Imola, a race to increase the lead
The FIA Formula 3 Championship will be lining up for its first European and Italian race of the season this weekend, as the third round of the 2024 series is set to go underway at Imola. Trident Motorsport moved away from round 2 at Melbourne with the lead in the driver standings as Leonardo Fornaroli tops the pack tied with Luke Browning.
In his first two outings of the season, the 19-year-old from Piacenza delivered a pole position, a third, and a second place, results that placed him at the front in points. He knows the Imola track well, as it’s not far from his hometown, and has raced there three times in Formula 4 and once in Formula Regional. Fornaroli only carried out one test session there in F3, but the level of chemistry between him and Imola is very good, and he enters the weekend as one of the favourites.
Last year, due to a flood of the adjacent Santerno River, the round was canceled. In the last edition held, Trident Motorsport scored one win and took pole position. The team now holds first place in the Drivers' classification and second in the Teams' classification. Rookies Sami Meguetounif and Santiago Ramos are paying the price for inexperience, despite having shown great potential which should materialize in growing results over the course of the season. The series went on track from April 16th to 18th in Barcelona, for the second collective test session of the year, and Fornaroli secured the second-fastest lap time overall. The preparation work for the Imola was focused and determined. Now the word, as usual, goes to the beautiful Romagna track.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: “The championship is back after a break of almost two months: it will be key to be reactive and start off on the right foot straight away after the Barcelona test session. In Imola it will be really important to have a successful qualifying session, given that it will not be easy to overtake in the race, even considering how tight gaps normally are within the field. We will have to work for a perfect lap, without making mistakes. In the races, will have to pay attention to tyre degradation as well. The drivers prepared for the Imola race with great determination, working well with the technical staff. Now we will have to execute our plans to perfection."
The FIA Formula 3 Championship will go underway on Friday at 09.55 with the 45-minute free practice session. Qualifying is scheduled for the same day, at 15:05, while the Sprint Race will be on Saturday at 14:15. The Feature Race, which will wrap up the weekend, will start on Sunday at 08:30. The action will be fully broadcast live by the Sky Sports network.