Martinius Stenshorne, a rookie driver for Hitech Pulse-Eight, emerged victorious in the FIA Formula 3 Championship Sprint Race in Melbourne, Australia. Stenshorne engaged in a fierce battle with Arvid Lindblad of Prema, ultimately securing his first Formula 3 win. Laurens Van Hoepen, the polesitter, finished third to complete the podium in a race filled with thrilling maneuvers among the top 10 contenders over the course of 20 laps.
In the initial stages, Van Hoepen held onto the lead, closely pursued by Stenshorne and his teammate Christian Mansell. However, Mansell encountered difficulties after a lock-up into the first turn, causing him to lose pace. As a result, the lead position changed hands multiple times between the top three drivers in the early laps.
Lindblad took advantage of Mansell’s slowing pace, overtaking both ART drivers and subsequently closing in on race leader Stenshorne. On Lap 13, Tommy Smith’s incident with Tasanapol Inthrapuvasak prompted the intervention of the Safety Car, allowing the entire field to regroup.
Following the restart, Lindblad attempted to overtake Stenshorne for the lead, while simultaneously fending off pressure from Van Hoepen in third. However, Stenshorne skillfully managed the gap to the finish line, clinching his first Formula 3 victory and adding another triumph for the Hitech team, which had previously celebrated Luke Browning’s win at the Bahrain Feature Race in Round 1 of the Championship.
Browning, the current championship leader, faced challenges during the race, necessitating a pit stop on Lap 5 due to a technical issue. Although he was able to rejoin the track, he ended up at the back of the pack, one lap behind his teammate.
Van Hoepen successfully defended his position on the podium despite intense pressure from Mari Boya of Campos Racing, who finished fourth and secured the fastest lap, contributing to an impressive result for his team. Oliver Goethe and Sebastián Montoya of Campos Racing also had strong performances, finishing fifth and tenth respectively.
Mansell’s fortunes took a turn for the worse, transitioning from a podium contender to finishing outside the top 3 due to alleged issues with the rear of the car and tire degradation. Dino Beganovic made significant progress, earning valuable points by advancing from tenth on the grid to a seventh-place finish. Nikita Bedrin and Montoya secured their first points in the driver standings.
Alex Dunne of MP Motorsport staged a remarkable comeback from 17th on the grid, ultimately finishing in ninth place and adding two points to his personal tally.