– Strong qualifying run spoiled by untimely stoppage
– Swede makes the most of unrepresentative grid slots, nets fastest lap
Dino Beganovic’s hopes of a second victory on the streets of Monaco were dashed by a red-flag stoppage just moments before the Swede looked set to hit the front in qualifying at Formula 3’s blue-riband event, restricting his weekend to one of damage limitation.
Having won in Monte Carlo in Formula Regional in 2022 and finished a close second in last year’s FIA F3 feature race, Beganovic arrived in the principality aiming to once again make an impact up front.
That duly appeared to materialize, with the PREMA Racing Swede going third fastest in Thursday’s practice session. However, Beganovic’s weekend would be heavily compromised by the events that followed in the critical qualifying showdown; an absolute key to success around Monaco’s narrow streets.
Running in the second of the two qualifying groups, Beganovic was on a late flier that looked set to haul him onto the aggregate front row at the very least. Coming out of the final corner to complete the lap, however, the red flags were flown for an incident involving other cars – forcing the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy racer to abandon his effort.
With no time for the session to resume, it left Beganovic starting down in seventh and sixth respectively in the weekend’s pair of races. With overtaking well-known to be virtually impossible in Monte Carlo, Beganovic duly finished in the same positions, bagging the fastest lap of Saturday’s sprint race to underpin his inherent speed and score a bonus point.
“It’s been a tough weekend after what happened in qualifying,” says Dino Beganovic. “We were just massively unlucky with the red flag. I was seven tenths up on that lap, and having to abort it like that within sight of the finish line was tough to take. I think we did everything we could in the races, getting the fastest lap in the sprint, but overall of course I was hoping to leave Monaco with a lot more than this.
“On the positive side, the car felt better here than in Imola last week, and the genuine pace really has been super strong. We’ll take that into the big summer sprint of races, heads down, and bounce back in the most intense part of the season.”
Beganovic leaves Monaco holding fourth in the overall FIA Formula 3 Championship standings. The next round takes place in Barcelona (Spain) on 21-23 June.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Rd. 4 – Monaco (MCO)
|| Race 1 (full results)
1: N. Tsolov (BUL), ART Grand Prix
2: T. Tramnitz (GER), MP Motorsport
3: L. van Hoepen (NED), ART Grand Prix
—
7: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
|| Race 2 (full results)
1: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing
2: C. Mansell (AUS), ART Grand Prix
3: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight
—
6: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
After 4/10 rounds (full standings)
1: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing, 72 p.
2: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight, 68 p.
3: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident, 64 p.
4: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing, 58 p.
5: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing, 44 p.
