F3: Mini won Sunday’s race in Monaco

Gabriele Mini took victory in the Formula 3 race in Monaco on Sunday, becoming his eighth winner of the season. Christian Mansell and Luke Browning were on the podium together with the Prema rider.

At the start, the Formula 3 drivers were greeted by dry weather and the rising sun. Pole holder Mini retained the lead on the first lap. In the top ten, Tim Tramnitz overtook Noel Leon for ninth place. Behind, Peter Vishnitsky attacked Charlie Wurtz in turn eight, touching his opponent’s car and sending Wurtz into the barrier. The safety car came onto the track and Vishnitsky was given a 10-second time penalty.

The restart took place on the third lap of twenty-seven. There were no clashes; the drivers retained their position in the top ten.

At the end of the fourth lap, Nikita Bedrin came into the pits to replace the front wing, which he damaged when attacking Nikola Tsolov at the hairpin.

On lap seven, Joseph Loach attacked Marie Boyu exiting Turn 18 and took the lead in the battle for seventh place.

On lap eleven the leading duo, Meaney and Mansell, had a three and a half second lead over Browning. In the middle of the pack, a small part of the bottom flew off Alex Dunne’s car. The MP Motorsport driver continued the race in 22nd place.

On the thirteenth lap, under pressure from Boi, Loak made a mistake, cutting the chicane at the exit of the tunnel, but remained in front. In the fifteenth round, Loak, at the request of the team, let Boya go ahead so as not to receive a penalty. In the same lap, Van Heupen managed to overtake Leon for tenth place.

On the seventeenth lap Mini managed to extend his lead over Mansell to one and a half seconds, leaving Christian without DRS.

On the twentieth lap, Tsolov attacked Leon in turn five, touching his opponent’s car and sending Noel into a spin. Sami Megetunif, who was driving right behind them, had no time to react and crashed straight into the guardrail. Tzolov and Leon were able to continue, but for Megetunif the race was over. The safety car came onto the track.

The restart took place on the twenty-third lap. At the restart at the hairpin bend, Loak tried in vain to attack Boya, Tramnitz took advantage of this and climbed to eighth place. Van Heupen then tried to attack Loak, cutting the chicane at the exit of the tunnel, this allowed him to take the lead, and at the exit of Turn 12 he lost control of the car and crashed into a steel barrier. The safety car came onto the track for the third time.

The restart was given on the last lap. There was no risk in the top ten and Gabriele Mini took the race to his first victory of the season. The result allowed the Prema rider to take the lead in the personal classification.

Christian Mansell finished second. The ART rider was on the podium for the second time this season. Luke Browning’s third place allowed him to maintain second place in the individual rankings.

Leonardo Fornaroli finished fifth and dropped from first to third place in the individual competition. The fastest lap was set by Martinius Stenshorn, but as he finished 26th he did not receive any points for the best lap. Nikita Bedrin finished 24th.

The next stage of the Formula 3 season will be held in Barcelona, ​​Spain from June 21 to 23.