2023 F3 Season: Round Two – Australia

Roundup of the second round of 2023 F3 season Down Under in Melbourne, Australia. 

This event marked the first time that F3 had headed Down Under and certainly delivered plenty of drama across the weekend, from collisions to disqualifcations and a clearer image of the title contenders.

Now, here is a full roundup of all the action across the second round of 2023 F3 season.

 

Practice

At lights out, it was Jenzer’s Nikita Bedrin and Taylor Barnard first out on track but it was Campos’ Pepe Marti who set the initial benchmark time of 1m 40.801 in the seventh minute, which was quickly beaten by several drivers.

Hitech GP’s Gabriele Mini though dominated the opening stages as he lowered the benchmark time to 1m 35.515 in the 11th minute, and headed teammate – Luke Browning as the red flag came out three minutes later after MP Motorsport’s Jonny Edgar spun out at Turn 10.

The session resumed 11 minutes later with Trident’s Gabriel Bortoleto becoming the first driver to better Mini’s lap time with 1m 35.506, before Zak O’Sullivan, Marti and Mini all quickly displaced him until the Brazilian posted 33.916 in the 40th minute to go back top.

O’Sullivan though finished fastest as he lowered the session-topping time in the 43rd minute to 1m 33.495, only to then go faster at the checkered flag by 0.025 seconds.

MP Motorsport’s Mari Boya finished a surprise second ahead of Gregoire Saucy, Marti and Bortoleto who rounded out the top five.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Zak O’Sullivan	PREMA	1m 33.470
2	The Great Boya	MP Motorsport	+ 0.033
3	Gregoire Saucy	ART GP	+ 0.201
4	Pepe Marti	Campos	+ 0.261
5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Trident	+ 0.291
6	Luke Browning	Hitech GP	+ 0.327
7	Gabriele Mini	Hitech GP	+ 0.471
8	Hugh Barter	Campos	+ 0.488
9	Leonardo Fornaroli	Trident	+ 0.503
10	Paul Aron	PREMA	+ 0.538
11	Dino Beganovic	PREMA	+ 0.614
12	Nikola Tsolov	ART GP	+ 0.673
13	Hunter Yeany	Carlin	+ 0.719
14	Caio Collet	VAR	+ 0.736
15	Christian Mansell	Campos	+ 0.755
16	Oliver Goethe	Trident	+ 0.899
17	Sebastian Montoya	Hitech GP	+ 0.902
18	Franco Colapinto	MP Motorsport	+ 1.013
19	Ido Cohen	Carlin	+ 1.190
20	Taylor Barnard	Jenzer	+ 1.284
21	Kaylen Frederick	ART GP	+ 1.338
22	Rafael Villagomez	VAR	+ 1.508
23	Nikita Bedrin	Jenzer	+ 1.710
24	Sophia Floersch	PHM Racing	+ 2.402
25	Oliver Gray	Carlin	+ 2.805
26	Piotr Wisnicki	PHM Racing	+ 3.013
27	Roberto Faria	PHM Racing	+ 3.081
28	Jonny Edgar	MP Motorsport	+ 3.214
29	Tommy Smith	VAR	+ 3.328
30	Alejandro Garcia	Jenzer	+ 3.677

 

Qualifying

Bedrin and Barnard again were first out on track as Qualifying commenced but the red flag was soon out before anyone could set a lap time, after Marti lost control through Turn 10 and slid into the barriers to end his session after just five minutes and 39s of the session.

The session resumed 10 minutes later and it was Bortoleto who led after completion of the opening round of flying laps as he headed Browning and Saucy.

MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto however went fastest in the 14th minute with 1m 33.588 ahead of O’Sullivan by 0.012s, whilst Bortoleto fell 0.032s short in third once the opening runs were completed.

Many drivers though struggled to make the tyres last on the first flying lap of their second runs, as Browning found himself ninth despite setting the fastest sector times in the first two sectors, whilst Mini improved to fifth.

The red flag though was back out in the 26th minute with 4 minutes and 26s on the clock left, after Kaylen Frederick suffered a freak incident swerving to avoid a slow car, which left the rear of his ART GP car a wreck as he stopped on the main straight.

