– Difficult start to the season despite emphatic pace in Bahrain
– Technical issue takes Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy youngster out of victory contention
Dino Beganovic displayed immediate pace with a commanding pole position and fastest lap at this weekend’s FIA Formula 3 Championship season-opener in Bahrain, but ultimately left largely unrewarded after a problematic pair of races.
Beganovic powered to pole in Thursday’s first qualifying session of the year, lapping 0.167s clear of the field as he fired a serious warning shot at the opposition. The effort also netted the Swede the first two points on offer in the 2024 season.
In Friday’s opening reverse-grid sprint race, however, Beganovic made contact with a rival driver in the brawl at Turn 1, picking up a puncture and tumbling to the back of the order after pitting for repairs in his PREMA car.
“Qualifying was fantastic, getting my first pole in Formula 3, so we couldn’t have asked for a better start in terms of pace,” says Dino Beganovic. “Then in the sprint race I made a mistake and went for a gap that didn’t really exist. I got a puncture and had to pit, but after that the pace was really strong again, which was encouraging.”
The big opportunity still remained, though, with Beganovic lining up on pole for the main feature race on Saturday. Unfortunately, heartbreak would strike at the start for the second day in succession; a technical issue off the line demoting the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member to dead last in the 30-car pack.
Once back up to speed, Beganovic produced a storming drive, setting the fastest lap of the race and battling back up to 13th place. Despite pulling off 17 overtakes in 22 laps, however, it ultimately left him outside the points-paying top ten.
“It was a nightmare today,” Dino Beganovic admits. “For some reason, the car was stuck in first gear all the way to Turn 2. We don’t know why at the moment, but of course it’s something we are looking into. It left me a long way behind, but then the pace was just amazing all race. The car felt great here in Bahrain and we had so much potential for everyone to see, so we’ll take that to Melbourne and just keep pushing.”
The next round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship takes place in Melbourne, Australia, on March 22-24.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Rd. 1 – Sakhir (BHR)
|| Race 1 (full results)
1: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing
2: L. Van Hoepen (NED), ART Grand Prix
3: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident
—
29: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
|| Race 2 (full results)
1: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight
2: C. Mansell (AUS), ART Grand Prix
3: T. Tramnitz (GER), MP Motorsport
—
13: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
After 1/10 rounds (full standings)
1: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight, 25 p.
2: T. Tramnitz (GER), MP Motorsport, 21 p.
3: C. Mansell (AUS), ART Grand Prix, 18 p.
4: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident, 15 p.
5: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing, 14 p.
–
15: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing, 2 p.
