Colapinto triumphs in Melbourne despite four Safety Car interventions

In a thrilling first race of the Formula 3 weekend in Melbourne, Franco Colapinto emerged victorious despite four Safety Car interventions.

Franco Colapinto emerged victorious in the first race of the Formula 3 weekend held in Melbourne, where four Safety Car interventions occurred during the event.

Despite starting from the sixth position on the grid, Colapinto skillfully maneuvered his way through the initial laps without any incidents, enabling him to advance and secure a favorable position.

On the first lap, Oliver Goethe, who began the race in the second position, collided with Luke Browning, leading to his retirement.

Browning encountered several more incidents throughout the race, making it a challenging day for him. The initial incident prompted the deployment of the first Safety Car to manage Goethe’s disabled Trident. After the Safety Car returned to the pit lane, Browning pursued Sebastian Montoya, who was in the lead.

Despite Browning’s efforts, he encountered a setback at Turn 9 as he hit the kerb, causing him to lose ground and drop down in the standings.

Taking advantage of this, Colapinto capitalized on the opportunity and advanced to the second position. On the subsequent lap, Colapinto took the lead by overtaking Montoya at Turn 9, and he maintained this position until the race’s conclusion.

Shortly after Colapinto’s decisive overtaking maneuver, Ido Cohen’s collision with Hugh Barter on the approach to Turn 9 caused the deployment of the second Safety Car.

Clearing the debris required a lengthy pause, but soon after, the Mercedes-AMG Safety Car exited the track. However, it returned to the circuit when Tommy Smith, a local driver, hit the wall after running too far out of the final corner.

As the race drew to a close, a surge of energy was expected, and Zak O’Sullivan took advantage of the opportunity, overtaking Sebastian Montoya to secure the second position.

However, the race ended under the Safety Car when Alejandro Garcia collided with the wall on the penultimate lap.

In the rest of the standings, Paul Aron claimed the fourth position after a thrilling last-lap confrontation with Dino Beganovic, who came in sixth, just behind Gabriele Mini.

The pole-sitter for Sunday’s Feature Race, Gabriel Bortoleto, finished in seventh place, ahead of his teammate at Trident, Leonardo Fornaroli. Mari Boya and Gregore Saucy completed the top 10 rankings.

Last Edit 1st April 2023, 9:53

F3 Drivers Disqualified in Melbourne

Franco Colapinto has been disqualified from his Formula 3 sprint race victory in Australia

Franco Colapinto has been stripped of his Formula 3 sprint race victory in Melbourne, along with his fellow MP Motorsport drivers, Mari Boya and Jonny Edgar, after they were disqualified for a technical infringement. This means that Zak O’Sullivan, a Williams junior, has now been declared the winner of the sprint race, with Sebastián Montoya finishing in second and Paul Aron in third place.

The disqualification was due to a breach of two articles of the technical regulations, with the keel of the bodywork on all three cars found to be different from the spare parts catalogue and not in conformity with the Dallara User Manual.

The stewards ruled that the non-conforming keel did not conform with the geometry of the authorised part and that it was the competitor’s responsibility to ensure that the car conforms with the relevant technical regulations.

MP Motorsport has the right to appeal, but the penalty will not affect the starting grid for tomorrow’s feature race, in which Gabriel Bortoleto, the championship leader, will start from pole position.

Colapinto triumphs in Melbourne despite four Safety Car interventions Colapinto triumphs in Melbourne despite four Safety Car interventions Colapinto triumphs in Melbourne despite four Safety Car interventions

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