Leonardo Fornaroli stole the FIA Formula 3 championship on the final corner on the final lap from the clutches of Gabriele Mini in a stunning and ever-changing race, which was won by Sami Meguetounif.
In the battle of the two Italian youngsters, it looked as if Mini, in second place, would take the title, having overhauled his deficit late-on and had a buffer of Christian Mansell between himself and his countryman, but Fornaroli, who went all season without a single race win, made a desperate now-or-never move on Mansell at the Parabolica to steal glory.
Meguetounif was able to pull clear of the battle and take a deserved victory, with Alex Dunne fifth, Martinius Stenshorne sixth and Tim Tramnitz seventh.
Noel Leon came home in eighth, Laurens van Hoepen ninth and Dino Beganovic 10th.
HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED
At lights out, Fornaroli held firm from pole position and led into T1 with Dunne slotting in behind. Mari Boya needed to take action to avoid contact having dived deep, skidding along the grass as everyone else made their way through safely.
Dunne would then began to swarm all over the Trident for the rest of the opening lap, and on the run to the Parabolica, dived down the inside to take the lead. The Italian would not give it up easily, going side-by-side the MP down to the Rettifilo but conceded the place, no doubt thinking long-term and not necessarily needing to win the race.
By the end of the second lap, the front four of Dunne, Fornaroli, Meguetounif and Mini began to escape away. Dunne and Fornaroli continued their battle, with a rhythm starting to emerge, but as it did so, carnage ensued.
On the run into the Ascari chicane, title contender Luke Browning spun around, with others joining in sympathy, as Matias Zagazeta, Sophia Floersch, Cian Shields and Pitor Wisnicki came together at the exit. The Safety Car was deployed, with Browning making his way back to the pits for a new front wing.
The Safety Car came in and the end of lap six with Dunne leading away with Fornaroli looking for a way through. Mini was caught napping and dropped to fifth behind Mansell, who began to look interested. It looked disastrous for Mini, but the Italian would be given a reprieve in one single moment.
Fornaroli skipped over the kerbs at the exit of Ascari, losing ground and falling down to fifth, with Mini now fourth and leading the championship, but one lap later at the same corner, Fornaroli threw the Trident down the inside of Mini to reassert his championship lead.
The top six were now all swarming over each-other, with Dufek going off and down the Rettifilio escape road, and would be followed a lap later by Santiago Ramos, as Meguetounif took the lead off Dunne at the start of lap 10, with Mansell starting to come into play, taking second off Dunne at the Roggia chicane a lap later. Fornaroli and Mini maintained fourth and fifth, the championship as close as possible.
Further back, Sprint Race winner Tramnitz was starting to make some good progress, taking Ramos for sixth, as Mini closed the gap on Fornaroli with the race now beyond the halfway stage.
Into lap 15, and Fornaroli gave himself a gap from Mini as he took Dunne for third, the Prema now needing to bring himself back into play to keep up his title aspirations, which he would do so at the start of lap 16, taking Dunne on the outside of the entry to Rettifilo.
On lap 17, Ramos tried to take Tramnitz at Rettifilio, but locked-up and needing to take the escape road, conceded the position back, and his race would go from bad to worse in a matter of yards, as is Trident put two wheels on the grass into the Roggia as Stenshorne overtook him, spinning around and being sent to the back of the pack.
Lap 18, and Fornaroli threw it up the inside of Mansell, locking-up hugely but taking second. Mini was able to take Mansell himself, being told over radio that Fornaroli was “struggling”, the Trident’s tyres likely flat-spotted owing to the earlier lock-up, but Mansell looked to take the place back, but backed out of move, and with Fornaroli locking-up at Rettifilo again, Mini now looked to take the place from Curve Grande and all the way to the Roggia, but Fornaroli just held-on to second.
Now into the penultimate lap, Fornaroli, Mini and Mansell were separated by just a fraction, as Mini saw his moment and down the outside of the Rettifilo, taking second and the championship lead, as Fornaroli was now in the clutches of Mansell, who took third into the Roggia, with Mini desperately weaving to break the tow at the end of the lap, as the final lap began.
Mansell tried to take second off Mini into T1, but couldn’t get through. Fornaroli then dived down the inside of Mansell into the Roggia, both men going off and rejoining, but both staying in-touch with Mini, who again would weave into the Parabolica. Mini was now just one corner from the title, but knowing all he needed to do was overtake Mansell, Fornaroli made a last ditch lunge up the inside of the Australian, forcing the ART wide and taking third.
As Meguetounif could coast home to take victory, Fornaroli could follow Mini for third place, and the F3 championship in surely one of the most dramatic title finishes in recent memory.
