strong weekend again here," Herta said. "To win today on top of a P2 yesterday is great and I'm so thankful to Carlin for all the work and giving me a great car. Four wins, six podiums and five pole positions; we've come on so strong at the end of the year. It's great to see the progress we've made."

"The team and drivers have done a fantastic job to make the progress they have throughout the season," team owner Trevor Carlin added. "We finish 2016 as a front-running team in EuroFormula Open and claiming four wins in the last four events is a testament not only to the team, but the progress that Colton has made as a driver. All three drivers finishing in the top six yesterday shows what a strong car we have, and we're already working hard to continue this level of progress for 2017."