First joy in Formula 3 for Nikola Tsolov, Bulgarian driver of the ART Grand Prix who, despite a shiver at the end of the race due to a possible penalty, achieved success in the splendid scenery of the Principality of Monaco. An error-free race for the 17-year-old, who thus reaches the highest point after the 4th place obtained in the first Sprint of the year in Sakhir.
Race report
The fear of a possible entry of the Safety Car or one Red flag has already materialized first round: behind Tsolov, who was good at defending the lead from Tramnitz and Van Hoepen, a contact occurred between Lindblad and Mansell at the Casino, with Shields, Dunne and Dufek involved in the accident. An episode which inevitably forced the stewards to immediately interrupt the race, which was suspended for a long time also due to the unusual difficulties of the course marshals in freeing the cars of Mansell and Dunne.
Following the flying restart, Tsolov pulled ahead of his direct pursuers, also replying in 16th after the second Safety Car came out due to Sztuka’s retirement. Precisely in this context, however, the Bulgarian came close to a penalty that would have ruined the dream of his first victory, ending up under investigation for weaving during the restart phase. Fortunately for him, the Race Direction did not penalize the Bulgarian driver, who won ahead of Tramnitz and Van Hoepen in a race almost completely devoid of overtaking. Fornaroli’s performance was good, 9th at the finish line and in the points, unlike Gabriele Minì, 11th at the finish line but excited for tomorrow’s Feature Race, scheduled for 08:00 (live on Sky Sport F1) and which will see him start from pole position.
F3 / Monaco 2024, Sprint Race: order of arrival
POS. | PILOT | TEAM | TIME/GAP |
1 | Nikola Tsolov | ART Grand Prix | 59:09.511 |
2 | Tim Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | +4,238 |
3 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART Grand Prix | +5,173 |
4 | Noel Leon | Van Amersfoort | +5,310 |
5 | Joseph Loake | Rodin | +6,489 |
6 | Mari Boya | Campos | +6,891 |
7 | Dino Beganovic | Press | +7,732 |
8 | Luke Browning | Hitech | +12,658 |
9 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | +12,971 |
10 | Oliver Goethe | Campos | +14,964 |
11 | Gabriele Mini | Press | +15,337 |
12 | Callum Voisin | Rodin | +19,472 |
13 | Tommy Smith | Van Amersfoort | +20.161 |
14 | Max Esterson | Jenzer | +24.341 |
15 | Santiago Ramos | Trident | +24,747 |
16 | Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech | +25,093 |
17 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | AIX Racing | +27.444 |
18 | Sebastian Montoya | Campos | +28,335 |
19 | Charlie Wurz | Jenzer | +20.068 |
20 | James Hedley | Jenzer | +38.344 |
21 | Piotr Wisnicki | Rodin | +46.393 |
22 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | Withdrawn |
23 | Nikita Bedrin | AIX Racing | Withdrawn |
24 | Sophia Flörsch | Campos | Retreat |
25 | Kacper Sztuka | MP Motorsport | Withdrawn |
26 | Cian Shields | Hitech | Withdrawn |
27 | Joshua Dufek | AIX Racing | Withdrawn |
28 | Alex Dunne | MP Motorsport | Withdrawn |
29 | Christian Mansell | AIX Racing | Withdrawn |
30 | Arvid Lindblad | Press | Withdrawn |
#Monaco #Sprint #Race #Tsolovs #success