Monaco Grand Prix: F3 Sprint Race Results

Monaco Grand Prix: F3 Sprint Race Results

30 drivers navigated the narrow streets of Monaco for the first race of the Grand Prix weekend

James Fiorucci 4 min read

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Round 4 of the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship got underway with Saturday’s Sprint race. Who would master the tricky Monaco streets to claim the victory?

Monaco Grand Prix: F3 Sprint Race Results
Italy’s Gabriele Mini has looked like the driver to beat all weekend (Image Credit: @Formula3 on X)

Prema Racing’s Gabriele Mini set the quickest lap during Qualifying, while Christian Mansell was second fastest for ART Grand Prix. The former has looked like the driver to beat all weekend, as he topped the timing screens during a rain-affected Thursday Practice.

Mini sits just three points below the top of a very tight Drivers’ Standings, currently occupied by fellow Italian Leonardo Fornaroli. Both drivers have yet to win a race this season but are well-placed thanks to consistent finishes in points-paying positions.

Italy also feature prominently at the head of the Teams’ Championship, as Prema Racing lead Trident with 124 and 107 points respectively.

For the Sprint race, the top 12 are reversed for the starting grid. This means that it will be an all-ART Grand Prix front row with Nikola Tsolov ahead of Laurens van Hoepen.

James Hedley will participate in his first ever F3 race, starting from the back of the grid. The Briton has replaced Matias Zagazeta in the #19 Jenzer Motorsport car as the latter recovers from emergency surgery to remove an inflamed appendix.

Owing to the tight and twisty nature of the famed Circuit de Monaco, overtaking is always difficult at the Principality. A fast start would be crucial to increasing one’s odds of winning the Monaco Sprint; who would see the chequered flag first? Find out below.

Opening laps

Tsolov maintained P1 into Sainte-Devote, while Tim Tramnitz managed to get the jump on van Hoepen to claim second position. A little further back, Luke Browning performed two impressive overtakes on Oliver Goethe and Fornaroli to move up to eighth position in his Williams-liveried Hitech Pulse-Eight.

However, the Safety Car was immediately out on circuit as a multi-car pileup was initiated by Arvid Lindblad turning ahead of Mansell. Five cars in total were out of the race, the other three being Cian Shields, Alex Dunne and Joshua Dufek.

Due to the number of stricken cars on the racetrack, the Red flags were waved and the entire field was marshalled back into the pits to give marshals the opportunity to clear the circuit. Lindblad’s car appeared to be stuck to the side of Dufek’s AIX Racing, likewise Dunne and Mansell’s cars, which significantly delayed the eventual restart.

Race restart

The remaining 25 drivers lined up for the remaining 20 laps of the 23-lap event with a rolling start. This made it easier for Tsolov to once again keep first place, while Tramnitz and van Hoepen slotted into second and third respectively. By the end of the first sector, Tsolov had already pulled out over a second’s advantage ahead of Tramnitz.

Noel Leon and Joseph Loake provided the closest racing action in the battle for fourth, but after the carnage on the opening lap the focus of the field appeared to be on keeping their cars firmly on the circuit.

Onto lap six, Tramnitz began to close back in on Tsolov for the lead. He was on the fringes of gaining DRS behind the ART Grand Prix, but Tsolov responded by upping his pace and maintaining over a second’s advantage.

The race progresses

Sophia Floersch received a ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, though the Van Amersfoort Racing driver was out of the points in 15th. Another penalty came the way of newcomer Hedley, who had five seconds added to his race time for speeding in the pitlane.

Meanwhile, Nikita Bedrin was climbing his way up the running order after starting the race from the pits, but complained on his team radio of damage after hitting the wall.

Overtakes were few and far between due to the lack of long straights and hard braking zones. However, this didn’t stop Callum Voisin from scything his way past Kacper Sztuka in the mid-pack.

Back at the front, Tsolov continued his consolidation of the race lead, extending the gap to over three seconds ahead of Tramnitz on lap 13, with van Hoepen piling the pressure on the German less than half a second behind. It was clear that some drivers were struggling more with tyre wear than others.

Sztuka picked up a puncture and retired his car near the exit of the pitlane, which brought out the Safety Car for a second time. Contact with Floersch, who had dislodged her front wing, was the likely cause. Floersch subsequently retired, as did a damage-carrying Bedrin.

Closing stages

The Safety Car peeled in at the end of lap 15, releasing Tsolov who performed another brilliant restart and kept P1. Tramnitz’ tyre woes appeared to be continue, as he lost contact with Tsolov and van Hoepen stuck to the gearbox of the MP Motorsport.

But Tsolov wouldn’t rest just yet. His excessive weaving at the restart had been noted by the race stewards, which could potentially result in a five second penalty. His team told him to try and extend his lead to over that amount to be sure of victory.

The Bulgarian duly responded by moving over three seconds ahead of Tramnitz, though there was no need as he was cleared of any wrongdoing. At the back of grid, an off-track excursion for Sami Meguetounif dropped the Frenchman to 22nd. He retired on the following lap.

Tsolov capped off an assured drive at the front to claim his first podium and win in F3. Tramnitz clung to P2, while van Hoepen maintained third ahead of Leon. Dino Beganovic, who crossed the line in seventh, scored an extra point with the fastest lap of the Sprint.

Sprint race final classification

Full race results can be found here.

Feature Image Credit: @Formula3 on X

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