Martinius Stenshorne, a rookie pilot from Hitech Pulse-Eight, emerged victorious in the Sprint Race of the FIA Formula 3 Championship in Melbourne, Australia. Stenshorne engaged in a fierce battle with Arvid Lindblad from Prema, thus securing his first victory in Formula 3. Laurens Van Hoepen, the pole position, finished in third place completing the podium in a race full of thrilling maneuvers among the top 10 competitors over 20 laps.
In the early stages, Van Hoepen maintained the lead, closely followed by Stenshorne and his teammate Christian Mansell. However, Mansell faced difficulties after a lock-up in the first corner, which caused 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 the race leader, Stenshorne. On the 13th lap, the incident involving Tommy Smith and Tasanapol Inthrapuvasak prompted the intervention of the Safety Car, allowing the entire pack to regroup.
After the restart, Lindblad tried to pass Stenshorne for the lead, while also fending off the pressure from Van Hoepen in third place. However, Stenshorne skillfully managed the gap until the finish line, securing his first victory in Formula 3 and adding another triumph for the Hitech team, which had already celebrated Luke Browning’s victory in the Feature Race in Bahrain in the 1st Round of the Championship.
Browning, the current championship leader, faced challenges during the race, which required a pit stop on the 5th lap due to a technical issue. Although he managed to get back on track, he ended up at the back of the pack, one lap behind his teammate.
Van Hoepen a défendu avec succès sa position sur le podium malgré la pression intense de Mari Boya de Campos Racing, qui a terminé quatrième et a réalisé le tour le plus rapide, contribuant à un résultat impressionnant pour son équipe. Oliver Goethe et Sebastián Montoya, également de Campos Racing, ont réalisé de très bonnes performances, terminant respectivement cinquième et dixième.
La chance de Mansell a tourné au pire, passant d’un candidat au podium à une sortie du top 3 en raison de prétendus problèmes à l’arrière de la voiture et de la dégradation des pneus. Dino Beganovic a fait des progrès significatifs, marquant des points précieux en passant de la dixième place sur la grille à la septième. Nikita Bedrin et Montoya ont assuré leurs premiers points au classement des pilotes.
Alex Dunne de MP Motorsport a réalisé une impressionnante remontée depuis la 17ème position sur la grille, terminant neuvième et ajoutant deux points à son score personnel.
