F3 Spain: Boya wins sprint race as Trident pair implode

Mari Boya topped the F3 podium for the first time, securing only his second career top-three finish in a relatively straightforward affair for the Campos driver after early contact between Santiago Ramos and Sami Meguetounif cleared the path for the Spaniard.

Alex Dunne (MP Motorsport) and Oliver Goethe (Campos) joined him on the top three, although the former's position remains provisional as he is subject to a post-race investigation for a false start.

Following a post-qualifying track limits penalty for Sebastian Montoya, Trident saw drivers Ramos and Meguetounif promoted to the front row. But any hope of victory disintegrated with an embarrassing third lap collision between the team-mates.

With DRS enabled at the start of the lap, Meguetounif had the run on Ramos, who was defending the inside line, into Turn 1. Despite space being left, Meguetounif took to the grass on the inside, lost control and was forced to retire with damage after the pair collided.

Ramos was able to recover to the pits with a puncture but rejoined at the back of the pack.

In the mayhem, Nikita Bedrin (AIX Racing) and Callum Voisin (Rodin) also made contact at the same corner – both of whom retired. Both incidents were subject to a post-race investigation. Stewards handed Meguetounif a five-place grid drop to be taken in his next race and two points added to his licence. 

The beneficiary was home driver Boya, who led the way from Dunne and Goethe when action resumed on lap eight.

While all eyes had been on the action at the front, Montoya had made rapid progress, climbing from P27 to P15 by the time of the safety car. And this progress continued after the intervention, with Nikola Tsolov, Luke Browning and Christian Mansell all falling victim to the fast-charging Colombian by lap 13.

But this was all for nothing, when contact with Gabriele Mini (Prema) on lap 18 on the exit of Turn 4 as the lines of both drivers converged resulted in a right front puncture to the Prema, leaving Mini unable to avoid taking the pair into the gravel and out of the race.

At the front, Boya had survived an attack from Dunne after a period of tyre saving. There was now, however, an asterisk hanging over the on-track action as Dunne – along with Christian Mansell (ART), Bedrin, Charlie Wurz (Jenzer), Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (AIX Racing), Sophia Floersch (Van Amersfoort Racing), Kacper Sztuka (MP Motorsport) and Piotr Wisnicki (Rodin) – was under investigation for a false start.

With the clear-up unable to be completed within the 21-lap distance, the race finished behind the safety car, with Boya left unchallenged to claim his first F3 victory and become the ninth different winner from nine races on the 99^th race in the category's history. 

Despite his retirement, Mini retained his lead in the championship on 72 points, with Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) second three points back and Luke Browning (Hitech) third after failing to score in P12.

Update: Campos Racing has been summoned to the stewards after Boya's car was found to have been fitted with a front plank which was marked but not nominated for the car. 

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Bonus
1	M. Boya Campos Racing	12		21	-
2	A. Dunne MP Motorsport	9		21	+0.400 0.4	0.400
3	O. Goethe Campos Racing	10		21	+0.800 0.8	0.400
4	M. Stenshorne Hitech Pulse-Eight	15		21	+1.000 1.0	0.200
5	L. Van ART Grand Prix	24		21	+1.200 1.2	0.200
6	N. León Van Amersfoort Racing	20		21	+1.700 1.7	0.500
7	L. Fornaroli Trident	4		21	+1.800 1.8	0.100
8	D. Beganovic Prema Powerteam	1		21	+2.100 2.1	0.300
9	A. Lindblad Prema Powerteam	3		21	+2.600 2.6	0.500
10	T. Tramnitz MP Motorsport	7		21	+2.900 2.9	0.300
11	C. Mansell ART Grand Prix	23		21	+3.100 3.1	0.200
12	L. Browning Hitech Pulse-Eight	14		21	+3.300 3.3	0.200
13	N. Tsolov ART Grand Prix	25		21	+3.900 3.9	0.600
14	C. Shields Hitech Pulse-Eight	16		21	+4.200 4.2	0.300
15	J. Loake Rodin Motorsport	31		21	+4.600 4.6	0.400
16	C. Wurz Jenzer Motorsport	17		21	+4.900 4.9	0.300
17	J. Dufek PHM AIX Racing	28		21	+5.200 5.2	0.300
18	T. Smith Van Amersfoort Racing	22		21	+5.700 5.7	0.500
19	M. Zagazeta Jenzer Motorsport	19		21	+6.900 6.9	1.200
20	S. Flörsch Van Amersfoort Racing	21		21	+7.100 7.1	0.200
21	S. Ramos Trident	6		21	+7.300 7.3	0.200
22	M. Esterson Jenzer Motorsport	18		21	+7.800 7.8	0.500
23	K. Sztuka MP Motorsport	8		21	+8.500 8.5	0.700
24	P. Wiśnicki Rodin Motorsport	30		21	+8.700 8.7	0.200
25	T. Inthraphuvasak PHM AIX Racing	26		21	+16.500 16.5	7.800
dnf	G. Minì Prema Powerteam	2		17	4 laps					Accident
dnf	S. Montoya Campos Racing	11		17	4 laps					Accident
dnf	S. Meguetounif Trident	5		2	19 laps					Accident
dnf	C. Voisin Rodin Motorsport	29		2	19 laps					Accident
dnf	N. Bedrin PHM AIX Racing	27		2	19 laps					Accident
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