Brando Badoer survived the chaos in Monaco to win the Formula 3 Feature Race, besting Theophile Nael and Freddie Slate, to take his maiden victory.
Theophile Nael was starting on pole position with Brando Badoer alongside. Both drivers were looking for the perfect start into the long dive to Turn 1. Knowing the best hopes of leading the race come in the first lap.
Nael was slow off the line as the lights went out, allowing Badoer to get ahead of the Frenchman into Turn 1. Freddie Slater, in third, had a difficult start, managing to maintain third but with Ugo Ugochukwu tight on his gearbox.
The Campos of Nael wasn’t ready to give up the lead, closing back in on Badoer, but any advancements would have to wait as a yellow flag was brought out on Lap 2. Tukka Taponen hit the wall into Rascasse after going side by side with Maciej Gladysz.
A Safety Car was brought out, with some drivers opting to come into the pits.
Badoer led the field to green on Lap 5, making a strong Safety Car restart. But it was Nael who found himself under pressure during the restart, with Slater right on his tail.
Slater was just 0.3 seconds behind Nael, but luckily for the Campos driver, he broke into the DRS range of Badoer, giving him an extra boost to keep himself out of danger.
It was a difficult weekend for Woohyun Shin, who received a 10-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement and was also under investigation for speeding in the pit lane. A lap later, he picked up a five-second penalty for speeding.
Fighting in the midfield
Further down the order, Yevan David dove down the inside of Christian Ho onto the start-finish straight. David kept clean and moved into 18th place, setting his sights on Jose Garfia’s PREMA farther down the road.
Badoer began to build a gap on Lap 19, his lead sitting at 2.8 seconds. Nael in second was focused on Slater, who was just 0.4 seconds behind him. The TRIDENT driver was desperate to get past the Campos but struggled to find a gap in the narrow streets.
On Lap 20, Fernando Barrichello limped back to the pit lane, seemingly with an issue on his AIX machinery.
In 16th, Ezno Deligny looked to the right of Nanhavud Bhirombhakdi, the two nearly making contact as they went through the corners. Into the chicane, Bhrirombhakdi cut the chicane, having to come off the accelerator so he didn’t gain an advantage.
Going into the next chicane, it was Deligny who cut the chicane, giving the DAMS Lucas Oil some breathing room.
In the final two laps, Slater fell back from Nael, the gap between them growing to a staggering 11.5 seconds. The TRIDENT driver resigned himself to the final podium place.
A late Yellow Flag
A Yellow Flag was brought out as Nicola Lacorte tumbled through the order on the timing board.
Onto the final lap, Badoer’s fight for the lead was undeniable. Badoer crossed the line first, taking his maiden F3 victory around the jewel of the Monaco circuit. Nael settled for second, no doubt thinking about the race start, and Slater took the final podium position.
Ugochukwu and Enresto Rivera closed out the top five, an incredibly strong result for Rivera, who missed the opening round due to injury.
Del Pino and Guisti finished seventh and eighth. Yesterday, Sprint winner Xie finished ninth, and Noah Stromsted rounded out the point scorers.
Discussion about this post