What We Learned: Some of the key storylines from Round 9 at Spa-Francorchamps

1 August 2024

The penultimate round of the 2024 season has come and gone and as we head to the finale, the Drivers’ Championship is finely poised with several still in the mix.

But the action at Spa-Francorchamps produced plenty more storylines as we saw PREMA Racing seal the Teams’ Title, while Rodin Motorsport and Callum Voisin made history.

A big weekend in the Championship: Spa-Francorchamps Team-by-Team Roundup

So, as we head into the summer break, let us talk about some of these big stories.

PREMA REIGN SUPREME

It was a historic weekend for the Venetian outfit as they claimed the Teams’ Title ahead of ART Grand Prix, their fifth Formula 3 Championship in six seasons.

Coming to Spa, they knew that if they went into the summer break with an 89-point lead over their French rivals, the title would be theirs.

A one-two finish in the Sprint Race, led by Dino Beganovic and Gabriele Minì gave them one hand on the trophy, but it was not guaranteed until after the Feature, as neither team scored a point.

PREMA sealed the Teams Championship in Spa helped by their one-two in the Sprint Race

It’s an impressive feat considering how competitive Formula 3 has been this season, as their Team Principal Rene Rosin said afterwards: “Considering that this is the sixth year of the car, it is more or less becoming normal for everybody. So, all the teams are very much close to each other, and there is a lot of competition through to the end of the year.”

They still have plenty to play for in Monza, with Beganovic, Minì and Arvid Lindblad all having a chance to win the Drivers’ Championship.

But the first part of their job is done and in quite a splendid manner.

RODIN AND VOISIN REALISE POTENTIAL

Voisin and Rodin came to Spa on a four race points scoring streak, which included a third-place finish in the Silverstone Feature Race.

For Rodin, this run of form confirmed what they had felt all season, even when they were not scoring points, which was that they had the pace, they just had to maximise it.

They have certainly done that of late and they continued to do so in Qualifying at Spa, as Voisin took pole by over a tenth.

Voisin sealed his and Rodin's first Formula 3 victory at Spa this weekend

He continued the points scoring streak in the Sprint Race, staying out of trouble, and keeping things clean to finish seventh, before converting pole into a maiden victory for him and the team in the Feature Race.

It was a mature performance as he had to manage three Safety Car restarts, at a track where overtaking is possible, especially in the first sector. It was a stunning result for both driver and team, one that was richly deserved and one they will certainly remember for a long time.

RACE ANALYSIS: How Voisin perfected the restarts to claim victory at Spa

FORNAROLI TAKES OVER AT THE TOP

For the eighth time this season, the Championship lead has changed hands with Leonardo Fornaroli regaining first place after finishing third on Sunday.

His consistency so far has paid off as while the rest of his rivals in the top five have won at least one race this year, the Trident driver is yet to stand on the top step.

Instead, what he has done is maximise his results, so while his opponents have had their own troubles, Fornaroli has constantly finished in the points and currently has the most podium finishes with six.

Fornaroli took his sixth podium finish of the year to lead the Championship after Spa

He was the lead Championship hopeful on Friday, qualifying third and he turned that into another top three result in the Feature, while many of his rivals struggled – with Luke Browning, in P6, the only other contender to finish in the points.

The Italian now takes a one-point lead to the Monza finale, and this is impressive considering that he came into the double header 26 points off top spot.

There is no doubt he will be keen to get that maiden Formula 3 victory at Monza, but so far, he has done everything he needed to do to be on top.