– Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy youngster wins in Melbourne
– PREMA driver scores Sweden’s first win in F1’s feeder series
Dino Beganovic bounced back in emphatic style to earn his first-ever victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with a commanding performance in Melbourne, taking an emotional triumph on the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix support bill.
After the disappointment of the opening round in Bahrain, where Beganovic qualified on pole but was left without points in the races, the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member responded in full effect as the field regrouped in Australia.
Lining up third for Sunday’s main-event feature race, Beganovic powered into the lead with two determined overtaking moves, sealing a maiden victory for both himself and for Sweden in the modern FIA F3 era.
To underline his pace at the Albert Park street circuit, Beganovic also set the fastest lap of the race on his way to victory.
”It was an incredible race today – this victory means so much,” says Dino Beganovic. “I was confident with my driving, comfortable with the car, and the team has done a fantastic job with the set-up, applying some lessons we learned yesterday. Big thanks to everyone at PREMA and Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy for all the support and effort that goes into this.
“We knew after the strong start in Bahrain that this was possible, and setting the fastest lap again today just underscores our pace. I’m really, really pleased, and we can head into the break with a smile now before we get back to work in Europe.”
The Sunday win marked perfect consolation for a more difficult sprint race the day before, where Beganovic did climb sturdily from tenth on the partially-reversed grid to sixth by the flag, but later received a penalty for a collision that dropped him out of the points to 13th.
Following the Melbourne success, Beganovic now vaults to fourth in the overall FIA F3 standings, nine points off the lead.
The championship now returns to Europe, with an official in-season test scheduled in Barcelona on April on April 17-19. Racing then resumes in Imola, Italy, on May 17-19.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Rd. 2 – Melbourne (AUS)
|| Race 1 (full results)
1: M. Stenshorne (NOR), Hitech Pulse-Eight
2: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing
3: L. Van Hoepen (NED), ART Grand Prix
—
13: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
|| Race 2 (full results)
1: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
2: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident
3: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
After 2/10 rounds (full standings)
1: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight, 37 p.
2: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident, 37 p.
3: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing, 32 p.
4: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing, 28 p.
5: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing, 23 p.
