Roundup of the fourth round of 2023 F3 season in Barcelona, Spain.
Trident’s Gabriel Bortoleto arrived in Spain as the championship leader ahead of Hitech GP’s Gabriele Mini but every eventual F3 champion has been a winner in Spain across previous seasons, meaning that this weekend looked decisive in determining the potential champion come end of season.
This round also marked the home event for Campos and Pepe Marti plus MP Motorsport’s Mari Boya as they looked for impressive performances on home soil.
Now, here is a roundup of all the action in round four of 2023 F3 season.
Practice
Pepe Marti, Christian Mansell and Hugh Barter were first out on track for home favourites – Campos, although they plus Hitech GP and Jenzer trios all pitted at the end of their installation laps but PHM Racing’s Roberto Faria stayed out on track.
Faria proceeded to set 1m 45.978 as the intial benchmark and continued circulating as the sole driver out on track until he pitted in the 22nd minute, with his eventual benchmark time of 1m 33.026 set in the ninth minute.
Everyone else meanwhile waited until the 24th minute before heading out en-mass with ART GP’s Kaylen Fredrick lowering the benchmark time in the 29th minute to 1m 30.681 but Luke Browning and Sebastian Montoya both went quicker as the latter posted 1m 29.241 to go fastest in the 30th minute.
Montoya however was displaced seconds later by Jenzer’s Taylor Barnard posted 1m 28.831 to top the session.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s (VAR) Caio Collet finished second fastest after he fell 0.020 seconds shy with 1m 28.851 in the 31st minute, as PREMA’s Dino Beganovic finished third quickest.
PHM Racing’s Piotr Wisnicki meanwhile brought out the red flags in the 35th minute after he spun out at Turn 9 a minute earlier, with the session eventually finishing without further drama after a five minute delay.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Taylor Barnard | Jenzer | 1m 28.831 |
| 2 | Caio Collet | VAR | + 0.020 |
| 3 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | + 0.108 |
| 4 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | + 0.258 |
| 5 | Paul Aron | PREMA | + 0.378 |
| 6 | Sebastian Montoya | Hitech GP | + 0.410 |
| 7 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Trident | + 0.527 |
| 8 | Christian Mansell | Campos | + 0.569 |
| 9 | Zak O’Sullivan | PREMA | + 0.585 |
| 10 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | + 0.606 |
| 11 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | + 0.613 |
| 12 | Oliver Goethe | Trident | + 0.651 |
| 13 | Hugh Barter | Campos | + 0.860 |
| 14 | Mari Boya | MP Motorsport | + 0.895 |
| 15 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 1.027 |
| 16 | Gabriele Mini | Hitech GP | + 1.056 |
| 17 | Jonny Edgar | MP Motorsport | + 1.108 |
| 18 | Oliver Gray | Carlin | + 1.164 |
| 19 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | + 1.246 |
| 20 | Nikita Bedrin | Jenzer | + 1.339 |
| 21 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | + 1.350 |
| 22 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 1.358 |
| 23 | Kaylen Frederick | ART GP | + 1.433 |
| 24 | Hunter Yeany | Carlin | + 1.614 |
| 25 | Sophia Floersch | PHM Racing | + 1.665 |
| 26 | Piotr Wisnicki | PHM Racing | + 1.777 |
| 27 | Alejandro Garcia | Jenzer | + 1.808 |
| 28 | Tommy Smith | VAR | + 2.097 |
| 29 | Ido Cohen | Carlin | + 2.492 |
| 30 | Roberto Faria | PHM Racing | + 3.933 |
Qualifying
Like in Practice, Campos’ Marti, Mansell and Barter were first out on track ahead of a queue of cars scrapping over track position, during Mini tried to overtake five cars round outside of Turn 10 into the inside of Turn 11 only for Montoya to block him upon entry to the latter corner.
Bortoleto set the initial benchmark time of 1m 28.799 in the seventh minute but Colapinto and Fornaroli quickly displaced him, before Aron went fastest a minute later with 1m 28.369 to head Fornaroli and Beganovic once opening runs were completed.