Stewards opted to resume the session to its conclusion ten minutes later which led to a quick dash for the pit exit, as everyone battled for track position to warm up their tyres and bank one final lap in.

As the checkered flag fell, Mini then Saucy went top but Bortoleto snatched pole position for the Feature Race with 1m 33.025 ahead of Saucy, with Mini, Fornaroli, O’Sullivan, Aron, Colapinto, Beganovic, Browning, Collet, Goethe and Montoya rounding out the top 12.

Montoya though will start the Sprint Race from reverse-pole alongside Goethe on the front row.

The session however ended with a red flag after Bedrin lost control of his Jenzer out of the final corner and tore off his rear-left tyre.

Post-session, Hunter Yeany was handed a ten-place grid penalty for failing to slow his speed in a double yellow-flag sector, with his best lap time deleted due to having been set under double yellow flags which dropped him to 26th in the classification and he will start the Sprint from 29th on grid.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Gabriel Bortoleto	Trident	1m 33.025
2	Gregoire Saucy	ART GP	+ 0.171
3	Gabriele Mini	Hitech GP	+ 0.282
4	Leonardo Fornaroli	Trident	+ 0.345
5	Zak O’Sullivan	PREMA	+ 0.348
6	Paul Aron	PREMA	+ 0.383
7	Franco Colapinto	VAR	+ 0.563
8	Dino Beganovic	PREMA	+ 0.579
9	Luke Browning	Hitech GP	+ 0.740
10	Caio Collet	VAR	+ 0.851
11	Oliver Goethe	Trident	+ 0.992
12	Sebastian Montoya	Hitech GP	+ 1.069
13	Christian Mansell	Campos	+ 1.202
14	Jonny Edgar	MP Motorsport	+ 1.251
15	Nikola Tsolov	ART GP	+ 1.265
16	Mari Boya	MP Motorsport	+ 1.301
17	Kaylen Frederick	ART G	+ 1.339
18	Taylor Barnard	Jenzer	+ 1.369
19	Rafael Villagomez	VAR	+ 1.521
20	Nikita Bedrin	Jenzer	+ 1.743
21	Oliver Gray	Carlin	+ 2.077
22	Hugh Barter	Campos	+ 2.108
23	Ido Cohen	Carlin	+ 2.334
24	Sophia Floersch	PHM Racing	+ 2.494
25	Roberto Faria	PHM Racing	+ 2.663
26	Hunter Yeany	Carlin	+ 2.755
27	Piotr Wisnicki	PHM Racing	+ 2.994
28	Tommy Smith	VAR	+ 3.289
29	Alejandro Garcia	Jenzer	+ 3.571
30	Pepe Marti	Campos	No Time

 

Sprint Race

At lights out, Montoya enjoyed a clean start as he led Goethe off the line who soon tangled with Browning and was eliminated at Turn 3 with a puncture, as Colapinto improved into third as the Safety Car was deployed whilst Goethe’s Trident was removed.

Browning was instructed over team radio just prior to the restart at end of Lap 3 that he was “free to race” Hitech teammate, Montoya for the lead, strictly as long as he didn’t commit a “stupid” move on the Colombian.

With the instruction in mind, Browning mounted a strong fight on the restart until he ran wide over the inside kerb at Turn 9, which dropped him from second to fifth. as Colapinto took full advantage to move up to second and make a race-winning overtake at that very corner a lap later.

The Safety Car however was again deployed at end of Lap 6 after Carlin’s Ido Cohen stopped at Turn 9 with serious damage, having made contact with Campos’ Hugh Barter on the run towards the corner which punted the Israelian into the outside wall.

Stewards however adjudged Cohen at fault for the collision and handed him a five-place grid penalty for the Feature Race, meaning that he would start 28th on the grid.

Racing resumed at end of Lap 10 as the top five held position but Beganovic cleared Mini for sixth, whilst Browning was hit with a 10s time penalty for his earlier collision with Goethe as he slipped down the order as he continued to hustle his Hitech wide over the kerbs.

VAR’s Tommy Smith meanwhile hit the wall as he exited the final corner of Lap 12 which meant another Safety Car, after the Australian stopped at Turn 1 on the next lap.

