Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning was victorious for the second time this season in the F3 Feature Race of the 2024 Austrian GP weekend. The PREMA of Dino Beganovic was hot on his heels for the majority of the race, before he was caught up in a scrap for the podium with his teammate Gabriele Minì and demoted to P3. Minì stormed to P2, and ART Grand Prix’s Christian Mansell drove a blinder to P4, narrowly missing a podium. The win propels Browning to the top of the Championship.
As much as the race was battle-ridden, it was also penalty-ridden. MP’s Tim Tramnitz and Alex Dunne, and Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin all received ten-second penalties for causing collisions. Dunne’s penalty promoted Sophia Floersch into the points once again. Floersch is the first female in history to earn points in a Formula 3 race.
Trident’s Sami Meguetounif and two Hitech Pulse-Eights of Cian Shields and Martinius Stenshorne fell victim to the high degradation and tricky corners of the Red Bull Ring. The three drivers were handed five-second penalties for track limit violations during the course of the race.
At Lights Out
Polesitter Luke Browning had a great start followed by Minì and PREMA’s Arvid Lindblad. Begnovic tucked in behind Lindblad before making a move down Turn 6. The two PREMA teammates squabbled into the second lap, but ultimately at that point Beganovic was on top. It was a great start for PREMA, who had all three cars in the top four on the opening lap. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon was another driver to have a great start, up 6 places to P7. By Lap 3, Browning was almost out of DRS of the PREMA pack behind, but Beganovic clung onto the gearbox.
Joseph Loake entered the pits with a puncture from a mid-pack collision and rejoined at the back of the pack. It was a terrible start for Sebastián Montoya also. He was out of the race with damage after a collision with Tramnitz.
Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin and AIX’s Joshua Dufek were noted by the stewards after the Rodin driver caused a collision. Dufek was off, carrying a huge amount of damage to the pits. Alex Dunne was into the back of Lindblad after moving up to P5 by Lap 9. However, both cars were able to keep going. Dunne was later penalised for the incident with a ten-second penalty.
Half Way Through
As the halfway point of the race approached, Campos’ Oliver Goethe was down the inside of Dunne to snatch P5. Noel Leon was in P4, having progressed nine places up the board. Less than a second separated drivers in positions 1-21 at this stage.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed on Lap 12 – Nikita Bedrin spun at Turn 3 following contact with Mari Boya. He was unable to restart the car and was forced to retire.
LAP 12 / 26
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) June 30, 2024
🟡 Virtual Safety Car 🟡
Nikita Bedrin is off at turn 3 after contact with Mari Boya #F3 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/SpMqCjt18y
At the Virtual Safety Car restart, Browning took off down the main straight into Lap 13. Noel Leon now had to defend from Oli Goethe, the two battling until Leon suffered a puncture in the action as he headed into Turn 6. After a promising start to the session, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver was out of the race.
Tramniz and Voisin joined Dunne with ten-second penalties for causing collisions in the F3 Feature Race of the 2024 Austrian GP weekend. All three would tumble down the closely-fought pack after the race.
By Lap 15, Beganovic was 0.475 off of Browning out front and Minì in P3. The third Trident of Lindblad had dropped to P6 after the incident with Dunne, with Goethe and Dunne ahead in P5 and P6 respectively.
Eight Laps to Go
Eight laps to go and Beganovic was still breathing down Browning’s neck for the top spot on the podium. Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli was down in P12, desperately trying to make his way through the pack to get some all-important Championship points. His Trident teammate Sami Meguetounif was handed a five-second penalty for repeated track limits violations. Cian Shields was also handed a five second penalty for track limits.
Sophia Floersch, the first female to achieve points in Formula 3, had her sights set on more as she overtook Meguetounif for P13. With time penalties due for some drivers ahead of her, she would be into the points at the end of the session.
Christian Mansell was on a charge in his ART down the inside of Goethe for P4, sights set on a podium place following his disappointment in the Sprint yesterday. The Australian driver confused a signal through his earpiece for a Safety Car notification in the Sprint, coming off of the throttle and giving up the win in the process. Stenshorne was next to receive a track limits penalty; five seconds would be added to his time.
LAP 18 / 26
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) June 30, 2024
Christian Mansell move into 6th after going around the outside of Lindblad at turn 4 🙌
He's got some serious speed at this stage of the race 💨#F3 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/VAjaNi3uwP
Drag Race to the Flag
A scrap was unravelling up front. Mansell went round the outside of Turn 4 to snatch P3, before Minì regained it by Turn 6. The battle meant Browning finally escaped DRS from Beganovic, who was now vulnerable to Minì and Mansell behind. Minì was up to P2 following a nail biting battle with his teammate. Beganovic was right back at him on the last lap, the battle coming right down to the chequered flag as Minì lost and regained P2 at the last moment. Beganovic would have to settle for P3 and Mansell for P4.
Photo credit: Williams Racing
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