Browning controls Bahrain feature race to take FIA F3 points lead

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Hitech GP’s Luke Browning claimed victory in an action-packed first FIA Formula 3 feature race of the year at Bahrain.

The Williams junior resisted pressure from his competitors through the 22-lap race, and was also expressing engine woe concerns over the radio to his team. ART Grand Prix’s Christian Mansell and MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz joined the Briton on the podium, while a car issue ruled Prema’s poleman Dino Beganovic out of the fight for victory.

Browning took the lead at the start as Beganovic’s car immediately slowed down after a good getaway and dropped to the back of the pack. Trident’s Sami Meguetounif moved up to second from fourth on the grid, while Tramnitz gained four positions to be third at the end of lap one. Conversely, Prema’s Gabriele Mini dropped from third to sixth.

Campos Racing’s Mari Boya had to pit on lap two as he suffered a puncture when fighting for a spot in the points. Meanwhile, Mansell continued to progress from his starting position of eighth and was third by the end of lap three.

On lap six, Mansell passed Meguetounif for second place following a side-by-side battle that began at turn eight and was completed at turn 11. Browning had broken the DRS delta by then, but it did not last long as Mansell soon closed in with strong pace. But he was never close enough to launch an attack for the win.

The race progressed and the DRS train in the top 10 progressively became shorter. The top four left Trident’s Santiago Ramos over two seconds behind. Further down the order, ART GP’s Nikola Tsolov, Campos’s Oliver Goethe and MP’s Alex Dunne – who had a recovery race after being 17th on lap one – fought for the last points positions.

Tramnitz dived into the inside of Meguetounif at turn one with four laps to take third place. However, he lost DRS to Mansell as a result of his manoeuvre and would not be able to recover those critical tenths of a second to keep with the victory contenders.

After the initial struggles, Beganovic came back through the field with a strong pace. However, his recovery went unrewarded as he took the chequered flag in 13th place.

Race results (22 laps)