Franco Colapinto won the Formula 3 sprint at Monza on Saturday. For the driver of the Van Amersfoort Racing team, this victory was the second of the season after Imola. Oliver Berman and Chao Collet climbed the stage with him.
Under the reverse grid rule, Collet would start on pole on Saturday, but after qualifying, Jose Maria Correa, who set the ninth fastest time, was penalized for ignoring yellow flags and lost ten positions. As a result, Franco Colapinto moved into twelfth place in qualifying (respectively on Saturday’s pole position), and Chao Collet took second on the grid.
Colapinto got off to a good start and didn’t give Collet a chance to attack in the first corner. In the middle of the pack, champion leader Victor Martin crashed into the gravel at turn three after making contact with Arthur Leclerc’s car. Marten returned to the track, but outside the top twenty. The stewards considered the incident and recognized it as racing, without punishing anyone.
Qualifying winner Aleksander Smolyar started the race well – on lap one he regained several positions, but on lap two, after a turn in the second chicane, he flew into the gravel through contact with Kaylen Frederik. The MP Motorsport rider returned to the track and rolled back past the top twenty. The stewards recognized this incident as racing.
Isaac Hajjar, who finished second in the individual standings, rose to twelfth position on the third lap.
On lap four, Zach O’Sullivan locked the wheels on the brakes before the first corner to avoid crashing into the opponent. Zak drove onto the grass, his car reversed and was thrown against a protective barrier. The driver was not injured, the safety car left the track.
Hunter Yeeney, who finished in 16th place, was given a 10-second Stop&Go penalty for being in the wrong position at the start of the race.
The safety car left the track at the end of lap eight. At the restart, Chao Collet attacked Colapinto in the second chicane, but Franco kept the lead. Jose Maria Marti, who was in third place, let Johnny Edgar do his thing. Isaac Hadjar damaged the front wing and ended up in the pits at the end of the circle, ultimately losing the chance to earn points. Smolyar also went into the pits for a new wing.
On lap 11, Oliver Berman climbed into fourth and overtook Marty in the first corner. At the exit of the Lesmo 2 corner, Marty went wide off the track and lost two more positions, missing Jack Crawford and Zane Maloney.
On lap 12, Crawford overtook Berman at turn one to move up to fourth, but a lap later Oliver counterattacked and regained his position. On lap fifteen Chao Collet lost two positions – before the first corner he was overtaken by Johnny Edgar, and both were passed in the outer radius by Oliver Berman.
On the seventeenth lap, Collet moved back one position and overtook Johnny Edgar. On the last lap, Edgar Maloney let go. In the closing corner of the final lap, Berman tried to attack Colapinto, but the Argentine rider maintained the lead and crossed the line first.
Championship leader Victor Marten earned a point for tenth position. Before the final race of the season, his lead over Azeik Hadjar grew to six points. Thanks to second place, Oliver Berman moved up to third in the individual standings – he is thirteen points behind Marten. The fate of the Formula 3 title will be decided tomorrow in the final race of the season.
Alexander Smolyar finished 25th but held the best lap of the race.
Results are being prepared
Source: F1 News
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