Monaco, a difficult Feature Race awarded no points
The Feature Race that closed the fourth weekend of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, held on the Monaco street circuit, saw the Trident Motorsport drivers collect less than expected. Still, thanks to the result obtained in the shorter race on Saturday and the advantage accumulated in the first races of the year, the team with operational headquarters in Ossona confirmed its lead in the standings reserved for Teams and Drivers.
The result of the qualifying sessions had a huge impact on the outcome of the final race in the Principality.
Author of the seventh fastest time in qualifying, Wurz started off trying to immediately threaten his opponents. Despite having a faster pace, the narrow Monaco circuit did not allow the son of art to find any space. The nineteen-year-old Austrian, in the hectic phases of the race, then came into contact with an opponent, bending his front wing. Wurz continued the race but was forced to retire.
A similar fate hit Rafael Câmara, forced to start from eleventh on the grid due to a three-place penalty for exceeding the delta time during the red flags in qualifying. The nineteen-year-old Brazilian tried to make his way through the streets of the Principality but, during the final restart, he lost his right rear tyre due to a construction problem that is being monitored by the Series.
It was an uphill race also for Noah Strømsted. The seventeen-year-old Dane paid dearly for an exit in the final minutes of the free practice session. Not having the right confidence with the Monegasque track, the Mercedes Junior driver set the fifteenth fastest time in qualifying. In the race, due to the layout of the circuit, Strømsted was unable to move up the standings, crossing the finish line fourteenth.
Trident Motorsport will have the chance to redeem itself next weekend on the occasion of the fifth round of the FIAFormula 3 Championship season, which will take place on the Montmelò track.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: “In today’s Feature Race we were unable to score points. The result of qualifying certainly had an impact on our results today. Charlie Wurz, after a good start, broke a wing following a contact. The loss of the wheel on Rafael Câmara’s car, who was in the points zone, is due to a construction problem with the car that is being monitored by the Series. The backward position at the start affected the result of Noah Strømsted, who did his best in the race”.