The Safety Car took center stage, being called out three times. First F3 victory for Callum Voisin, ahead of Montoya and Fornaroli. Browning finished sixth, while Minì and Lindblad were out of the points.
First Formula 3 victory for Callum Voisin! The young 2006-born driver from the Rodin team, after securing pole position, comfortably maintained the lead, aided by three Safety Car appearances that solidified the positions during the race. Sebastian Montoya finishes second, achieving his first podium in Formula 3 thanks to an excellent start. Leonardo Fornaroli is content with third place, as these 15 points bring him to the top of the Championship standings ahead of the final race in Monza, although he has yet to secure his first win.
The other title contender, Luke Browning, finished sixth after receiving a penalty for track limits in yesterday’s race. It was a disaster for Gabriele Minì, who spun at the start due to a very optimistic maneuver by Goethe. Lindblad also retired after a collision with Christian Mansell.
In the overall standings, as previously mentioned, Leonardo Fornaroli retakes the lead with 129 points, one point ahead of Gabriele Minì. Luke Browning is third with 123 points, while Lindblad is still in contention with 113 points. It will likely be a battle among these four drivers in the final race at Monza, scheduled for September 1.
As for the team standings, despite not scoring any points in today’s race, Prema is confirmed as the champion for the third consecutive year! A great result for the Grisignano di Zocco team, which reaffirms itself as the top of the category.
Feature Race F3 Spa: the race report.
Third-to-last race of the 2024 Formula 3 season: now every point will be crucial. Surprisingly, Callum Voisin starts from pole position, revitalized after his great performance at Silverstone, and will be joined by… Alex Dunne. Our Leonardo Fornaroli will start third., with a great opportunity to take the lead in the championship, also taking advantage of the fact that the Trident team is always super competitive at Monza. Luke Browning is in seventh, having been penalized yesterday at the end of the race for track limits, thereby losing the points he had earned. The leader Gabriele Minì is in eleventh, and Lindblad is only in twenty-seventh, although he did make up ground quickly yesterday. Just like yesterday, the track is slippery, so it will be important to be cautious during the first lap.
Voisin gets off to a good start, maintaining the lead of the race ahead of Montoya and Fornaroli, while Dunne is struggling. Right behind, there was an immediate twist as the championship leader Gabriele Minì spun out after contact with Goethe, who suffered a puncture. The German driver, running with a Red Bull livery, was very optimistic going into La Source.
At the start of the second lap, the leader Voisin goes wide at La Source but manages to hold his position ahead of Montoya and Fornaroli. Behind them, Browning overtakes Esterson and retakes seventh position. Meanwhile, there was contact between Taponen and Stenshorne at Stavelot; the drivers are okay, but the Safety Car is deployed. The Norwegian driver with the McLaren livery spun after a contact with Sophia Floersch, while behind him, the ART rookie who is replacing Tsolov also spun, probably to avoid him.
After 4 laps behind the Safety Car, the race restarts with 9 laps remaining: the top 3 maintain their positions, while Meguetounif takes fourth place from Dunne. Behind them, contact between Sophia Floersch and Joseph Loake at Bruxelles corner brings out another Safety Car.
Green flag on the tenth lap: Dunne loses many positions and drops to tenth place, allowing Browning to move up to fifth. Further back, there was a double contact: first, Lindblad was hit by Mansell, while, due to a right rear puncture, Mari Boya crashed into the wall. Third Safety Car of the race!
It’s been a disaster for Arvid Lindblad, who, due to two disastrous qualifying sessions, hasn’t been able to score points in the last 4 races. Nevertheless, the drivers ahead aren’t pulling away in the standings, so the young Red Bull Junior Team driver is still fully in the race for the title.
The race restarts, and it’s two final laps of excitement! Fornaroli closes in on Montoya but can’t get past him, while behind them, Noel Leon puts in another great race, overtaking Meguetounif to move up to fourth position after also passing Browning. The final lap begins: Voisin has an 8-tenth lead over Montoya, who must defend against Leonardo Fornaroli, but he doesn’t make a dive at Les Combes. Behind them, Minì can’t get past Bedrin for thirteenth place.
The race ends as follows: Callum Voisin wins from pole position, Montoya takes second ahead of Fornaroli, who is the new championship leader. Browning finishes sixth, while Gabriele Minì ends up outside the points. The final round of the season is just over a month away at the Monza circuit, which, as in the last few championship editions, will be decisive in awarding the title.
PHOTO: FIA Formula 3.