Colapinto once again navigated the restart with a well-timed run out of the penultimate corner on Lap 16 to retain his lead to the checkered flag, as O’Sullivan was made to launch a sweeping outside move on Montoya to claim second into Turn 13 on Lap 18.

The race however finished under the Safety Car which was deployed on Lap 19 after Jenzer’s Alejandro Garcia crashed, but not before Aron squeezed Beganovic wide at Turn 3 as they fought over fourth which allowed Mini through into fifth to split the PREMA pair.

Up front, Colaopinto clinched victory ahead of O’Sullivan and Montoya as Aron, Mini, Beganovic, Bortoleto, Fornaroli, Boya and Saucy rounded out the top ten.

Post-race, Colapinto lost his victory after he and his MP Motorsport teammates, Boya and Edgar were disqualified due to pieces of their bodywork  breaching Articles 1.3 and 2.5 of the Technical Regulations.

O’Sullivan consequently was handed his maiden F3 win ahead of Montoya and Aron, whilst Saucy benefitted from Colapinto and Boya’s disqualifications to climb from tenth to eighth, ahead of Mansell and Frederick who gained three positions apiece to round out the top ten.

Bortoleto continues to lead the driver standings but Beganovic is now his nearest challenger after leapfrogging Goethe into second, albeit with a five-point deficit to Bortoleto.

Position	Driver	Team	Laps	Time
1	Zak O’Sullivan	PREMA	20	42m 06.098
2	Sebastian Montoya	Hitech GP	20	+ 0.219
3	Paul Aron	PREMA	20	+ 0.593
4	Gabriele Mini	Hitech GP	20	+ 0.778
5	Dino Beganovic	PREMA	20	+ 1.369
6	Gabriel Bortoleto	Trident	20	+ 1.542
7	Leonardo Fornaroli	Trident	20	+ 1.969
8	Gregoire Saucy	ART GP	20	+ 3..498
9	Christian Mansell	Campos	20	+ 7.327
10	Kaylen Frederick	ART GP	20	+ 8.323
11	Nikola Tsolov	ART GP	20	+ 8.816
12	Taylor Barnard	Jenzer	20	+ 9.913
13	Pepe Marti	Campos	20	+ 11.009
14	Rafael Villagomez	VAR	20	+ 13.025
15	Nikita Bedrin	Jenzer	20	+ 13.136
16	Sophia Floersch	PHM Racing	20	+ 13.702
17	Luke Browning	Hitech GP	20	+ 14.712
18	Roberto Faira	PHM Racing	20	+ 15.813
19	Hugh Barter	Campos	20	+ 16.332
20	Oliver Gray	Carlin	20	+ 17.662
21	Caio Collet	VAR	20	+ 18.802
22	Hunter Yeany	Carlin	20	+ 19.981
23	Piotr Wisnicki	PHM Racing	20	+ 20.545
DSQ	Franco Colapinto	MP Motorsport	20	Bodywork
DSQ	Mari Boya	MP Motorsport	20	Bodywork
DSQ	Jonny Edgar	MP Motorsport	20	Bodywork
RET	Alejandro Garcia	Jenzer	17	Crash
RET	Tommy Smith	VAR	12	Collision
RET	Ido Cohen	Carlin	5	Collision
RET	Oliver Goethe	Trident	0	Puncture

 

 

Feature Race

At lights out, Bortoleto made a clean start to head Saucy, Mini, Fornaroli, O’Sullivan, Aron and Colapinto, whilst Montoya’s race ended at Turn 12 after he was clipped by Mansell and forced down the escape road with damage.

Colapinto meanwhile crashed at Turn 5 due to a rear puncture on the second lap, which blew a techpro barrier onto the track of which everyone successfully navigated but a collision between Boya and Tsolov into Turn 9 saw Boya crash heavily and trigger a Safety Car period.

Racing resumed on Lap Six as the top seven held position whilst Browning cleared Collet for eighth position at Turn 9.

Further down the order, Marti recovered from last on the grid to 17th by Lap 7 with a series of overtakes, of which the majority were made on the opening lap.

