Roundup of the finale of the 2024 F3 Season in Italy which went to a classic finish.
Six drivers entered this round in mathematical contention for the title which ultimately went down to the wire, with two Italians heading the order on home soil in one of F3’s most-open title fights yet.
Now, here is a roundup of all the action as the season drew to its close in Monza.
Practice
Jenzer’s Charlie Wurz, Max Esterson and Matias Zagazeta were first out onto the circuit, but it was title contender, Gabriele Mini who set the initial benchmark of 1m 41.324 in the ninth minute which he soon lowered to 1m 40.583.
MP Motorsport’s Kacper Sztuka though suffered an electrical issue which quickly curtailed his running without a lap time.
The red flags were out in the 21st minute after Trident’s Sami Meguetounif ran wide at Variante della Roggia, which caused gravel to be spread across the circuit as he re-joined.
The session resumed seven minutes later and times soon tumbled with VAR’s Noel Leon setting the pace on 1m 39.470 in the 34th minute.
A series of flying laps came at the checkered flag which saw Campos’ Mari Boya set the pace with 1m 38.172, ahead of Christian Mansell and Callum Voisin.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Mari Boya | Campos | 1m 38.172 |
| 2 | Christian Mansell | ART GP | + 0.137 |
| 3 | Callum Voisin | Rodin | + 0.299 |
| 4 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | + 0.447 |
| 5 | Gabriele Mini | PREMA | + 0.515 |
| 6 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | + 0.669 |
| 7 | Cian Shields | Hitech GP | + 0.691 |
| 8 | Matias Zagazeta | Jenzer | + 0.919 |
| 9 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | + 1.095 |
| 10 | Joshua Dufek | AIX Racing | + 1.239 |
| 11 | Noel Leon | VAR | + 1.264 |
| 12 | Noah Stromsted | Campos | + 1.290 |
| 13 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | + 1.402 |
| 14 | Sebastian Montoya | Campos | + 1.410 |
| 15 | Sophia Floersch | VAR | + 1.472 |
| 16 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | AIX Racing | + 1.629 |
| 17 | Tommy Smith | VAR | + 1.653 |
| 18 | Arvid Lindblad | PREMA | + 1.665 |
| 19 | Tim Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | + 1.728 |
| 20 | Joseph Loake | Rodin | + 1.768 |
| 21 | Charlie Wurz | Jenzer | + 1.770 |
| 22 | Alex Dunne | MP Motorsport | + 1.921 |
| 23 | Santiago Ramos | Trident | + 2.107 |
| 24 | Piotr Wisnicki | Rodin | + 2.357 |
| 25 | Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech GP | + 2.399 |
| 26 | Max Esterson | Jenzer | + 2.400 |
| 27 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | + 2.736 |
| 28 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART GP | + 3.532 |
| 29 | Nikita Bedrin | AIX Racing | + 5.031 |
| 30 | Kacper Sztuka | MP Motorsport | No Time |
Qualifying
Qualifying Group A
A quiet start to the first group containing even-numbered cars saw just Esterson venture out in the opening minutes, which led to chaos and a red flag in the seventh minute due to a collision between Van Hoepen and Sztuka.
Sztuka consequently was deemed by stewards to be at fault and handed a five-place grid penalty, despite not setting a lap time.
The segment resumed three minutes later minus Van Hoepen and Sztuka but drivers left their best laps to the checkered flag, which saw Fornaroli finish quickest on 1m 38.287 from Italian compatriot and title rival, Mini.
Ramos was third ahead of Dufek, Boya and Inthraphuvasak as Browning could only manage the seventh quickest time.
Post-session, Fornaroli, Mini, Dufek, Boya, Inthraphuvasak, Browning, Wisnicki, Leon, Stromsted and Smith were all handed four-place grid penalties for unnecessary slow driving on warm-up laps.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | 1m 38.287 |
| 2 | Gabriele Mini | PREMA | + 0.256 |
| 3 | Santiago Ramos | Trident | + 0.417 |
| 4 | Joshua Dufek | AIX Racing | + 0.545 |
| 5 | Mari Boya | Campos | + 0.585 |
| 6 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | AIX Racing | + 0.828 |
| 7 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | + 0.837 |
| 8 | Piotr Wisnicki | Rodin | + 0.986 |
| 9 | Noel Leon | VAT | + 1.063 |
| 10 | Max Esterson | Jenzer | + 1.207 |
| 11 | Cian Shields | Hitech GP | + 1.430 |
| 12 | Noah Stromsted | Campos | + 1.590 |
| 13 | Tommy Smith | VAR | + 1.929 |
| 14 | Kacper Sztuka | MP Motorsport | No Time |
| 15 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART GP | No Time |
Qualifying Group B
With odd-numbered cars in the second Qualifying group, there was a lengthy wait before Tsolov and Mansell led the group out for their runs.
Several drivers however scrapped over track position to try and get a tow from each other, which ultimately saw nobody beat Fornaroli’s time to give the Italian pole and the odd-numbered grid slots to the Group A runners.
