A Foggy Delay to Friday: Formula 3 Spa Friday Recap

After a Delayed Day at Spa: Formula 3 Sets the Grid for the Sprint Race and Grand Prix Feature Race

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(Image Credits to SoyMotors.com on X)

Overview of the Day

After a delayed day at Spa, Formula 3 has finally set the grid for both Saturday’s Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix Feature Race. The day started with a significant wait due to low-hanging clouds. F3 had to postpone their only practice session for over 40 minutes. Eventually, it was rescheduled to 2:00 p.m. local time, coinciding with the original qualifying schedule. However, qualifying was later moved to 7:10 p.m. local time after the rest of the day's running concluded.

Practice Session Highlights

Mari Boya led the way in a shortened 30-minute practice session with a time of 2:06.111. He was closely followed by Martinus Stenshore, who clocked in at 2:06.149. Championship leader Rafa Camara faced challenges during the session, finishing in 30th position after losing his first run due to track limits. On his second attempt, he managed a time of 2:07.008, placing him in 16th. Another championship contender, Nikola Tsolov, ended the session in 8th with a time of 2:06.640.

The practice session was marked by numerous track limit violations, leading to many top drivers being pushed to the back after their initial runs. Tuukka Taponen caused the only yellow flag of the session when his car turned off coming out of the bus stop chicane.

Evening Qualifying Session

As the evening approached, drivers began their qualifying session at 19:10 local time. Visibility issues delayed the start, as the medical helicopter could not fly. Brad Benevides topped the session, earning this weekend's Aramco Pole position award. He will start with his AIX Racing car in the best seat for Sunday’s race and receive two extra championship points for his pole position.

During the initial flying laps, championship leader Rafael Camara set a lap time of 2:05.557, ahead of American Prema Racing driver Ugo Ugochukwu by two tenths. Nikola Tsolov was in P5 after his first run with a time of 2:06.250, just behind Tuukka Taponen and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

Freddie Slater qualified P9 after his first flying lap. However, track limit violations impacted many drivers' lap times, including Mari Boya, who is a surprise championship contender and recently received support from Aston Martin.

Final Qualifying Results

As the second flying laps came in, Rafael Camara retained his P1 position. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was P2, with Alessandro Giusti in P3. Ugo Ugochukwu was P4, and Nikola Tsolov was P5. The rest of the top ten included Martinious Stenshorne P6, Noah Stromsted P7, Tuukka Taponen P8, Roman Bilinski P9, and Freddie Slater P10. Mari Boya qualified P11, while Charlie Wurz took P12.

Van Amersfoort Racing seized the opportunity to take advantage of the empty track. Theophil Nael jumped to P1 with a time of 2:05.508, while his teammate Santiago Ramos qualified P3 with a time of 2:05.680. Dominguez finished P10.

Brad Benevides achieved his maiden pole position in FIA Formula 3 with an impressive time of 2:04.253! He starts from P1, just ahead of championship leader Rafael Camara in P2 with a time of 2:04.359. Camara had his lap time deleted but was later reinstated. Callum Voisin rounded out the top 3. Roman Bilinski qualified P4, making it a Rodin Motorsport row 2. McLaren Juniors Martinious Stenshorne and Ugo Ugochukwu lined up on row 3, while Campos drivers Nikola Tsolov and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made up row 4. Charlie Wurz and Bruno Del Pino lined up on row 5, with Noah Stromsted and returnee Freddie Slater qualifying on row 6. They will lead the front row for the sprint race, as the top 12 (or front 6 rows) are reversed for the Sprint Races in Formula 3.

Unlucky Qualifying Positions

Red Bull junior Tim Tramnitz qualified in the unfortunate P13, missing out on Sprint pole by just 0.031 seconds. He has McLaren junior Brando Badoer beside him on row 7. Nicola Lacorte and Mari Boya are on row 8, while Gerrard Xie and Alessandro Giusti occupy row 9. Laurens Van Hoepen and James Wharten round out the top 20 on row 10.

Domingius and Christian Ho are on row 11. Theophil Nael and Louis Sharp start on row 12. Santiago Ramos and Matias Zagazeta line up on row 13. Noel Leon and James Hedley occupy the penultimate row, while Tuukka Taponen and Nicola Marinangeli round out the grid.

(Image Credits to Formula 3 on X)

Conclusion: A Season of High Expectations

You know you are having a good season when it is disappointing to see your qualifying session end in P2. That's exactly how Rafael Camara felt during qualifying for Round 8. He struggled to hook everything up, which means he will miss out on those extra points for pole position—points that are critical at this stage of the season.

Article written by Ellie Swain and Kieran McDonnell

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