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30 drivers pushed themselves to the limit for Qualifying for the 2024 Spielberg Formula 3 round. Who set the fastest lap of them all?
The 2024 season has passed the halfway stage, making it all the more pertinent for the young stars on the grid to put in great performances and get their name out there.
Italian youngster Leonardo Fornaroli, driving for Trident, currently leads the Drivers’ Championship on 84 points. This is despite not having won a single race so far in this campaign. Briton Luke Browning is just behind in the Standings on 79 points, while Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad is the only driver to record two victories this year.
However, it was Charlie Wurz of Jenzer Motorsport who set the timing screens alight in the earlier practice session. The son of former Formula 1 driver Alexander Wurz’ time of a 1:21.182 puts him in good stead for when it really matters in Qualifying.
While the layout of the Red Bull Ring, with long straights and hard braking zones, is conducive to plenty of overtakes and charges up the running order, a solid Qualifying position will only increase one’s odds of seeing the chequered flag first. Drivers would have 30 minutes to go as fast as they possibly can around the 4.318km-long circuit; who would claim pole?
How it happened
GREEN LIGHT! ?
Qualifying is underway here in Spielberg ?#F3 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Vw1hZUyFEB
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) June 28, 2024
The #29 car of Callum Voisin was first out on track, followed by Joseph Loake and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak driving for IAX Racing and Rodin Motorsport respectively. Drivers jostled for position on their warm-up laps, trying to find a sufficient gap before pushing.
Most drivers opted for three warm-up laps to get their Soft tyres into the correct temperature window. Voisin got the first representative time on the board with a 1:22.567, although this was swiftly usurped by a number of drivers with Noel Leon the pick of the bunch with a 1:21.292 to put him in P1.
After all 30 drivers had gotten their first times out, it was the Prema Racing of Gabriele Mini on provisional pole by virtue of a 1:21.013 time.
Several drivers improved on their second flying laps as four contestants moved into the 1:20s. Mini however retained the top spot with a 1:20.869, with Leon just five milliseconds down on the Italian with 20 minutes of Qualifying remaining.
Meanwhile, Nikita Bedrin fell foul of track limits and oversteered in the gravel on the outside of Turn 9. Tommy Smith of Van Amersfoort Racing made the same mistake a few minutes later.
The second half
After a cooldown lap, Leon put the hammer down once again and reclaimed first position with a 1:20.804 before following the rest of the field into the pitlane for a change of tyres.
The majority of the field are now in the pits, waiting for the perfect opportunity to set a time ?#F3 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/238ukb0ipP
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) June 28, 2024
Cars started filtering out of the pits with just over eight minutes of the session to go, but a spanner was thrown in the works as drivers began reporting a few drops of water on their visors.
With the threat of rain possible, the field hastened their warm-up plans to get out their flying laps as soon as possible. Browning began his fast lap with just three minutes of Qualifying left, an improvement in the first sector an indication that the track was still dry. He went quicker than anyone else in the middle sector, helping him claim P1 with a 1:20.222.
Drivers throughout the field were improving, with the ART Grand Prix due of Laurens van Hoepen and Christian Mansell slotting into second and third respectively. Arvid Lindblad and Tim Tramnitz snatched those positions away from the teammates, but nobody could beat Browning’s time, granting the Hitech driver his first pole position of the season.
Ending the session in P12 was Mansell, meaning he will start Saturday’s Sprint race on reverse grid pole alongside Nikola Tsolov.
Qualifying classification
The top 12 were as follows:
1. Luke Browning
2. Arvid Lindblad
3.
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12.
Feature Image Credit: @Formula3 on X