Barter meanwhile held provisional reverse-pole for the Sprint Race after the opening runs.
Everyone opted for a quick tyre change once pitted with Bortoleto the first to head back out in the 12th minute, although Colapinto went fastest in the 17th minute with 1m 28.233 but he was displaced by Aron then Marti who posted 1m 28.010 to take provisional pole at end of the second runs.
Bedrin meanwhile headed back to the pits on provisional reverse-pole ahead of the final runs, which saw Aron post 1m 27.934 to go fastest in the 27th minute yet he was displaced by teammate – Beganovic who went 0.004s faster.
Marti though posted 1m 27.587 just seconds later to snatch pole position for the Feature Race at his home event, with Barnard set to join him on the front row ahead of Colapinto, Beganovic, Aron, Bortoleto, Montoya, Boya, Fornaroli, Saucy, Browning and O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan meanwhile will start the Sprint Race on reverse pole alongside his compatriot, Browning in a British front-row lockout.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 1m 27.587 |
| 2 | Taylor Barnard | Jenzer | + 0.250 |
| 3 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | + 0.277 |
| 4 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | + 0.343 |
| 5 | Paul Aron | PREMA | + 0.347 |
| 6 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Trident | + 0.418 |
| 7 | Sebatian Montoya | Hitech GP | + 0.485 |
| 8 | Mari Boya | MP Motorsport | + 0.495 |
| 9 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | + 0.500 |
| 10 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | + 0.518 |
| 11 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | + 0.554 |
| 12 | Zak O’Sullivan | PREMA | + 0.602 |
| 13 | Oliver Goethe | Trident | + 0.611 |
| 14 | Nikita Bedrin | Jenzer | + 0.669 |
| 15 | Hugh Barter | Campos | + 0.737 |
| 16 | Chrisian Mansell | Campos | + 0.737 |
| 17 | Jonny Edgar | MP Motorsport | + 0.899 |
| 18 | Gabriele Mini | Hitech GP | + 0.937 |
| 19 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | + 1.025 |
| 20 | Caio Collet | VAR | + 1.037 |
| 21 | Kaylen Frederick | ART GP | + 1.260 |
| 22 | Tommy Smith | VAR | + 1.287 |
| 23 | Oliver Gray | Carlin | + 1.322 |
| 24 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 1.431 |
| 25 | Alejandro Garcia | Jenzer | + 1.643 |
| 26 | Piotr Wisnicki | PHM Racing | + 1.778 |
| 27 | Sophia Floersch | PHM Racing | + 1.901 |
| 28 | Roberto Faria | PHM Racing | + 2.014 |
| 29 | Ido Cohen | Carlin | + 2.030 |
| 30 | Hunter Yeany | Carlin | + 2.129 |
Sprint Race
At lights out, O’Sullivan made a clean start from reverse-pole to lead Browning as Fornaroli passed Saucy for third into Turn 1, whilst Aron cleared Bortoleto, Montoya and Boya to leap up to fifth in the order, whilst Boya found himself passed by Montoya and Bortoleto to drop to eighth position.
Mini meanwhile recovered four positions at the start to 14th position from his 18th placed start on the grid.
Further back, Cohen lost control at Turn 9 due to a puncture from contact with Villagomez and found the barriers to bring out the Safety Car for three laps.
Once racing resumed at the end of Lap 4, O’Sullivan fended off Browning whilst Colapinto cleared his MP Motorsport teammate – Boya for eighth, and Mini passed Barnard round the outside of Turn 5 for 13th position.
Mini then launched a late-braking inside move on Mansell on Lap 7 into Turn 6 before getting past the Australian’s teammate – Marti on Lap 12 on the run to Turn 10, after Marti ran wide out of Turn 9.
O’Sullivan meanwhile calmly controlled the lead despite Browning trying outside then inside moves on Laps 10 and 11 to try and snatch the lead from his British compatriot.
