Meguetounif passes Goethe to claim Imola feature race win · F3 · RaceFans

Sami Meguetounif secured his first victory in Formula 3 by passing Oliver Goethe to win the Imola feature race.

Although Meguetounif started behind his two Trident team mates at the front of the grid, he ended the race ahead of both. Early leader Leonardo Fornaroli was the next of the Trident trio home in third place.

Campos driver Goethe took the lead by passing the three Trident cars in the early running, helped by Fornaroli falling down the order when his engine appeared to cut out at the start of the sixth lap. The Campos driver led the bulk of the race until he was caught by Meguetounif and passed on the outside as they approached Tamburello with five laps remaining.

Having taken the lead, Meguetounif pulled away from Goethe who came under heavy pressure from Fornaroli over the closing laps. However Goethe held off the second Trident over a tense final lap to retain second place at the chequered flag, just half a second ahead of Fornaroli.

Luke Browning finished close behind Fornaroli in fourth, with Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic fifth followed by Alpine junior Gabriele Mini. Red Bull prospect Arvid Lindblad was seventh, with pole winner Santiago Ramos fading down the order over the race to finish in eighth. Mari Boya and Sebastian Montoya claimed the final points in ninth and tenth, respectively.

After Saturday’s sprint race was heavily disrupted by several Safety Cars, the 22-lap main event ran uninterrupted without a single retirement. Nikita Bedrin fell to the bottom of the order after suffering a puncture following contact from Martinius Stenshorne. The new McLaren junior was handed a 10-second time penalty from the stewards as a result, dropping him out of the top 10.

The result puts Fornaroli on the top of the championship standings with 52 points, three ahead of Browning with Beganovic in third on equal points with Mini. Goethe is fifth, while Meguetounif’s win moves him up to sixth.

The Formula 3 season continues next weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.

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Formula 3 Italy race two results