F3 Austria: Browning reclaims points lead with victory

Williams junior Browning tops the Formula 3 standings once more after victory in the Austrian feature race

Luke Browning converted pole position into his second Formula 3 win of the season to reclaim the points lead with a controlled drive in the Austrian feature race.

The Williams Academy driver, racing for Hitech, kept clear of the touring car-style battles raging behind him to win by 1.6s from Prema's Gabriele Mini.

Having made a solid start, Browning pulled clear of the field while third-placed starter Tim Tramnitz dropped like a stone having failed to launch his MP Motorsport entry.

This allowed the Prema trio of Arvid Lindblad, Mini and Dino Beganovic to position themselves line astern behind Browning, although Lindblad would soon drop back after the front-row starter was shovelled off the track by MP Motorsport’s Alex Dunne on lap eight of 26.

Dunne was handed a time penalty for his trouble, and he was joined on the naughty step by Tramnitz, Mari Boya (Campos) and Callum Voisin (Rodin) who were also involved in on-track incidents.

But it was in the closing laps that an already exciting race reached a climax, with the battle for second taking centre stage.

At the end of lap 21, Beganovic demonstrated how hard he was having to push in order to keep pace with Browning, as he lost the rear and drifted through the final corner – a move that allowed the race leader a few extra tenths of breathing room.

With three laps to go, the battle intensified with Mini's attempted move on Beganovic costing him a place to ART Grand Prix's Christian Mansell, before the Alpine junior regained his position on the final step of the podium around the outside of Turn 6.

The battle continued on the penultimate lap, and this time Mini was successful in his attack on Beganovic, waiting to complete the move at Turn 4.

The positions changed once again on the final tour, when Beganovic moved back ahead at Turn 3 before ultimately losing second for one final time at Turn 6.

The late battling allowed Browning to score his first win since the Bahrain season-opener unchallenged, as Mini and Beganovic completed the podium order.

Mansell ended up fourth after starting 11th, the Australian describing events as “the best race of my life” over team radio.

Browning now heads the standings on 106 points from Mini, with Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) dropping from first to third after finishing ninth and claiming only two points. Beganovic is 26 points off the lead, with only four weekends remaining.

F3 Austria Feature Race Results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Bonus
1	L. Browning Hitech Pulse-Eight	14	26	-
2	G. Minì Prema Powerteam	2	26	+1.600 1.6	1.600
3	D. Beganovic Prema Powerteam	1	26	+2.100 2.1	0.500
4	C. Mansell ART Grand Prix	23	26	+2.500 2.5	0.400
5	O. Goethe Campos Racing	10	26	+3.100 3.1	0.600
6	N. Tsolov ART Grand Prix	25	26	+7.100 7.1	4.000
7	A. Lindblad Prema Powerteam	3	26	+7.800 7.8	0.700
8	L. Van ART Grand Prix	24	26	+9.900 9.9	2.100
9	L. Fornaroli Trident	4	26	+10.200 10.2	0.300
10	A. Dunne MP Motorsport	9	26	+13.400 13.4	3.200
11	S. Flörsch Van Amersfoort Racing	21	26	+13.800 13.8	0.400
12	M. Stenshorne Hitech Pulse-Eight	15	26	+14.000 14.0	0.200
13	S. Ramos Trident	6	26	+14.500 14.5	0.500
14	M. Zagazeta Jenzer Motorsport	19	26	+17.900 17.9	3.400
15	T. Tramnitz MP Motorsport	7	26	+18.300 18.3	0.400
16	K. Sztuka MP Motorsport	8	26	+21.300 21.3	3.000
17	M. Esterson Jenzer Motorsport	18	26	+22.200 22.2	0.900
18	M. Boya Campos Racing	12	26	+23.900 23.9	1.700
19	P. Wiśnicki Rodin Motorsport	30	26	+30.100 30.1	6.200
20	S. Meguetounif Trident	5	26	+33.900 33.9	3.800
21	C. Shields Hitech Pulse-Eight	16	26	+33.900 33.9	0.000
22	T. Smith Van Amersfoort Racing	22	26	+41.800 41.8	7.900
23	N. León Van Amersfoort Racing	20	26	+47.600 47.6	5.800
24	J. Loake Rodin Motorsport	31	26	+1'00.600 1'00.6	13.000
25	C. Voisin Rodin Motorsport	29	26	+1'16.600 1'16.6	16.000
26	T. Inthraphuvasak PHM AIX Racing	26	26	+1'22.000 1'22.0	5.400
27	C. Wurz Jenzer Motorsport	17	25	1 lap
dnf	N. Bedrin PHM AIX Racing	27	10	16 laps					Retirement
dnf	J. Dufek PHM AIX Racing	28	5	21 laps					Retirement
dnf	S. Montoya Campos Racing	11	5	21 laps					Retirement
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