Street fighters vying for the title: Monte Carlo Team-by-Team Review

30 May 2024

The second event in the first back-to-back race weekend of the season promised a hard-fought battle and it certainly delivered as the 2024 title picture began to take shape.

Nikola Tsolov earned his maiden F3 victory for ART Grand Prix in the Sprint Race while Gabriele Minì was unstoppable on Sunday, as the PREMA Racing driver took his second Monte Carlo Feature Race win in F3.

But who is the closest challenger to the Italian in the Championship, and can anyone hunt down PREMA?

PREMA RACING

52 points for PREMA in Monte Carlo and their advantage over compatriots Trident has grown to 55 following Round 4. It marked the second-highest points from a single round by the team this season after Melbourne as the reigning Champions appear to be hitting their stride back in Europe.

Feature winner Minì showed his street circuit prowess as he went back-to-back following last season’s victory in the Principality, and he leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship having risen from third. Dino Beganovic was dejected after losing his shot at pole to a late Red Flag, but added more valuable points and is just 12 off his teammate now fourth in the Standings. Rookie Arvid Lindblad was happy with his best Feature score of the year so far and will be looking to build on the team’s growing momentum next time out in Barcelona.

TRIDENT

Fornaroli lost the lead of the Championship but has been a front runner in each event in 2024

After the highs of Imola, Trident’s momentum was halted in Monte Carlo with just 12 points to take home from what was a difficult weekend. Leonardo Fornaroli was in contention for pole position but had to settle for fifth place on the grid after ending up third in his Group A session. Teammates Sami Meguetounif and Santiago Ramos couldn’t repeat their heroics from Qualifying one week prior and couldn’t fight into the points after missing out on the top 12 on Friday.

Fornaroli was the only points scorer for the team at the weekend, and he fell to third in the Drivers’ Championship as rivals Minì and Luke Browning moved ahead of him. Still, a maiden F3 win is surely in the offing for Fornaroli, while Meguetounif and Ramos will look to rebound in Barcelona.

ART GRAND PRIX

Christian Mansell was on it all weekend in Monte Carlo as he secured his second P2 finish in a Feature Race in 2024, moving him back into the top 10 in the Championship after three non-scores prior to Sunday. The Australian was on the front row after a great Qualifying performance and said after the weekend he felt confident from the moment he stepped in the car. If he brings this form to Barcelona, he could make a big run during the next phase of the season.

Teammates Laurens van Hoepen and Tsolov starred on Saturday, with the latter earning his maiden F3 victory, managing things from reverse grid pole while the Dutchman joined him on the podium with a P3 finish. It was the team’s best weekend since Round 1 in Sakhir and helped ART move up to third in the Teams’ Standings. They look to be building some great momentum going into the next race weekend.

CAMPOS RACING

Four points scoring finishes out of a possible six for Campos Racing leaves them equal on points with ART but fourth in the Teams’ Standings. Mari Boya continued his good patch of form from Imola, finishing sixth and seventh in the Sprint and Feature Races respectively, leaving the Spaniard tied on 30 points with van Hoepen and 11th in the Championship. With a home race up next, he’s putting together his best run at the perfect time.

For Oliver Goethe, he managed a pair of P10 finishes after starting both races outside of the top 12, a great effort around Monaco with overtaking opportunities so limited. Sebastián Montoya will be aiming for better around Barcelona, the venue of in-season testing back in April where the Spanish outfit looked to be the quickest of anybody across the three days.

HITECH PULSE-EIGHT

Browning took an extra point in the Feature Race with fastest lap that could be pivotal later in the year

Browning had a big weekend even if the Briton couldn’t fight for victory on Sunday. With great pace in Qualifying, an all-or-nothing push lap on his final effort just overstepped the limit, as he tagged the barriers having been set to lower his provisional Pole time. Still, he earned a podium with fastest lap bonus point to leave just four points from the top of the Standings behind familiar foe in Minì. He is yet to finish a Feature Race outside of the top four positions, form nobody else can boast in 2024.

Teammates Cian Shields and Martinius Stenshorne were battling outside of the points-paying positions but will head to Barcelona having spent three days-worth of testing there last month. That should surely give both a better platform to go from during the race weekend, with Monaco very much a circuit that rewards those who get into a rhythm right away.

MP MOTORSPORT

Three podiums in four rounds for Tim Tramnitz and the MP Motorsport rookie is just one point off the top five in the Drivers’ Championship. The Red Bull Junior Team driver is quietly putting together a very impressive first campaign in F3, but after his Feature Race podium in Sakhir, he will be looking to add another Sunday rostrum visit to his 2024 record in the upcoming races. His opportunistic pass on Joseph Loake in the Monte Carlo Feature Race earned him eighth after P2 in the Sprint.

Alex Dunne was caught out in Qualifying and started outside the points-paying positions. He fought back to 16th in the Feature Race after getting caught up in Saturday’s opening lap crash that led to the Red Flag, while Kacper Sztuka was just one place off a point in the Feature on his first visit to the Principality. The trio have great pace, it’s just about putting together a clean weekend to show their true potential.

VAN AMERSFOORT RACING

Noel León was unfortunate not to add to his P4 Sprint Race finish after being involved in a collision with Tsolov in the Feature Race at Monte Carlo. His points finishes across the first double header of the season bodes well for the upcoming races, but missing out on Monaco Feature points will sting. Still, the Mexican driver’s improved form is coming at a good time with the next few rounds coming in quick succession.

For Sophia Floersch and Tommy Smith, it was a frustrating weekend, with Smith on the edge of points in both races, with a P13 and P12 finish in the Sprint and Feature races respectively having gone from 19th on the grid in both. Heading to Barcelona, Van Amersfoort Racing will be aiming to use their work from testing to maximise performances around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

JENZER MOTORSPORT

It hasn’t been the double-header Jenzer Motorsport will have envisioned. Scoreless in Imola, the Swiss team couldn’t add points to their tally in Monte Carlo either, as Charlie Wurz, Max Esterson and newcomer James Hedley struggled around the Principality relative to rivals. The most important thing though is that Matías Zagazeta was in good spirits and at the track after his diagnosis and surgery following his appendicitis and he will be working to get back to full fitness for Barcelona in June.

RODIN MOTORSPORT

Loake enjoyed his best weekend in F3 to date and Rodin are on the board

Joseph Loake’s performance in Monte Carlo was impressive to say the least. On his first visit to the Principality, the British rookie qualified in eight and secured good points with P5 and P9 results in the Sprint and Feature races. It earned the team their first points of the season having come close earlier in the year, and he pulled off some great overtakes along the way.

Callum Voisin ended up 12th and 13th across the weekend, as the team appear to be making good on their performances expected after testing, with increased performance across the board. Piotr Wisnicki also secured his best finishes of the season, and all eyes will be on Barcelona to stamp home their positive momentum.

AIX RACING

It was not the weekend that AIX Racing had been hoping for in Monte Carlo. There were no points, but things were always going to be difficult with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Joshua Dufek racing around the famous streets for the first time. Nikita Bedrin couldn’t make the most of his prior experience, and attentions will quickly turn to Barcelona where they accumulated plenty of mileage during testing.