PREMA Racing secured a double podium finish today at Spielberg. Gabriele Minì finished second in the Feature Race of the FIA Formula 3 Championship at the Austrian venue, followed by Dino Beganovic, while rookie Arvid Lindblad ended up in P7.

Most of the race was dictated by tyre saving in a very aggressive situation on the Soft compound used. Both Minì and Beganovic made quick gains after the start, and then focused on managing, before going all out in the final few laps. Eventually, it was the Italian that got the nod, although by that moment, the leading contender had slipped out of the DRS Zone.

Struggling with tyres in the closing stages, Beganovic salvaged a positive third place, while Lindblad found himself on the receiving end of early contact, and dropped back down the pack. He was still able to harvest valuable points.

While Minì moved up to P2 in the Driver Championship standings, PREMA Racing strengthened its leading position in the 2024 Team Championship.

1 DINO BEGANOVIC

“We scored P3 in the feature race. It was a tough one, I tried to gain positions straight away to get behind Browning and started saving my tyres, which went very well to plan, sitting behind him and managing myself and the tyres. We always knew that the last five laps were where you could make the difference. After the VSC, I struggled a lot in the left corners, but I kept managing, not really trying to overtake. I didn’t have enough tyres at the end to challenge, I had a good fight with Gabriele but just couldn’t keep up with the tyres. I’m satisfied with P3 as I’m still not perfectly happy with the feeling that I have. It was a step in the right direction, I feel we maximized today.”

Qualifying: P5
Starting Position Race 1: P8
Starting Position Race 2: P5
Fastest lap: 1:20.424
Race 1: P15
Race 2: P3

2 GABRIELE MINÌ

“It was a really tricky race, all about strategy, how much you saved the tyres, and how well you could do it. We gained a position as I tried to go straight in the top-3, and then it was all about the last five or six laps, where I tried to attack Dino. Of course, he defended, and we lost the DRS to the car in front. After that, it was really hard to try and win the race, but still, I managed to get some good fighting, hard but clean, and get P2 in the last laps. We go back home with a lot of points in the bag and we have to just keep working.”

Qualifying: P4
Starting Position Race 1: P9
Starting Position Race 2: P4
Fastest lap: 1:20.417
Race 1: P6
Race 2: P2

3 ARVID LINDBLAD

“P7 in the Feature Race was not the best result considering that we started on the front row. It was a bit of a difficult race, but there’s still a lot to learn and for me to improve. We try to focus on that, and bounce back stronger in Silverstone.”

Qualifying: P2
Starting Position Race 1: P11
Starting Position Race 2: P2
Fastest lap: 1:20.306
Race 1: DNF
Race 2: P7

Source | Photo: PREMA Racing