Formula 3: A tough Silverstone weekend for Beganovic

An engine problem in qualifying put Dino Beganovic’s weekend on the backfoot right from the start. The Swede persevered, but was unable to pick up any points.

Dino Beganovic had a difficult time of it in the sixth round of the Formula 3 championship at Silverstone. He was side-lined with an engine problem on his very first lap in qualifying, which meant he would have to start from last place on the grid. “It’s a shame, as we had very good pace in free practice, but unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about it,” commented Beganovic. “From then on it was an uphill battle.” Dino made up many places in the two races, but it was not enough to get him into the top ten and so he drops to fifth in the standings still on 75 points.

Sprint Race. Intermittent rain complicated matters for the teams and drivers when it came to tyre choice. Beganovic got away well and moved up to 18th at the end of lap 3. On lap 8, the Safety Car came out because of the rain and Dino and his engineer immediately decided to pit for rain tyres. “We gambled on the rain,” explained Beganovic. “And at that moment it was the right choice and I was the first to do so. It put us in an interesting position as leader of those who had switched to wets, but unfortunately the rain eased off and so I was unable to stay in the top ten.” Dino finished 13th. 

Feature Race. The last race at Silverstone started in the dry. Beganovic drove a great opening lap, moving up to 22nd before the Safety Car came out for four laps. Once the race was on again, Dino continued to move up the order, getting as high as 13th, before the race was neutralised yet again. In the closing stages, it began to rain, gradually getting heavier and when the race resumed, with two laps remaining, track conditions were difficult. When it was clear that he would not get into the points, Dino did not take any risks and finished 16th.