Beganovic wins Spa sprint race as F3 title race stays wide open

Photo: Prema

Prema’s Dino Beganovic won the FIA Formula 3 sprint race at a damp Spa Francorchamps to boost his title hopes.

Beganovic lost out to team-mate Gabriele Mini on the opening lap, but after an early safety car period took the lead. Once ahead, he did not put a wheel wrong and maintained a gap of roughly a second to Mini to pick up his second win of 2024.

Racing was stopped on the opening lap due to Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson crashing after going over the top of Eau Rouge. The damp track caught him out, sending him spinning and then into a barrier. The rest of the field managed to avoid the incident and racing resumed at the start of lap four.

Mini had taken the lead before the safety car period and immediately came under attack from Beganovic on the restart.

MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz was able to get alongside Mini at one point, but the championship leader was able to hold on to second and then break away.

The battle for the final step of the podium continued up until the chequered flag. Tramnitz led a train of six cars, with Noel Leon closest behind. The six briefly broke into two groups of three, with Sebastian Montoya joining Tramnitz and Leon. However, it was not long before Sami Meguetounif and Luke Browning rejoined the fight.

Leon took third from Tramnitz late on. A frantic final sector of the race resulted in Tramnitz taking fourth, ahead of Sergio Ramos, Meguetounif, Browning and Montoya. A 30-second track limitss penalty for Meguetounif dropped him down to 29th, bumping Browning and Montoya up to sixth and seventh respectively.

Leonardo Fornaroli came home just behind the group to take eighth, ahead of Oliver Goethe and Callum Voisin.

After a difficult qualifying, Arvid Lindblad managed to climb up to 12th, gaining 11 positions over the course of the race. He then received a five-second penalty at the end of the race and dropped back to 17th.

Race results (12 laps)