Martins is crowned after red-flag confusion
FIA FORMULA 3 MONZA (ITA) 10-11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 9/9
It was a chaotic end to a chaotic FIA Formula 3 season, with Victor Martins becoming champion at Monza after some frenetic post-race calculations.
After Sunday’s feature race was red-flagged with five laps remaining, a question mark hung over which of the six contenders would take the title, with Zane Maloney and Oliver Bearman running first and second on track. But it was Martins who was finally declared victorious after the race was not resumed, allaying the
ART driver’s fears of scenes reminiscent of Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Abu Dhabi debacle.
The race was stopped on lap 16 after Kush Maini (MP Motorsport) spun at the exit of Lesmo 2, collecting Brad Benavides on their way into the barrier. This had prompted the cars to return to the pitlane before Martins was then handed a five-second penalty, having previously been waved the black and white flag for exceeding track limits.
The penalty demoted Martins from third to fifth, but when fourth-placed Jenzer driver William Alatalo was also awarded a five-second penalty, it promoted Martins back up to the fourth place he needed to secure the title.
Maloney’s race win earned him second in the championship, with Bearman taking third, while Isack Hadjar’s title hopes were scuppered by a qualifying crash.
Maloney passed Trident team-mate Roman Stanek off the line before taking the lead from polesitter Alexander Smolyar at Turns 1 and 2. Racing was interrupted by a first-lap safety car prompted by David Vidales and Rafael Villagomez running off at the first Lesmo.
Racing resumed on lap five, Smolyar passing Maloney into Turn 1 before locking up, which allowed Martins to pass both for the lead into the second chicane.
Starting lap eight, Maloney returned the favour and passed Smolyar into Turn 1, before reclaiming the lead from Martins the following tour. Behind, Bearman was brought into play as Stanek and Arthur Leclerc tussled and were forced through the Turn 1 exit road bollards, allowing the Briton through. He then passed Smolyar for third at Ascari, the MP Motorsport driver eventually retiring with suspension damage sustained in a brush with Stanek.
Bearman took second from Martins down to Turn 1 on lap 12 before quickly closing on Maloney. He was within 0.5s of the Trident driver the following lap, almost taking the lead at Turn 1 as Maloney locked up, before the red flag for the collision between Maini and Benavides halted proceedings.
Saturday’s sprint saw Franco Colapinto take a lights-to-flag victory, holding off a strong challenge from Bearman. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver started on reversed-grid pole and led from the off, holding at bay an initial challenge from MP Motorsport’s Caio Collet.
But it was Bearman who he really had to worry about, the rookie starting seventh before cutting through the field, including a stunning move past both Collet and Trident’s Jonny Edgar at Turn 1 to take second.
He came within 0.4s of Colapinto but was unable to make the final move for the lead, telling his team on the radio he “thought he had one more lap”.