The top six drivers in the Formula 3 standings all have a chance to clinch the title this weekend in Monza.
The current championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli, has 129 points. Gabriele Mini has 128 points. Six points behind them is Luke Browning.
In fourth place is the highest-placed rookie, Arvid Lindblad, on 113 points. Dino Beganovic and Christian Mansell have 100 and 97 points respectively, as the final two drivers who have a mathematical chance at taking the crown this weekend.
Oliver Goethe was the seventh and final driver with a shot at the title, on 94 points, but he gave it up for a chance to make his Formula 2 debut after Franco Colapinto was called up to Formula 1.
With six drivers who have a chance and the top two just one point away from each other, tensions are high headed into this season finale, but the drivers are all feeling confident.
Fornaroli
Trident driver Fornaroli has lead the championship more than any other driver this season, his consistency allowing him to stay on or near the top at all times.
Even though he hasn’t won a race this season, there have only been two races in the whole season so far where the Italian driver hasn’t scored any points – The Imola Sprint Race, where he finished 11th, and the Austria Sprint Race, where he finished 12th.
Still, his margin in the standings isn’t wide enough for comfort, as he acknowledged ahead of the weekend.
“Of course, I am leading the Championship and that gives me confidence but it’s just by one point,” said Fornaroli. “So, anything can happen, everything is still possible, nothing is decided.
“But anyway, that’s okay, I don’t want to think about it before going to Monza otherwise my brain is going to explode.”
Contemplating his season so far, Fornaroli commented: “Looking back, I think the key was just to do my best without making any mistakes,” he explained. “If sometimes you cannot win, just finish second, third or fourth, just take as many points as possible without making any mistakes.
“But I am also proud of our pace in Qualifying and in the races, it’s been super good. Compared to last year I’ve made a huge step and also with the car, with Trident, we developed it a lot.
“I’m not a hundred percent satisfied with my job, especially with what happened in Austria, which was a really bad mistake, a really small mistake but with big consequences. In Imola, I was about to win or fight with Sami [Meguetounif] for the win but unfortunately, I had the issue on the main straight and we lost so much time, I have that one here in my head you know.
“It was terrible for me, but we managed still to finish third and score good points but of course I lost some points there. However, we cannot change the past, and I’m only looking forwards to the future.”
Mini
Hot on Fornaroli’s tail is his fellow countryman, Mini. The Alpine junior and PREMA Racing driver is also in his second season of Formula 3, having finished seventh overall his rookie season. Now, he’s just one point off the title lead with one round to go.
“I feel pretty chilled out,” Mini said ahead of the title showdown. “I don’t have to do anything extra than what I’ve done. The goal is always the maximum, so my approach won’t change for this final weekend.
“I don’t have to do 110%, it’s just 100% and maximise what I have. Like I said, the mistake I made last year was when I couldn’t get Pole or win, I was trying still and there would be one time when it went well, and then three times when it didn’t.
“So, for these final races, I feel calm, we need to avoid making mistakes, but I just need to do a good job, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Mini has only won one race this year, but with three second places and 11 top six finishes, he’s cemented himself as a real threat to Fornaroli’s lead. But despite his calm demeanor, he also admitted that he knows this title is crucial.
“It’s my second season so I have to win,” he commented. “The goal is always to win so of course it’s nice to go into the final round in contention for the title.
“It’s never easy to change your approach but it’s something that you know if you don’t change, your career might not go forward.
“It’s something I’ve done for this season and even though I’ve made that change, it doesn’t mean I’ve been perfect. I know where I have to work on every time I go into a weekend or get into the car in general and we try to work on it. So, it wasn’t easy to do but it was necessary.”
Browning
Browning is the third driver within six points of the title, and he’s confident heading into this weekend that his luck so far this season will stay with him/
“We have been so fast this year, especially in Qualifying, the Feature Races as well,” he said, commenting on his season. “I think the first six Feature Races we weren’t outside the top six, which is exactly what it is about.
“I think the Sprint Races have let us down this year. These fine margins make the difference. We look back to Spa, in the Sprint Race and I think if I would have gone over track limits one less time, I’d be equal on points with the lead of the Championship going into the last round.
“But that’s racing, everyone is in the same boat and we are where we are. We’ve had some luck go our way, some bad luck come, but I think generally as a person I have been very lucky, lucky Luke I think as the old Spanish cartoon says. So, I believe I’ve been lucky and hopefully it shows in Monza.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, Browning added: “If I put it on pole and I win the Feature it doesn’t really matter what happens in the Sprint, so we will see, it puts it in our hands. I am confident, I am excited, I love Formula 3, it was a dream for me to be here a couple years ago, now I feel like a veteran, so I am ready to win this and move on.”
Lindblad, Beganovic, and Mansell are further behind, but Formula 3 is unpredictable enough that any of these six drivers could clinch the 2024 championship this weekend in Monza, which kicks off today with Qualifying.
Feature Image Credit: Joe Portlock – Getty Images