Campos Racing’s Mari Boya topped the times in the F3 Practice session at the 2024 Hungarian GP. The Spaniard was followed by the two Hitech Pulse-Eights of Martinius Stenshorne and Luke Browning, both within three tenths. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel León finished in P4 and the Trident of Leonardo Fornaroli in P5.
Tyre degradation will be a huge issue over the course of the weekend. Not only is the Hungaroring a circuit known for its high tyre degradation, but it’s also physically tough. Adding to the fact it’s difficult to overtake at the Austrian track and the high temperatures expected this weekend, it could be a tricky weekend ahead for the drivers.
Martinius Stenshorne was back on track after being forced to sit out at Silverstone. The Norwegian driver was banned from taking to the track after breaching the sporting regulations by competing in other championships. Gabriele Minì, after heading to the top of the Championship standings last weekend, will look to extend the lead this weekend in a closely-fought championship.
As it Happened
The sun was shining as the F3 drivers headed out on track for their practice session at the Hungarian GP. However, the session would start under a Virtual Safety Car test, meaning the teams couldn’t begin their practice runs until 42 minutes remained on the clock.
The session had a very slow start; the cars re-entered the pits following the Safety Car with many drivers exiting the cars. The track is well-known to most-if-not-all drivers in Formula 3, meaning there was no rush to get on track to learn the intricacies of the Hungaroring.
Dino Beganovic was first back out on track with half an hour to go of the practice session, followed by Minì and Arvid Lindblad, who broke records by claiming all race victories in a single Formula 3 weekend back in Silverstone. The rest of the MP and PREMA teams joined their teammates on track while the rest of the grid remained in the pits.
Minì Sets the Benchmark
Minì set the early benchmark; a 1:34.955 with 23 minutes to go, followed by Alex Dunne 0.031s behind. Tramnitz sat in P3 a further 0.3s back. Three minutes later, the rest of the grid had swarmed onto the track to set some lap times. All but Luke Browning, Stenshorne and Sztuka took to the track. Dunne and Tramnitz re-entered the pits out of the way, having already completed their first lap.
Flying laps were piling in as the clock hit 17 minutes to go. León moved to P1 with a 1:34.641, three tenths ahead of Gabriele Minì. However, the rest of the field were unable to make it into the top three. The closest was Callum Voisin still three tenths off the pace. Dunne remained in P3. The Irish driver will serve a ten-place grid penalty in the Sprint this weekend, so will be eager for the rest of the weekend to run smoothly.
Testing the Limits
Fornaroli, following an off in his last flying lap, set the fastest first sector but lost time in the rest of his lap, seeing him sit in P6 with 13 minutes to go of the F3 practice session at the 2024 Hungarian GP. Matias Zagazeta also had an off-track excursion caused by the high tyre wear. However, he was also able to recover.
Mari Boya shot to P1 as the session neared the final ten minutes a staggering 0.405s quicker than León fastest time. The 1:34.236 was a massive improvement on the rest of the grid. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Browning only began a flying lap in the final ten minutes, heading to P4 with a 1:34.701. His teammate Stenshorne shot up to P2, shaving a few tenths off of Boya’s leading time.
Trouble for Beganovic?
Beganovic, who was first out on track, found himself in P24 with four minutes to go. The PREMA driver looked to be working on his race setup, meaning his time did not improve in the session.
There was a final flurry of flying laps the final two minutes of the session. Unfortunately for the likes of León, traffic and tyre degradation meant he could not improve on his lap. With most drivers on race runs, the only change to the top three would be Luke Browning up to P3 as the session ended. Boya stayed in P1 with a 1:34.236, Stenshorne 0.176s behind and Browning another tenth back.
Drivers will now look to Qualifying this afternoon, where the grid will be set for races which could make or break a championship victory for some.
Photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency via Campos Racing
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