Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula 3's final sprint race of the year saw Tim Tramnitz triumphant on the road, ahead of Campos' Sebastian Montoya and Trident racer Santiago Ramos, who made his first podium appearance of 2024. While the German racer took his first win, Ramos ensured all Trident racers stepped onto the podium this year.
Ramos finished third on the road, in a close battle with Montoya to the line, the gap being just over a tenth of a second between both drivers at the flag. However, Montoya was later slapped a five-second penalty for forcing the Mexican racer off the track.
This elevated Ramos to second on the road, with Sunday's front row starting Alex Dunne inheriting third in the final classification.
Stepping up from the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) to Formula 3 is a daunting task, and Ramos has experienced plenty of highs and lows in his debut campaign in the series for Trident.
Fifth in the opening feature race of the year helped cap off his inaugural running in the campaign on a strong note, after a non-score in the sprint.
Ramos wouldn't score points until round three at Imola in May, heading a Trident 1-2-3 in qualifying and taking his first-ever Formula 3 pole. The Mexican would score in both races on the weekend, finishing tenth and eighth, while fellow rookie teammate Sami Meguetounif won the feature race on Sunday.
The next five rounds would be a trough for Ramos, as he would finish in the points only once, with tenth in the feature race at Catalunya. While the Trident racer was able to learn to adapt to the series, he would finally reap the benefits of his learnings at Hungary, finishing fifth in the feature race.
This finish kicked off a run of four races in the points, with two eighth-position finishes at Spa-Francorchamps before the break, while second in the sprint at Monza was his best of the season.
Stepping up from FRECA to Formula 3 is an extensive jump for the drivers to make, in terms of the preparation ahead of the weekend, with the intensity ever higher as drivers compete fiercely for their futures. Ramos delved into this aspect in his response to DIVEBOMB and other select media at a press conference.
"I think it is a bit of a big jump from FRECA, the preparation before the weekend is much more intense compared to FRECA," the Trident racer said. "In free practice, you may have only two or three attempts to do laps, so you will have to learn the track quickly. It was definitely a hard step up," Ramos continued.
Ramos has also benefited from having a driver racing in his second season of Formula 2 as his teammate in championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli, while his fellow rookie Meguetounif has proven to be a speedy contender across the year too. The young Mexican talks about his teammates and their role in his season so far.
"To have Forna (Fornaroli) and Sami (Meguetounif) as teammates, two really quick drivers, means it has been a good year for me. Sometimes you learn from them, sometimes you do things better than them.
The Mexican goes on to talk about how having two quick teammates has motivated him to do a strong job on the track as well.
"It has been great to have two teammates who are as fast, or quicker than you, so that you can learn (from them). Especially, in this championship, where you have so much track time, you have to trust your instincts a little bit, and if they can do it, you can do it as well," Ramos responded.
Ramos also talks about Fornaroli's championship contention helping both himself and Meguetounif, as well as the team when it comes to setting expectations for a race weekend.
"Having a teammate like Forna (Fornaroli) fighting for the championship has helped me and Sami (Meguetounif) as well as the team a bit more, as to what we can expect from every weekend.
"He (Fornaroli) did the same last year, so he has a bit more knowledge of the tracks and the way the car handles, so it is great to have him as a teammate," Ramos expressed.
The Mexican racer will be looking to end his season on a high in the feature race on Sunday, as he starts fifth behind teammate Meguetounif, while Fornaroli will start the crucial title decider from pole position.
Could he double his silverware count by the end of the season? Tune in to the feature race at 08:35 track time (07:35 BST) to find out if Ramos can end 2024 on a high, and who takes the coveted drivers title at the end of 22 laps of racing!
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