Fornaroli meanwhile headed a DRS train in third place during which Saucy lost three positions on Lap 14 as he dropped to seventh, behind Aron, Montoya and Bortoleto.
Aron then punted Montoya wide across Turn 1 on the next lap which gave the Colombian a puncture and allowed Bortoleto through to fourth, as Montoya tried to get out of Aron’s way only for the pair to both be overtaken by the Brazilian.
Beganovic meanwhile suffered his own puncture on the run to Turn 10 due to contact with Saucy’s rear wing but Mini spun Mansell out at Turn 1 on Lap 16, which caused the Safety Car to be deployed once again for three laps.
O’Sullivan eventually led the field back racing at the end of Lap 18 and proceeded to cruise to victory ahead of Browning and Fornaroli, as Bortoleto settled for fourth ahead of Aron, Colapinto, Boya, Marti, Saucy and Barnard.
Post-race, Saucy was handed a 10s time penalty which dropped him from ninth to 23rd position after stewards determined he had caused a collison with Beganovic, which ultimately gave the Swede his race-ending puncture.
Montoya received a 5s time penalty for failing to stay to the left of the bollards and rejoin safely at Turn 3 after his collision with Aron on Lap 15, with the Hitech driver dropping from 22nd to 26th in the classification.
Stewards also dished out a 10s time penalty to Villagomez for causing his opening lap collision with Cohen, which ended the Israelian’s race with a puncture at Turn 9 with Villagomez consequently dropping from 25th to 27th in the final classification.
In the drivers’ standings, Bortoleto extended his title lead over Mini to 24 points, whilst O’Sullivan moved up to eighth in the standings with his win but 43 points off the championship lead.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Zak O’Sullivan | PREMA | 21 | 36m 53.410 |
| 2 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | 21 | + 1.676 |
| 3 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | 21 | + 2.360 |
| 4 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Trident | 21 | + 3.177 |
| 5 | Paul Aron | PREMA | 21 | + 3.659 |
| 6 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 21 | + 4.164 |
| 7 | Mari Boya | MP Motorsport | 21 | + 5.022 |
| 8 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 21 | + 6.233 |
| 9 | Taylor Barnard | Jenzer | 21 | + 7.826 |
| 10 | Nikita Bedrin | Jenzer | 21 | + 8.419 |
| 11 | Oliver Goethe | Trident | 21 | + 8.886 |
| 12 | Jonny Edgar | MP Motorsport | 21 | + 9.586 |
| 13 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | 21 | + 11.982 |
| 14 | Kaylen Frederick | ART GP | 21 | + 12.865 |
| 15 | Oliver Gray | Carlin | 21 | + 13.576 |
| 16 | Hunter Yeany | Carlin | 21 | + 14.150 |
| 17 | Caio Collet | Carlin | 21 | + 15.130 |
| 18 | Tommy Smith | VAR | 21 | + 15.233 |
| 19 | Hugh Barter | Campos | 21 | + 15.716 |
| 20 | Gabriele Mini | Campos | 21 | + 15.863 |
| 21 | Sophia Floersch | PHM Racing | 21 | + 16.509 |
| 22 | Alejandro Garcia | Jenzer | 21 | + 16.882 |
| 23 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | 21 | + 17.110 |
| 24 | Piotr Wisnicki | PHM Racing | 21 | + 18.006 |
| 25 | Roberto Faria | PHM Racing | 21 | + 18.346 |
| 26 | Sebastian Montoya | Hitech GP | 21 | + 20.900 |
| 27 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 21 | + 27.210 |
| RET | Christian Mansell | Campos | 15 | Collision |
| RET | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | 14 | Puncture |
| RET | Ido Cohen | Carlin | 0 | Spin |
Feature Race
At lights out, Marti led Barnard, Colapinto and Beganovic in a clean start as Bortoleto cleared Aron for fifth off the line.
