– Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy racer takes third in Spielberg
– Swede goes from sprint spin to feature race rostrum
Dino Beganovic made a welcome return to the FIA Formula 3 podium this weekend in Spielberg, battling to third place in Sunday’s feature race in the Styrian hills.
The PREMA Racing Swede started the race from fifth on the grid after a tight qualifying session, where he lapped just two tenths off pole position and a mere 0.013s from third place.
Beganovic quickly moved up the order as the main race began, however, sprinting into second place and putting the leader under pressure for most of the 26-lap contest.
Although he never quite managed to pass, and instead slipped to third on the final few laps with degrading tyres, P3 still marked a positive result for the Ferrari-backed junior as he returned to the podium for the first time since winning in Australia back in March.
“We’ve had a couple of rough weekends lately, so I’m pleased to finally be back on the podium here in Spielberg,” says Dino Beganovic. “I didn’t push a lot in the beginning of the race, staying in second to remain in DRS and save the tyres. It wasn’t quite enough to go for the win in the end, and I’m still not entirely happy with the car, but I think we took the most we could today and it’s a good morale boost for everyone to be back up there fighting.”
Sunday’s podium followed a disappointing sprint race for Beganovic the day before, as a rapid start was quickly undone by a spin at the first corner. Beganovic dropped to the lower regions of the 30-car field but put on a strong recovery drive to ultimately finish 15th.
Beganovic now moves up to fourth in the overall standings.
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is back on track once again next weekend, supporting the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Rd. 6 – Spielberg (AUT)
|| Race 1 (full results)
1: N. Tsolov (BUL), ART Grand Prix
2: M. Stenshorne (NOR), Hitech Pulse-Eight
3: C. Mansell (AUS), ART Grand Prix
—
15: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
|| Race 2 (full results)
1: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight
2: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing
3: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
After 6/10 rounds (full standings)
1: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight, 106 p.
2: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing, 95 p.
3: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident, 86 p.
4: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing, 80 p.
5: C. Mansell (AUS), ART Grand Prix, 78 p.
