Race Report

2024 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix
FIA F3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Circuit: Spa-Francorchamps (B), Length 7,003 km, 26^th - 28^th July 2024, Rounds 17 + 18
www.spa-francorchamps.be

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

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Points for Esterson in Spa

The 2024 FIA F3 met up for their nineth race event of a total of ten as part of the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2024 program on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps (B) circuit. One of the oldest and longest tracks on the calendar, it is often one of the fans and drivers’ favorite track as it usually deliver some of the best racing. Spa is also known for the unpredictable weather conditions, giving an extra challenge to the drivers.

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Qualifying

Friday, 26/07/24, 15.05 – 15.35, Weather: Cloudy, 22°C

It was raining and foggy in the morning. At the start of the free practice the track began to dry out. Many drivers drove about two laps on rain tires and then switched to slick tires. It was very difficult to find a new limit every lap on the still slippery track. Our drivers nevertheless improved from lap to lap. In the end Max was 20^th, Charlie 21^st and Matias 24^th.
The sun shone later in the morning, dark clouds began to gather again when we were heading towards the start of the qualifying session. However, it remained dry. Max managed to take 6^th place with a very good lap. Charlie was twice in the running for 11^th place, but both lap times were deleted due to track limits. This meant he fell back to 28^th place. Matias did well and secured 17^th place. At the end he got stuck in traffic and did not improve any further.

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FIA F3 Championship

Race One (Sprint-Race, 40 Minutes)

Saturday, 27/07/24, 09.50, Weather: Overcast, 17°C

It was cool and damp in the morning and there was fog over the track. Despite this, everyone chose slick tyres as the track was expected to dry out during the race. The first sector was the wettest part of the track, making the start and first corner very difficult. Conditions changed constantly along the long circuit, but it was only in the very last laps that it started to dry out more quickly. So for much of the track, it was only slightly dry on the racing line, and very slippery off it. Max was the first to suffer this. He lost control of the car and spun into the barriers at the top of Raidillon. This quickly ended his race and the safety car had to take over the field. Matias stayed very consistently in the midfield and managed to avoid all the hairy situations. He finished in 20^th place. Charlie had a tough time at the back of the field as many difficult situations occurred there. He saw the finish line in 26^th place.

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FIA F3 Championship

Race Two (Feature Race, 45 Minutes)

Sunday, 28/07/24, 08.30, Weather: Sunny, 13°C

The sun was shining on Sunday morning. But the track was not completely dry, and was still very wet especially in the first sector. The cool temperatures meant that drying out was very slow. The start went well anyway, but Max was very cautious. Meguetounif and Browning overtook him. Max was now in 8^th place. Matias had a great start and was already in 14^th place when he was involved in an accident. He came into the pit lane with a damaged front wing and, with a new part fitted, he was able to rejoin the field in 23^rd place. Charlie had worked his way up to 20^th place when the safety car took over the field so that two vehicles could be cleared away. At the restart, Charlie managed to immediately make up further places. He had moved up to 17^th place when two vehicles got into trouble directly in front of him. Charlie was unable to avoid them and came into the pit lane with a damaged front wing. As there was another safety car phase, he managed to catch up with the field as soon as he set off again. Max was in 7^th place at the restart because Dunne went off track and fell back. Matias was on the wet side of the track at the restart and two cars overtook him on the dry racing line. Matias was now 21^st and Charlie 25^th. Max made no mistakes and happily finished in an excellent 7^th place, collecting some nice points. Matias managed to win back the places and saw the chequered flag in 19^th place. Charlie finished in 25^th.
After the race, several penalties were handed out, and with that Matias and Charlie moved forward a few places in the result.

We are looking forward to the next racing event, which will be the last for the FIA Formula 3, and will take place on the weekend of September 1, 2024 on the fast GP track in Monza (I).

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Championship standings after 18 out of 20 races:

1^st Leonardo Fornaroli (I), 129 points; 2^nd Gabriele Mini (I), 128 points; 3^rd Luke Browning (GB), 123 points; 4^th Arvid Lindblad (GB), 113 points; 5^th Dino Beganovic (S), 100 points; 6^th Christian Mansell (GB), 97 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