Leon wins sprint race but is investigated after dramatic end · RaceFans

Van Amersfoort driver Noel Leon took his first F3 victory in the Imola sprint race after a dramatic and confusing finish.

Leon overtook reverse grid pole winner Kacper Sztuka and led the race through four safety car deployments until the final lap.

But when a virtual safety car phase ended on the last lap, Oliver Goethe seemingly pounced on Leon and grabbed the win. But even though he crossed the checkered flag first, Goethe was immediately given a five-second time penalty because he had apparently committed a safety car violation in one of the four previous races.

That gave Leon the victory back. But a few moments later it was announced that the winner was being investigated by the race stewards because he had allegedly entered the Rivazzas under green flag conditions after one of the many restarts. He will present his case to the stewards and risks losing the victory to Goethe if he receives a time penalty.

MP driver Tim Tramnitz finished third after being overtaken by Goethe later in the race, while Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic was fourth. Pole starter Sztuka fell back to finish fifth, while Alpine junior Gabriele Mini was sixth ahead of Laurens van Hoepens. Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad finished eighth, while Nikita Bedrin and main race pole winner Santiago Ramos took the final point in tenth.

Championship leader Luke Browning retired late after a rash attempt to overtake Sztuka at Tosa, which resulted in the Williams junior damaging his front wing and sliding into the gravel trap, knocking him out of the race. According to the result, Browning, Leonardo Fornaroli and Mini all sit at the top of the championship standings with 37 points, while Beganovic is just two points behind in fourth place.

Campos driver Mari Boya retired on the first lap after contact at the Villeneuve chicane with Tommy Smith’s Van Amersfoort car, leading to the first safety car appearance. Rodin’s Callum Voisin also retired on lap five after a collision with Charlie Wurz at Tosa, which resulted in the first return of the safety car. Both Smith and Wurz received 10-second penalties because they were found responsible for their respective altercations. Sami Meguetounif also failed to finish after spinning at high speed in Tamburello.

Advertisement | Become a RaceFans supporter and Become ad-free

Results of the first race of Formula 3 Italy

Advertisement | Become a RaceFans supporter and Become ad-free

Formula 3

Browse all Formula 3 articles