Up front, Bortoleto fought off Saucy’s pressure whilst another Safety Car wasn’t needed after Wisnicki spun on entry to the final corner, although he cut across the track to the pit lane after waiting almost a lap to recover gear and get off the track.

Beganovic meanwhile made an error on that very same lap which saw him slip from seventh to tenth in the order, which enabled Browning to eventually claim sixth with an overtake on Aron into the first corner on Lap 10.

Marti meanwhile continued his charge through the field and found himself 12th by the end of Lap 11, before Cohen once again spun out in a collision on Lap 12 – this time with Villagomez, which again caused the Safety Car to be deployed.

Once racing resumed on Lap 16, the top six held position to the checkered flag as Marti passed Goethe into Turn 3 on the restart for 11th, after the Monagasque driver locked up his front right tyre which ruined the rest of his race and forced a pit stop.

Marti two laps later passed Edgar for 10th position which eventually came ninth after Beganovic and Collet collided at Turn 12 on the final lap battling over eighth position, causing Collet to slip down the order as Beganovic claimed the position ahead of Marti and Jenzer’s Taylor Barnard.

Bortoleto’s win saw him extend his championship lead to 58 points as Saucy climbed up to second albeit 20 points behind Bortoleto but ahead of Beganovic, as Mini and Goethe round out the top five in the driver standings.

Post-race, Browning received a five-second time penalty for his collision with Colapinto which eliminated the Argentinean, with the Brit dropped to eighth in the classification.

Beganovic meanwhile was handed a ten-second time penalty for causing Collet to suffer a final-lap puncture, which dropped the Swede to 13th in the classification.

Boya was handed a 10s time penalty which was converted into a five-place grid penalty after he collided with Nikola Tsolov on the second lap.

Faria meanwhile has also been handed a five-place grid penalty after tangling with Tsolov mid-race.

Frederick received hit with a 10-place grid penalty for erratic driving on Lap 4 which saw him retire after colliding with Tsolov under the Safety Car, meaning that three drivers will take grid penalties totalling 20 grid spots in combination in the next race in late May.

F3 now have over a month off with the next round taking place at Imola, Italy across 19-21 May, although there will be in-season tests in Barcelona and Imola on 13-14 and 18-19 April.

Position	Driver	Team	Laps	Time
1	Gabriel Bortoleto	Trident	23	43m 41.950
2	Gregoire Saucy	ART GP	23	+ 0.596
3	Gabriele Mini	Hitech GP	23	+ 3.032
4	Leonardo Fornaroli	Trident	23	+ 3.216
5	Zak O’Sullivan	PREMA	23	+ 3.564
6	Paul Aron	PREMA	23	+ 4.393
7	Pepe Marti	Campos	23	+ 8.738
8	Luke Browning	Hitech GP	23	+ 9.191
9	Taylor Barnard	Jenzer	23	+ 13.589
10	Christian Mansell	Campos	23	+ 14.356
11	Jonny Edgar	MP Motorsport	23	+ 14.928
12	Tommy Smith	VAR	23	+ 15.582
13	Dino Beganovic	PREMA	23	+ 18.550
14	Oliver Gray	Carlin	23	+ 18.766
15	Hugh Barter	Campos	23	+ 19.034
16	Caio Collet	VAR	23	+ 19.426
17	Hunter Yeany	Carlin	23	+ 19.645
18	Sophia Floersch	PHM Racing	23	+ 23.606
19	Rafael Villagomez	VAR	23	+ 28.676
20	Alejandro Garcia	Jenzer	23	+ 30.035
21	Nikola Tsolov	ART GP	23	+ 30.064
22	Oliver Goethe	Trident	23	+ 56.084
RET	Nikita Bedrin	Jenzer	22	Puncture
RET	Ido Cohen	Carlin	11	Collision
RET	Roberto Faria	PHM Racing	8	Collision
RET	Piotr Wisnicki	PHM Racing	6	Spin
RET	Kaylen Frederick	ART GP	4	Suspension
RET	Franco Colapinto	MP Motorsport	1	Puncture
RET	Mari Boya	MP Motorsport	1	Collision
RET	Sebastian Montoya	Hitech GP	0	Collision