F3: Minì takes second consecutive Monaco pole

Written by Sean McKean

Credit - Prema Racing

After a tense qualifying session, Prema’s Gabriele Minì took pole position in Monte Carlo. It is the Italian’s third F3 pole and second in a row in the principality.

As it unfolded

Prior to qualifying, series organisers split the field into two groups – A and B – by their car number. Starting off was Group A, the even-numbered cars, and Luke Browning appeared to be on the pace immediately, however an improvement from Leonardo Fornaroli saw the Italian take the top spot away.

With the track continually improving, the times got faster. Browning went to the top early into the second run, but Fornaroli could not match it. 

As the Group A session wound to the final minutes, Gabriele Minì emerged as a contender for pole, moving ahead of Browning. Many tried to equal his time but went too far, as Campos’ Mari Boya tagged the wall in Turn 15 and even Luke Browning tagged the wall in Turn 16. Thankfully for each, red flags weren’t shown for these incidents.

This allowed Minì an effective cruise to provisional pole ahead of last year’s Macau Grand Prix winner Browning. Leonardo Fornaroli finished out in third, Boya in fourth and Noel León in fifth.

Next up was Group B, the odd-numbered cars, but the red flag came out as quickly as it started. Going into turn one, Jenzer’s James Hedley – a fill-in for Matías Zagazeta – misjudged his braking point and hit the wall.

The three fastest drivers of this group became evident quickly, with Dino Beganovic, Arvid Lindblad and Christian Mansell constantly swapping the top spot. However, it was Mansell that eventually took over once the run ended.

At the beginning of the second run, Lindblad appeared to have been on a flyer, but a red flag caused by Sebastian Montoya and Charlie Wurz – each having separate incidents.

Top 12 Classification:

1. Gabriele Minì (Prema)

2. Christian Mansell (ART Grand Prix)

3. Luke Browning (Hitech Grand Prix)

4. Arvid Lindblad (Prema)

5. Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident)

6. Dino Beganovic (Prema)

7. Mari Boya (Campos)

8. Joseph Loake (Rodin)

9. Noel León (Van Amersfoort)

10. Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport)

11. Laurens van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix)

12. Nikola Tsolov (ART Grand Prix)