MP driver Tim Tramnitz was first to the chequered flag in the sprint race at Monza after he was cleared of a starting procedure infringement by the stewards.
The Red Bull junior converted partial-reverse-grid pole to win his first F3 race while Sebastian Montoya took second place ahead of Sergio Ramos. However, the result was dependent on the outcome of an investigation by the stewards after the race, which later resulted in no further action.
Before the start of the race, championship contender Christian Mansell reported he was stuck in third gear on the formation lap. The start was postponed by a lap as Mansell triggered an aborted start on the grid, but although he was able to pull away on the extra formation lap, he was forced to take the start from the pit lane.
When the race eventually started, Tramnitz held onto the lead after a challenge from Montoya into the Rettifilo Chicane led to the Campos driver bouncing over the inside kerbs to avoid contact. It was not long until the Safety Car was deployed for a multi-car clash at the first chicane at the start of the second lap when Tommy Smith tangled with team mate Noel Leon, sending him spinning, while Nikita Bedrin was caught up in a separate collision.
The race restarted at the start of lap six with Tramnitz pulling clear of the field. Montoya came under intense pressure from Beganovic and Sergio Ramos for his second place, but managed to hold onto his second position. Ramos challenged again on the next lap into Rettifilo and was denied, but successfully claimed the place at the third attempt on lap nine.
However, Montoya refused to let Ramos get away from him and repassed the Trident to move back into the second. Moments later, the Safety Car was deployed for a second time – this time for a clash at Rettifilo between Max Esterson and Piotr Wisnicki.
The race came down to a final-lap shoot-out with the Safety Car returning to the pits at the end of the penultimate lap. Tramnitz successfully pulled away at the restart and crossed the line and claim his first F3 race victory, pending the stewards’ investigation.
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Montoya held off Ramos to claim second place, with Alex Dunne missing out on a podium in fourth. Dino Beganovic finished highest of the title contenders in fifth ahead of Sami Meguetounif, while Luke Browning passed Mari Boya in the final corner to take eighth. The two championship leaders heading into the race, Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriele Mini claimed the final points in ninth and tenth, respectively.
After the race, the stewards announced that no further action would be taken against Tramnitz after they determined he had not left the grid too early for the second formation lap.
The result sets up a thrilling championship decider for Sunday’s feature race. Fornaroli, Mini and Browning are covered by just five points, with Fornaroli on 132, Mini on 129 and Browning on 127. Arvid Lindblad retains an outside chance of the title on 113 points, but will likely require misfortune to strike his rivals ahead to stand a chance of claiming the title.
Formula 3 Italy race one results
Position Car Driver Team 1 7 Tim Tramnitz MP 2 11 Sebastian Montoya Campos 3 6 Santiago Ramos Trident 4 9 Alex Dunne MP 5 1 Dino Beganovic Prema 6 5 Sami Meguetounif Trident 7 14 Luke Browning Hitech 8 12 Mari Boya Forna 4 10 Leonardo Campos 2 Gabriele Minì Prema 11 15 Martinius Stenshorne Hitech 12 3 Arvid Lindblad Prema 13 24 Laurens Van Hoepen ART 14 19 Matias Zagazeta Jenzer 15 31 Joseph Loake Rodin 16 21 Sophia Floersch Van Amersfoort 16 16 Shield Campos Hitech 19 26 Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak PHM 20 8 Kacper Sztuka MP 21 25 Nicola Tsolov ART 22 23 Christian Mansell ART 23 22 Tom Smith Van Amersfoort DNF 17 Charlie Wurz Jenzer DNF 29 Callum Voisin Rodin DNF 28 Josh Dufek PHM DNF 18 Pizer Pizer DNF DNF 27 Nikita Bedrin PHM DNF 20 Noel Leon Van Amersfoort
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