– Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy racer takes third in Hungary
– Swede gains ground on championship leaders
Dino Beganovic edged closer to the lead of the FIA Formula 3 Championship despite a less-than-ideal weekend at the Hungaroring, scoring his third podium finish of the season.
The Budapest event provided a topsy-turvy outcome for several of the F3 title contenders, with Beganovic however stringing together a pair of point-scoring races to slash some of his deficit in the standings.
Despite leading the PREMA Racing charge throughout the weekend, Beganovic still found himself thwarted in the midfield in Friday qualifying, where a late red flag derailed a possible pole position attempt just moments after the Swede had gone quickest in the first sector.
“It’s nice to be back on the podium, but overall it’s not been the kind of weekend we were hoping for,” says Dino Beganovic. “Qualifying was disappointing with that red flag coming out on my fastest lap, just after I’d gone purple in the first sector. We had the pace to really challenge for it, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
Crucially, however, Beganovic was classified 12th, which handed him reverse-grid pole for Saturday’ sprint race. Although he slipped to second on the opening lap, and then to third while attempting to snatch back the lead, P3 still marked a welcome return to the podium following the difficulties of Silverstone last time out.
In Sunday’s feature race, Beganovic then made up three positions to finish ninth, accruing a total of ten points over the Budapest weekend. As a result, the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy racer remains sixth in the F3 standings but has closed in on the overall lead.
“We still have work to do,” Dino Beganovic concludes. “The sprint race was OK. I decided to go for it and try to get the lead back, and I don’t regret it. Today we didn’ t have the pace and struggled with the balance again. It’s annoying to not get on top of it, but we did score some points yesterday, another two today, and we’ve made up some ground in the championship. We’re pushing on, never giving up.”
The FIA Formula 3 Championship returns to action in just a few days’ time, with the penultimate round of the season taking place at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps next weekend (July 26-28).
RESULTS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Rd. 8 – Hungaroring (HUN)
|| Race 1 (full results)
1: N. Bedrin (ITA), AIX Racing
2: T. Inthraphuvasak (THA), AIX Racing
3: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
|| Race 2 (full results)
1: N. Tsolov (BUL), ART Grand Prix
2: L. van Hoepen (NED), ART Grand Prix
3: N. León (MEX), Van Amersfoort Racing
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9: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
After 8/10 rounds (full standings)
1: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing, 119 p.
2: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight, 115 p.
3: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing, 113 p.
4: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident, 112 p.
5: C. Mansell (AUS), ART Grand Prix, 97 p.
—
6: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing, 90 p.
