Formula 3: Beganovic on the podium in the Principality

Dino Beganovic was a front runner all weekend on the Monaco circuit. He finished second in the Feature Race which promotes the Ferrari Driver Academy student to fourth in the championship.

This was an excellent weekend for Dino Beganovic, fastest in his group in qualifying and then very quick in today’s Feature Race, finishing where he started in second place. He picked up 18 points which puts him fourth in the standings on 46. “Today’s second place is a positive result,” commented Dino. “It was a good race, run at a very high pace. It would have been nice to try and go one better but there’s no feeling of frustration as we know that the team and I did the best we could and it was very important to do something important in terms of the championship.”

Sprint Race. The first race in the Principality highlighted the usual difficulty in overtaking on the Monegasque track. With the grid inversion, Beganovic started 11th, lost one place at the start and crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in 12th place, where he remained to the chequered flag. “It definitely wasn’t an exciting race,” said Dino. “We knew it would be impossible to move up the order and the aim was just to gain experience for the Feature Race. But my pace was good, even if I was unable to get all the potential out of the car.”

Feature Race. The main race was also quite devoid of overtaking. From second on the grid, Beganovic kept that position going into Ste. Devote before closing on the leader, Gabriele Mini, when the Safety Car came out. The race resumed at the end of lap 5 and Beganovic sat on the leader’s tail the whole time. For much of the race, Dino was less than a second behind, which meant he could use DRS, but even the movable wing didn’t present him with a passing opportunity. “I put Mini under pressure, but if the guy in front doesn’t make a mistake, it’s almost impossible to pass,” said Beganovic.