Lacorte makes history with maiden win at Monza
- Trisha Lynnette Nathan
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Nicola Lacorte of DAMS Racing secured his first FIA F3 triumph during Sunday's Feature Race at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Coming off an eventful Sprint Race a day earlier, the F3 field returned to the circuit with Freddie Slater of Trident starting from the front and hoping to grow his championship lead further still.
Slater had come home in second during Saturday's Sprint, having fought his way up from 12th on the grid, which pushed his advantage over title rival Ugo Ugochukwu of Campos Racing out to 17 points. Elsewhere in that race, Taito Kato scored his first F3 win despite qualifying only ninth, with Hiyu Yamakoshi of Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) rounding out the podium in third.
Sunday's longer Feature Race gave Slater a golden chance to add to his weekend tally, and he lined up on pole next to Kanato Le of ART Racing. Lacorte started from third on the grid, with Kato immediately behind in fourth as he chased a repeat of his Saturday heroics.
How it happened
Every one of the 30 competitors negotiated the first corners cleanly once the lights went out, leaving Slater in front of Le and Lacorte. Kato held station in fourth as the pack streamed through the opening sector, with a string of battles breaking out further down the field.
Contact between Campos Racing pair Ugochukwu and Théophile Naël on Lap 2 sent Ugochukwu into a spin and down the order. Moments later, Fionn McLaughlin of Hitech overran his braking zone at Turn 1 and clattered into Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi of DAMS Racing.
Slater nailed the restart on Lap 5, jumping the field slightly to preserve his advantage into Turn 1. Fernando Barrichello of AIX Racing span at Turn 4, though he avoided the cars in his vicinity; the AIX Racing driver lost places as a result but was able to keep going.
Le tried his luck on Slater at Turn 1 come Lap 6, diving down the inside and running slightly wide, yet the ART Grand Prix driver still came away with the lead. Kato, too, found a way past, demoting Ernesto Rivera to move into third. Rivera's car picked up front-wing damage following light contact with Lacorte, sending the Campos Racing driver to the pits for repairs.
The fight for the lead came to a head on Lap 7, with Lacorte, Kato and Slater running three abreast into Turn 1. Slater emerged worst off, sliding back to fourth.
Naël's unfortunately came in contact with Noah Strømsted of Trident which forced him into the pits for a fresh nose, on top of a 10-second penalty already handed down for the earlier clash with Ugochukwu.
By Lap 9, Kato had found another way through at Turn 1 to move into the lead, only for the position to change hands once more a lap later, as Lacorte came out ahead following a four-wide moment at Turn 1. Jin Nakamura also had a scare at the Parabolica, spinning but keeping his car out of the barriers and continuing on.
Slater's championship charge then began to unravel. Having slipped down the order with what appeared to be a problem at the rear of his TRIDENT, his right-rear tyre came away from the car entirely, forcing him to retire and bringing out a second Safety Car.
Rivera also came to a stop at Turn 1 in the same lap. Mattia Colnaghi of MP Motorsport was handed a 10-second penalty for an earlier collision with Pedro Clerot of Rodin Motorsport, who pitted for a new front wing.
The closing stages were further disrupted when Barrichello made contact with Woohyun Shin of Hitech and was forced to pull off at Turn 1, bringing out yellow flags and disabling the Drag Reduction System (DRS) while marshals cleared the scene.
Once the Safety Car withdrew, Lacorte led the pack back up to speed at the Lap 17 restart, with Taponen right behind him and Kato holding third. Le sat fourth as the pack bunched up tightly heading into the run to the flag.
Yevan David of AIX Racing continued an impressive charge of his own through the closing laps, working his way up to fifth before launching a move on Le at the final corner to snatch fourth as the field crossed the line.
At the front, Lacorte held firm to take the chequered flag and secure his maiden Formula 3 victory, becoming the first Italian driver to win at home in the modern era of the championship.
Taponen crossed the line in second, with Kato completing the podium in third after another strong weekend for ART Grand Prix. On the final lap, Ugochukwu passed Colnaghi to secure eighth, rounding off a remarkable recovery drive after his early spin.
Slater's retirement handed Ugochukwu a significant opportunity to close the championship gap, and the American's fight back through the field means the standings will be considerably tighter heading into the remaining rounds of the season.
That brings us to the end of the chaotic Monza. We go racing in Madrid, a new track that awaits all. Catch all the coverage right here at DIVEBOMB Motorsports.
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