Martinius Stenshorne, a rookie driver for Hitech Pulse-Eight, emerged victorious in the FIA Formula 3 Championship Sprint Race in Melbourne, Australia. Stenshorne battled fiercely with Arvid Lindblad from Prema, securing his first win in Formula 3. Laurens Van Hoepen, the pole position holder, finished third, completing the podium in a race filled with thrilling maneuvers among the top 10 contenders over 20 laps.
In the early stages, Van Hoepen maintained the lead, closely followed by Stenshorne and his teammate Christian Mansell. However, Mansell encountered difficulties after a lock-up in the first corner, causing him to lose pace. As a result, the lead position changed hands several times between the top three drivers in the early laps.
Lindblad took advantage of Mansell’s slow pace, overtaking both ART drivers and closing in on race leader Stenshorne. On the 13th lap, an incident involving Tommy Smith and Tasanapol Inthrapuvasak prompted the Safety Car to intervene, allowing the entire field to regroup.
After the restart, Lindblad attempted to pass Stenshorne for the lead, while also fending off pressure from Van Hoepen in third. However, Stenshorne managed the gap skillfully until the finish line, securing his first win in Formula 3 and adding another triumph for the Hitech team, which had already celebrated Luke Browning’s victory in the Bahrain Feature Race in the 1st Round of the Championship.
Browning, the current championship leader, faced challenges during the race, requiring a pit stop on the 5th lap due to a technical issue. Although he managed to rejoin the race, he ended up at the back of the pack, a lap behind his teammate.
Van Hoepen successfully defended his position on the podium despite intense pressure from Mari Boya of Campos Racing, who finished in fourth place and set the fastest lap, contributing to an impressive result for his team. Oliver Goethe and Sebastián Montoya, also from Campos Racing, had great performances, finishing in fifth and tenth place, respectively.
Mansell’s luck turned for the worse, going from a podium contender to finishing outside the top 3 due to alleged issues at the rear of the car and tire degradation. Dino Beganovic made significant progress, earning valuable points by moving from tenth on the grid to seventh place. Nikita Bedrin and Montoya secured their first points in the driver standings.
Alex Dunne of MP Motorsport staged an impressive recovery from 17th on the grid, finishing in ninth place and adding two points to his personal score.
