"Drove right into him!" - Christian Mansell out of Barcelona F3 sprint race
Christian Mansell was out of the FIA Formula 3 sprint race in Barcelona after being clipped by Gabriele Minì and spinning off into the gravel.
Christian Mansell stranded in the gravel at turn one during the FIA Formula 3 sprint race. (Formula 3 / Twitter)
The Campos Racing driver was cutting through the field and battling for ninth place against Minì into turn one when the two made contact.
The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver understeered wide from the inside of the right-hander and tagged Mansell, sending him spinning off at the start of lap 16.
It had been a successful race until that point for the Australian, starting 16th and making his way up into a battle with teammate Pepe Martí and Italian Gabriele Minì for the final points-paying positions.
Mansell was up to 11th before being passed by his two rivals on lap 7, then making up the gap to pass his teammate and challenge Minì for ninth, the trio gaining positions as drivers ahead suffered punctures.
With multiple incidents on track, the safety car was called shortly after Mansell’s incident, with commentator Billy Monger saying it was the most obvious in terms of fault.
“He just drove right into him!” said Monger.
Minì crossed the line in ninth but was classified 21st and out of the points after receiving a penalty for the contact.
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