Dunne though did top this group with 1m 38.818 to secure a front-row start, with everyone else behind him lining up on the even-numbered side of the grid.
The Qualifying result also meant that Tramnitz inherited reverse-pole for the Sprint.
Mansell and Tsolov meanwhile received three-place grid penalties for impeding Beganovic and Floersch.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Alex Dunne | MP Motorsport | 1m 38.818 |
| 2 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | + 0.042 |
| 3 | Sebastian Montoya | Campos | + 0.081 |
| 4 | Christian Mansell | ART GP | + 0.087 |
| 5 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | + 0.138 |
| 6 | Tim Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | + 0.141 |
| 7 | Joseph Loake | Rodin | + 0.202 |
| 8 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | + 0.311 |
| 9 | Arvid Lindblad | PREMA | + 0.401 |
| 10 | Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech GP | + 0.455 |
| 11 | Callum Voisin | Rodin | + 0.476 |
| 12 | Nikita Bedrin | AIX Racing | + 0.503 |
| 13 | Charlie Wurz | Jenzer | + 0.591 |
| 14 | Sophia Floersch | VAR | + 0.732 |
| 15 | Matias Zagazeta | Jenzer | + 66.347 |
Sprint Race
The initial start was aborted after Mansell suffered an electrical issue but once the lights went out on the second start, Tramnitz got a clean start to head Beganovic who lost second to Montoya.
Further back, Fornaroli and Browning jumped Mini for 14th and 15th respectively, with Fornaroli then demoting Shields a lap later just before the safety car was deployed following a collision between Leon and Bedrin at Variante del Rettifilo.
Leon was adjudged at fault for the incident and handed a 10-place grid penalty for the season finale, which left him starting 22nd on the grid.
Racing resumed on Lap 6 with Tramnitz still in control of the race but Loake got shuffled from eighth to 13th with a wide moment at Variante della Roggia, during which Fornaroli crept into the top ten.
Fornaroli eventually worked his way up to sixth by the end of Lap 11, whilst Beganovic up front lost third to Ramos on Lap 8 and the Mexican cleared Montoya a lap later.
Lap 12 saw plenty of drama as Ramos lost second back to Montoya and Beganovic lost fourth to Meguetounif, whilst Fornaroli’s tyres hit the limit and he was repassed by Dunne for sixth and the Irish driver demoted Beganovic on Lap 13.
The safety car however again came out on Lap 13 after Wisnicki and Esterson collided at Variante del Rettifilo.
Racing resumed on the last lap but Tramnitz clung on for victory as Montoya finished second on the road from Ramos, Dunne, Beganovic and Meguetounif.
Browning mounted a late charge to finish seventh at the checkered flag with a last lap overtake on Fornaroli, before he gained another spot as Boya ran wide at Ascari after he had been passed by Meguetounif.
Mini rounded out the top ten but post-race, Montoya received a five-second time penalty for punting Ramos wide at Variante del Rettifilo on Lap 8, which dropped him to 11th in the classification and promoted Stenshorne to 10th.
Shields meanwhile was penalised 5s for colliding with Voisin at Variante del Rettifilo on Lap 7, which saw him classified 20th as a consequence.
Inthraphuvasak meanwhile was adjudged to had overtaken Loake under safety car conditions, which saw him hit with a 10s penalty to drop him to 21st in the order.
Mansell meanwhile received two five-second time penalties after he sped in the pitlane then forced Floersch wide at Variante della Roggia, which left him classified 22nd in the order.
In the standings, Fornaroli led Mini by five points but Browning was a further two points behind going into the title decider, whilst Lindblad had an outside chance but Beganovic and Mansell were eliminated from contention.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Tim Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | 17 | 33m 52.339 |
| 2 | Santiago Ramos | Trident | 17 | + 0.911 |
| 3 | Alex Dunne | MP Motorsport | 17 | + 1.375 |
| 4 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | 17 | + 1.937 |
| 5 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | 17 | + 4.050 |
| 6 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | 17 | + 4.126 |
| 7 | Mari Boya | Campos | 17 | + 4.360 |
| 8 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | 17 | + 4.843 |
| 9 | Gabriele Mini | PREMA | 17 | + 5.108 |
| 10 | Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech GP | 17 | + 5.593 |
| 11 | Sebastian Montoya | Campos | 17 | + 5.779 |
| 12 | Arvid Lindblad | PREMA | 17 | + 5.927 |
| 13 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART GP | 17 | + 6.595 |
| 14 | Matias Zagazeta | Jenzer | 17 | + 6.773 |
| 15 | Joseph Loake | Rodin | 17 | + 6.812 |
| 16 | Sophia Floersch | VAR | 17 | + 6.852 |
| 17 | Noah Stromsted | Campos | 17 | + 6.995 |
| 18 | Kacper Sztuka | MP Motorsport | 17 | + 8.668 |
| 19 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | 17 | + 11.030 |
| 20 | Cian Shields | Hitech GP | 17 | + 12.389 |
| 21 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | AIX Racing | 17 | + 17.500 |
| 22 | Christian Mansell | ART GP | 17 | + 18.075 |
| 23 | Tommy Smith | VAR | 17 | + 18.511 |
| 24 | Charlie Wurz | Jenzer | 16 | + 1 Lap |
| 25 | Callum Voisin | Rodin | 16 | + 1 Lap |
| RET | Joshua Dufek | AIX Racing | 13 | Collision |
| RET | Max Esterson | Jenzer | 12 | Collision |
| RET | Piotr Wisnicki | Rodin | 12 | Collision |
| RET | Nikita Bedrin | AIX Racing | 1 | Collision |
| RET | Noel Leon | VAR | 1 | Collision |
Feature Race
At lights out, Fornaroli made a clean start to head Dunne and Mini, whilst Browning recovered to 11th from 13th on the grid.
