Race Report

2024 Formula 1 Gran Premio d’Italia
FIA F3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Circuit: Monza (I), Length 5.793 km, 30^th August – 1^st September 2024, Rounds 19 + 20
www.monzanet.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Charlie Wurz (A), Max Esterson (USA), Matias Zagazeta (PER)

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Exciting FIA F3 finale in Monza

The FIA F3 Teams met up on the very fast Monza (I) circuit, as ever racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 Gran Premio d’Italia 2024. This was their tenth outing in Europe supporting the 2024 Grand Prix Programme. The weather was still agreeably warm throughout the weekend. Competition was tough and out of six different drivers the Champion still had to be crowned.

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Qualifying

Friday, 30/08/24, 15.00 – 15.13 (even numbers), Weather: Sunny, 32°C
Friday, 30/08/24, 15.22 – 15.34 (uneven numbers)

The sun was shining in the morning for free practice and the temperature was on the rise. We were the first out on track and there wasn't much grip. The drivers kept going off track and sending gravel back onto the track. There was a break in which the track had to be cleaned and a virtual safety car when Sztuka stopped halfway on the track. In the end, Matias was 8^th, Charlie 21^st and Max 26^th.
Qualifying here in Monza was carried out in two groups, just like in Monaco.
The groups were reduced to half the number of drivers, it was supposed to bring better quality to the session. However, it was not easy in the end. None of the drivers wanted to go first because no other driver was to benefit. In Group A there was a collision when the field was slowing and the session was stopped with a red flag. In the remaining 5 minutes Max achieved the tenth time in his group, which meant row 10 on the effective starting grid.
Group B only started driving when the available time had shrunk to 6 minutes. And even then the front driver slowed down, and in the end it was very tight for everyone to even get a valid lap across the finish line. Matias was a bit too enthusiastic and hit the kerb in the chicane, which ended in a spin. He managed to do another lap, but ended up in last position. Charlie had no luck with the traffic, he reached 13^th position in his group and thus ended up on row 13 for the starting grid.
After the session, penalties were given for obstruction, which also changed the positions of our drivers.

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FIA F3 Championship

Race One (Sprint-Race, 40 Minutes)

Saturday, 31/08/24, 09.30, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

Before the last race weekend of the season, there were still 6 drivers who could theoretically win the championship. This showed how competitive the season was. Our drivers were determined to make up as many places as possible. Already on the first lap there was an accident in the chicane and the safety car had to be deployed. Max was already 18^th, Matias 20^th and Charlie 24^th. After the restart, our drivers managed to continue fighting for places in a fast-paced race. Soon Matias was 17^th, Max 18^th and Charlie 20^th. Not much later Charlie came in 17^th, Max and 18^th and Matias in 19^th. Then there was a battle between Wisnicki and Max. The two drove fiercely for positions and as a result came together in the chicane. There was not enough space for both of them and a collision was inevitable. Both ended up on the side of the track with damaged vehicles. Unfortunately, Max's race was already over. The safety car took over the field. Charlie was now 16^th and Matias 19^th. After the restart, there was one lap left. Absolutely all drivers wanted to improve their positions. Floersch attacked Charlie, had already passed him, but still managed to catch Charlie's front wing. She continued, but Charlie stopped with the damaged part next to the track, and unfortunately his race ended before the finish line. Matias, who had started from 28^th place, managed a great last lap and saw the checkered flag in a great 14^th place.

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FIA F3 Championship

Race Two (Feature Race, 45 Minutes)

Sunday, 01/09/24, 08.35, Weather: Sunny, 25°C

The last race of the season was exciting, as three drivers still had the chance to become champions. The race started well and the large field set off again. Max held on to 18^th place and then managed to improve his position to 12^th place in a fast-paced race. Everything looked good, but Max collided with Leon in the chicane, which resulted in a retirement for both of them. What a pity! Matias experienced a hairy situation right after the start, swerved but fell back. When he was making his way forward again, an accident occurred in front of him, there was a lot of dust and Matias could not prevent contact and flew into the gravel bed. The safety car had to be deployed to clear away a total of four vehicles. What a pity! In the meantime, Charlie had moved up from 26^th place to 20^th place. In the last laps of the race he moved up further and saw the finish line in 16^th place after an action-packed race. It remained unclear who would win the championship until the last lap. Fornaroli managed to finish just one place behind Mini, which meant that Fornaroli won the championship with a 2 point lead over Mini. Meguetounif, however, won the race.
After the race, the technical inspection revealed that the tire pressure on Mini's car was not compliant with the rules and Mini was excluded from the race result. However, this did not change the final championship positions, only the result of the race.

This means that Jenzer Motorsport's last race weekend in the FIA Formula 3 Championship was already history. After 15 years in GP3/FIA F3, we will not be signing a new contract to continue in this championship "due to our age".
However, our team will continue to be active in other categories.

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Championship final standings after 20 races:

1^st Leonardo Fornaroli (I), 153 points; 2^nd Gabriele Mini (I), 130 points; 3^rd Luke Browning (GB), 128 points; 4^th Arvid Lindblad (GB), 113 points; 5^th Christian Mansell (GB), 112 points; 6^th Dino Beganovic (S), 109 points; 21^st. Max Esterson (USA), 11 points; 22^nd Charlie Wurz (A), 10 points; 25^th Matias Zagazeta (PER), 8 points

Charlie Wurz (A)

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Max Esterson (USA)

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Matias Zagazeta (PER)

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2024 FIA F3 Championship

Read more:

• www.fiaformula3.com
• www.italiaracing.net