Christian Mansell in the points again after slew of Formula 3 post-race penalties
Christian Mansell has taken another point in the FIA Formula 3 drivers' standings, promoted to tenth after five different post-race penalties.
Christian Mansell on track at Albert Park. (XPB Images)
The Australian crossed the line 11th in the feature race after a late race battle with teammate Pepe Martí and Jenzer Motorsport driver Taylor Barnard.
"Thanks Melbourne!" he tweeted after the race.
"Gave it everything for another point in the feature race but only just missed out in P11."
"Big thanks to the team and all you beautiful Aussies for this weekend"
The race result was still under investigation, with the FIA stewards issuing 13 different summons after the race, including one for Mansell himself for his early race contact with Sebastian Montoya.
While Mansell was cleared, five other drivers were issued with penalties.
Luke Browning dropped from sixth to eighth with a five-second penalty for his contact with Franco Colapinto, while Dino Beganovic dropped from eighth to 13th for contact with Caio Collet.
In the points finishers, Paul Aron moved to sixth, Pepe Martí to seventh, Luke Browning dropped to eighth, Taylor Barnard moved to ninth, and Christian Mansell up to the final points paying position in tenth.
"Scratch that," tweeted Mansell.
"Now it's a top 10 and more points in the bag!"
Scratch that 🇦🇺 Now it's a top 10 and more points in the bag!
Go team 👏 Onto Imola next ➡️#FIAF3 I @FIAFormula3 pic.twitter.com/cNbNYVZWRvApril 2, 2023
Three other non-finishers also copped penalties from the stewards, with Mari Boya and Roberto Faria both taking five-place grid drops for the Imola sprint race after their incidents.
ART Grand Prix driver Kaylen Frederick received the harshest penalty, with a ten-place grid drop for Imola after colliding with Nikola Tsolov behind the safety car.
The positions at the top of the standings are unchanged with Gabriel Bortoleto leading on 58 points, with Mansell remaining in fifteenth despite the extra point.
The 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship returns 20-21 May in Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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