Maiden Formula 3 victory for Gabriele Minì in Monaco feature race
Gabriele Minì led the Formula 3 field from pole to take his first victory of the season in the feature race in Monaco.
Gabriele Mini celebrates victory in Monaco. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver had done the hard work in qualifying on Friday and went through turn one in the lead ahead of Dino Beganovic, striding off into the distance around the streets of Monaco.
"As I said on Friday, quali is key," said Minì.
"I managed to keep my position on the start, I managed to do the fastest lap by very little, but still managed to get the full points for this race, so really happy with that.”
Beganovic reigned in the gap to the leader in the closing stages, but was unable to get close to passing around the tight confines of the circuit.
"It's never a nice feeling when you have someone really close in the mirror, that's for sure," said the Italian.
"But everything was under control. I was just trying to not destroy the tires since I pushed really hard to get the fastest lap at the beginning."
"It was all pretty much under control."
Paul Aron completed the podium, with the top three finishing as they qualified.
Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Mini, and Paul Aron on the podium in Monaco. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
Tommy Smith was the top-placed Australian in 15th, with Christian Mansell 17th and Hugh Barter 26th in the feature race.
Minì moves up to second in the championship standings after taking victory, now 17 points behind Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished fifth.
"It gives you a lot of confidence but to be honest, every weekend is its own series," said Minì.
The Formula 3 series is proving its reputation as a war of attrition, with front-runner Bortoleto cruising ahead on 73 points despite only taking two victories from six races.
No one driver has taken more than two podiums, with the other dual-race-winner Pepe Marti just sixth in the standings.
"All I have to do now is reset, to start all over again from zero and try to be quick in Barcelona,” said Minì.
The FIA Formula 3 field returns 2-4 June at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
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2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship - Round 4 Monaco Feature Race
- Gabriele Mini
- Dino Beganovic
- Paul Aron
- Luke Browning
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Franco Colapinto
- Zak O’Sullivan
- Taylor Barnard
- Pepe Marti
- Gregoire Saucy
- Nikola Tsolov
- Nikita Bedrin
- Oliver Goethe
- Jonny Edgar
- Tommy Smith (AUS)
- Rafael Villagomez
- Christian Mansell (AUS)
- Mari Boya
- Oliver Gray
- Hunter Yeany
- Alejandro Garcia
- Piotr Wisnicki
- Sophia Floersch
- Leonardo Fornaroli
- Kaylen Frederick
- Hugh Barter (AUS)
- Roberto Faria
- Sebastian Montoya
- Caio Collet - DNF
- Ido Cohen - DNF