Fornaroli and Browning however collided on the run to Turn 4 which ended with both drivers crawling through the gravel, although Browning soon stopped on the run to Turn 5 with suspension damage and a rear-right puncture.
Stewards consequently deployed the Safety Car a lap later to allow Browning’s car to be safely removed from the track.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap Six with Marti fending off Barnard’s challenge for the lead but the Jenzer driver couldn’t sustain his pace, as he lost second to Colapinto on Lap 11 before Beganovic then demoted him to fourth a lap later.
Barnard’s tyre degradation however proved difficult to manage as Bortoleto and Aron demoted him to sixth on Lap 17, before a wide moment out of the final corner allowed Boya to pass him at the start of the following lap alongside Montoya.
Barnard however immediately hit back into Turn 1 to reclaim seventh from Montoya but the Colombian eventually got past Barnard on Lap 22.
O’Sullivan meanwhile had improved to ninth on the start but lost position to Goethe on the Safety Car restart, yet calmly waited until Lap 19 to reclaim the position round the outside of T1 whilst Saucy attempted to pass up the inside but the Swiss driver suffered a puncture.
Saucy consequently dropped out of contention whilst Goethe clung onto tenth to the checkered flag, despite picking up a 10s time penalty which dropped him to 16th in the classification.
O’Sullivan meanwhile overtook Barnard on the penultimate lap to finish eighth whilst up front, Marti cruised to victory ahead of; Colapinto, Beganovic, Bortoleto, Aron, Boya and Montoya.
Barnard clung onto ninth at the checkered flag as Mansell benefitted from Goethe’s time penalty to round out the top ten.
In the driver standings, Bortoleto’s title lead remained at 24 points but Marti was now his nearest challenger on 68 points after taking the additional point for fastest lap, ahead of Beganovic, Mini and Aron who rounded out the top five.
F3 next heads to Spielberg, Austria for Round Five on 30 June – 2 July.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 25 | 41m 21.348 |
| 2 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 25 | + 4.463 |
| 3 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | 25 | + 10.445 |
| 4 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Trident | 25 | + 13.488 |
| 5 | Paul Aron | PREMA | 25 | + 14.156 |
| 6 | Mari Boya | MP Motorsport | 25 | + 19.500 |
| 7 | Sebastian Montoya | Hitech GP | 25 | + 19.874 |
| 8 | Zak O’Sullivan | PREMA | 25 | + 23.707 |
| 9 | Taylor Barnard | Jenzer | 25 | + 25.0072 |
| 10 | Christian Mansell | Campos | 25 | + 26.155 |
| 11 | Nikita Bedrin | Jenzer | 25 | + 27.901 |
| 12 | Caio Collet | VAR | 25 | + 28.340 |
| 13 | Hugh Barter | Campos | 25 | + 31.930 |
| 14 | Gabriele Mini | Hitech GP | 25 | + 32.354 |
| 15 | Jonny Edgar | MP Motorsport | 25 | + 34.282 |
| 16 | Oliver Goethe | Trident | 25 | + 35.843 |
| 17 | Kaylen Frederick | ART GP | 25 | + 37.857 |
| 18 | Oliver Gray | Carlin | 25 | + 39.270 |
| 19 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | 25 | + 39.750 |
| 20 | Sophia Floersch | PHM Racing | 25 | + 40.313 |
| 21 | Piotr Wisnicki | PHM Racing | 25 | + 41.037 |
| 22 | Alejandro Garcia | Jenzer | 25 | + 44.416 |
| 23 | Tommy Smith | VAR | 25 | + 47.605 |
| 24 | Roberto faria | PHM Racing | 25 | + 52.398 |
| 25 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 25 | + 58.061 |
| 26 | Ido Cohen | Carlin | 25 | + 59.023 |
| 27 | Gregoire Saucy | ART GP | 24 | + 1 Lap |
| 28 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | 21 | + 4 Laps |
| RET | Hunter Yeany | Carlin | 10 | Suspension |
| RET | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | 1 | Suspension |
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