Dunne however dealt the first twist in the title race as he passed Fornaroli into the Parabolica for the lead, whilst Meguetounif passed Mini for third on the second lap.
Further back, Browning lost 11th to Loake on Lap 3 but spun at Ascari as he attempted to repass his British compatriot, which triggered chaos behind which eliminated Zagazeta, Floersch, Shields and Wisnicki.
Boya picked up damage in that incident and eventually retired a few laps later.
The safety car consequently was deployed and racing resumed at the start of Lap 7 but Fornaroli ran wide through Ascari, which at that point put Mini on course to snatch the title on countback.
Mini however lost third to Mansell into Variante del Rettifilo on the next lap to swing the title back towards Fornaroli, who then passed his title rival at Ascari on that very lap.
Meguetounif cleared Dunne on Lap 10 into Variante del Rettifilo to take the lead and victory.
Mansell demoted Dunne to third on Lap 11 with the Irish driver eventually demoted to fifth come Lap 16.
Mansell soon fell into the clutches of Fornaroli and Mini and got passed by the pair on Laps 18 and 19, but stayed with the pair as Mini cleared Fornaroli into Variante del Rettifilo on the penultimate lap.
Mansell then followed Mini though at Variante della Roggia, but Fornaroli didn’t give up and snatched the title by two points at the Parabolica with a late lunge on Mansell on the last lap.
Dunne finished fifth ahead of Stenshorne and Tramnitz whilst Leon and van Hoepen came from 22nd and 29th on the grid to finish eighth and ninth, ahead of Beganovic who rounded out the top ten.
Mini however was disqualified post-race for a breach of tyre pressure rules after his front tyres were 0.6psi down on the minimum psi limit of 15.5psi, which promoted those who finished in the top 12 on the road up a position.
Trident consequently ended the season with an one-two finish and Mansell rounded out the top three, whilst Dufek inherited the final point in tenth.
For the standings, it meant that Fornaroli’s title-winning margin extended from two to 23 points over Mini, whilst Browning finished third despite a 10-second time penalty for the Lap 3 incident, which dropped him to 20th in the classification.
Rookie, Stromsted received a 10-second time penalty for colliding with Smith despite finishing a lap down in 23rd, whilst Esterson received the same penalty for colliding with Leon although the American didn’t finish the race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | 22 | 39m 58.179 |
| 2 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | 22 | + 4.587 |
| 3 | Christian Mansell | ART GP | 22 | + 5.522 |
| 4 | Alex Dunne | MP Motorsport | 22 | + 6.862 |
| 5 | Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech GP | 22 | + 10.650 |
| 6 | Tim Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | 22 | + 12.889 |
| 7 | Noel Leon | VAR | 22 | + 14.664 |
| 8 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART GP | 22 | + 15.429 |
| 9 | Dino Beganovic | PREMA | 22 | + 17.071 |
| 10 | Joshua Dufek | AIX Racing | 22 | + 18.796 |
| 11 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | AIX Racing | 22 | + 21.060 |
| 12 | Kacper Sztuka | MP Motorsport | 22 | + 22.874 |
| 13 | Nikita Bedrin | AIX Racing | 22 | + 23.472 |
| 14 | Charlie Wurz | Jenzer | 22 | + 23.591 |
| 15 | Tommy Smith | VAR | 22 | + 23.657 |
| 16 | Arvid Lindblad | PREMA | 22 | + 25.794 |
| 17 | Nikola Tsolov | ART GP | 22 | + 26.469 |
| 18 | Santiago Ramos | Trident | 22 | + 26.913 |
| 19 | Joseph Loake | Rodin | 22 | + 27.597 |
| 20 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | 22 | + 31.505 |
| 21 | Sebastian Montoya | Campos | 22 | + 98.106 |
| 22 | Callum Voisin | Rodin | 21 | + 1 Lap |
| 23 | Noah Stromsted | Campos | 21 | + 1 Lap |
| DSQ | Gabriele Mini | PREMA | 22 | Tyre |
| RET | Max Esterson | Jenzer | 14 | Collision |
| RET | Mari Boya | Campos | 9 | Damage |
| RET | Piotr Wisnicki | Rodin | 3 | Collision |
| RET | Cian Shields | Hitech GP | 2 | Collision |
| RET | Sophia Floersch | VAR | 2 | Collision |
| RET | Matias Zagazeta | Jenzer | 2 | Collision |
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