Arjun Maini grabs GP3 podium at Yas Marina Circuit

India's Arjun Maini secured the third place in the penultimate race of the GP3 Series at the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.

File photo of Arjun Maini racing in GP3.

India's Arjun Maini started off the last race weekend of the GP3 Series with a podium finish in the first race at the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.

Arjun qualified P5 on Friday, showed some good pace through the practice session to take third place in the feature race on Saturday.

The

Haas F1 development driver  started the race strongly, moving to P4 on the first lap itself. The front four of Niko Kari,  Leonardo Pulcini, pole-sitter George Russell, and Arjun managed to break away from the rest of the pack by lap five with a healthy five-second gap separating P4 and P5. 

Despite a couple of virtual safety cars out on track, the front four kept pulling away. Russell fought back to get the second place from Pulcini during one of the restarts. On the penultimate lap of the race, Pulcini's left-rear tyre deflated and allowed Arjun to secure his second podium of the season.

“It's great to be on the podium again after Barcelona. The Yas Marina Circuit has always been a very competitive track and getting a podium here is indeed a spectacular feeling. This was a tough race, and hopefully I am able to carry on this momentum into race two and end the season on a high," said Arjun.