2024 Formula 3 Season Review Part Two: An ending like no other

The rookies were shining and the title contenders were pushing, setting us up for a fascinating final five rounds of the season.

After a dramatic three days in Barcelona, the Styrian hills were the venue for Round 6, and it kicked off a big few weeks of the 2024 campaign. Here is how the rest of the season played out…

SPIELBERG

Having missed out on the chance to take the Championship lead in Barcelona, Luke Browning set off in Spielberg as a driver on a mission, taking Pole Position by 0.089s from Arvid Lindblad.

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The Sprint Race was one not to miss as the top three of Nikola Tsolov, Martinius Stenshorne and Christian Mansell did battle right until the end with the Bulgarian driver coming out on top, giving him his second win of the season.

Browning picked up from where he left off on Friday to take his second victory of the year in the Feature Race ahead of the PREMA Racing pair of Gabriele Minì and Dino Beganovic.

This put the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver back at the top of the Standings for the first time since Melbourne with a trip home to Silverstone next up on the schedule.

SILVERSTONE

With 30 competitive drivers, a title fight heating up and changeable weather conditions, the British venue served up one the most memorable weekends of the season.

Noel León looked set to take pole at a wet Qualifying until the track dried out in the final few minutes giving Browning the chance to seal a second consecutive P1 start for the Feature Race.

The Sprint Race though was held in drier weather, and it was Lindblad who came out on top after jumping ahead of León at the start, the PREMA driver achieving his third win of the season.

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León took his second podium of the year in P2 ahead of Jenzer Motorsport’s Matías Zagazeta, who became the first Peruvian driver to take to the Formula 3 rostrum.

Lindblad though would not have to wait much longer to achieve his fourth victory as he came out on top of a remarkable Feature Race where the changeable weather conditions made for a compelling race.

Lindblad finished second on the road but inherited the victory after Callum Voisin’s 10-second penalty dropped him to third, with Minì in second.

This meant Minì went to the top of the Standings ahead of Lindblad, while Browning, who at one stage looked set to win the race ended up in P8, dropping him to third.

BUDAPEST

After a two-week break, Budapest kicked off the last three rounds of 2024 and it was a day to remember for ART Grand Prix as Laurens van Hoepen took his first F3 pole ahead of teammate Tsolov.

The Sprint Race was a memorable one for AIX Racing as not only did Nikita Bedrin achieve their first victory in the Championship, but it was also a one-two finish for the team with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in second ahead of Beganovic.

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The Feature also saw two teammates cross the line in one and two as Tsolov came out on top of the intra-team ART battle with van Hoepen, only for the Dutchman to be disqualified post-race following a technical infringement.

This promoted León to second while Leonardo Fornaroli returned to the podium for the first time since Barcelona in P3.

It was a good day for the Trident driver as while he stayed fourth in the Standings, with Minì, Lindblad, and Browning not scoring in the Feature, seven points was now all that separated the top four.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

The final round before the summer break and the paddock head to Belgium and while the title fight was closer than ever, Pole Position did not go the way of any of its contenders.

Voisin continued his impressive form for Rodin Motorsport when he took pole ahead of MP Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne and Fornaroli.

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It was a title contender though who came out on top of the Sprint Race as Beganovic returned to the top step for the first time since Melbourne, beating teammate Minì to victory with León continuing his good form for Van Amersfoort Racing in third.

A stop-start Feature Race followed the next day, but Voisin managed three Safety Car restarts perfectly to take his and Rodin’s first Formula 3 victory ahead of Campos Racing’s Sebastián Montoya.

Fornaroli finished third which meant he would go into the final round at Monza with a one-point lead over Minì and six points ahead of Browning third. Lindblad was fourth ahead of Beganovic and Christian Mansell.

MONZA

For the first time Qualifying was split into two groups at Monza as Fornaroli took an impressive Pole Position ahead of Dunne and rival Minì, while Browning was down in P14.

Fornaroli, Minì, and Browning all scored points in the Sprint Race but it was MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz that took the victory ahead of Trident’s Santiago Ramos and his teammate Dunne.

The Feature Race saw a tough race-long battle where the title went back and forth between Fornaroli and Minì several times before it all came down to the final lap.

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Meguetounif had made his way into the lead while the two title contenders and Mansell – now mathematically eliminated from title contention – were squabbling over the final spots on the podium.

Heading into the final corner of the last lap, Minì sat in second looked set to win the title with Mansell in third and Fornaroli fourth.

The Trident driver then laid it all on the line and dived down the inside of the Australian at the last corner of the year to take P3 and to become the 2024 Champion, bringing an end to a phenomenal title fight and sixth Formula 3 season.