F3 Imola: Goethe reinstated as sprint race winner after penalty rescinded

Noel Leon secured his first Formula 3 victory in dramatic circumstances at Imola in a sprint race that saw four safety car interventions.

Goethe had been given a five-second penalty for not staying above the minimum time during the safety car period, but upon review, the stewards revoked the penalty as it didn't reflect changes to the 2024 sporting regulations made at the start of the season.

The German has been handed back his win, having passed Leon on the final lap at a virtual safety car restart.

Leon had negotiated the various interruptions in a stop-start race, but with Goethe's penalty overturned, it was a double disaster for the Mexican as he was given a post-race five-second penalty for weaving behind the safety car.

That, plus Tim Tramnitz's own penalty being rescinded for the same reason as Goethe's, means the MP Motorsport driver moves up to second and Loen drops to third.

Championship leader Luke Browning had been on to finish sixth and open up a gap at the top having entered the race level on points with Leonardo Fornaroli, but a late incident left him in the gravel at Tosa, continuing his run of failing to score in a sprint race this season.

Luke Browning, Hitech Grand Prix

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

In a typically frenetic start, polesitter Kaper Sztuka was quickly thrust down the order and out of the podium places with Leon, Tim Tramnitz and sixth-place starter Goethe all making ground.

But the action was quickly halted by a safety car intervention as Mari Boya’s Campos Racing entry spun into the gravel at the Variante Villeneuve midway through the first lap. Following a short investigation, the stewards handed Tommy Smith a 10-second penalty for his part in the incident.

When the racing resumed, championship contender Leonardo Fornaroli got involved in a heated battle with AIX driver Nikita Bedrin over P13, with both drivers pushing the limits and sampling Imola layout's plentiful gravel.

No sooner had the racing resumed than it was halted once more, as Charlie Wurz assisted Callum Voisin into the barriers at Tosa, something that earned the Austrian a 10-second penalty.

And a third safety car intervention followed soon after, as Sami Meguetounif struck the rear of one of the Prema cars on the run to Tamburello and found himself stuck in the gravel.

Read Also:

FIA F3Two F3 drivers hit with race bans for competing in other championships

Racing threatened to break out following a lap 11 restart but this was thwarted when Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, who had started from the pitlane after failing to launch for the warm-up lap, pulled off the track at Rivazza.

Now on lap 15, Leon made his restart much earlier than before, catching out fourth-placed Sztuka who dropped three seconds off the lead trio and soon fell behind Dino Beganovic.

Championship leader Browning had been set to finish sixth before he collided with Sztuka at Tosa.

Now on the last lap, the virtual safety car was deployed to cover the incident, with the pack freed to race the closing corners.

Imola - Sprint race

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Bonus
1	N. León Van Amersfoort Racing	20	18	34'20.094				10
2	O. Goethe Campos Racing	10	18	+4.660 34'24.754	4.660			9		1
3	T. Tramnitz MP Motorsport	7	18	+6.817 34'26.911	2.157			8
4	D. Beganovic Prema Powerteam	1	18	+7.926 34'28.020	1.109			7
5	K. Sztuka MP Motorsport	8	18	+8.471 34'28.565	0.545			6
6	G. Minì Prema Powerteam	2	18	+9.064 34'29.158	0.593			5
7	L. Van ART Grand Prix	24	18	+9.455 34'29.549	0.391			4
8	A. Lindblad Prema Powerteam	3	18	+9.928 34'30.022	0.473			3
9	N. Bedrin PHM AIX Racing	27	18	+10.489 34'30.583	0.561			2
10	S. Ramos Trident	6	18	+10.846 34'30.940	0.357			1
View full results