2023-07-29 11:50:04
The Argentine Franco Colapinto took advantage of the brief moments of real competition in the chaotic Formula 3 Sprint Race at the Belgian Grand Prix, moved up three positions and signed a sixth place that will not impact the tournament due to a controversial FIA decision: no will award points. The great expectation now will be in what will happen this Sunday: he will start fourth in the Feature Race (from 3.30 in Argentina).
“As the minimum of two laps of the race were not completed without the intervention of the Safety Car, no points are awarded for the race according to the Sporting Regulations,” the FIA reported on its website to argue this decision.
This action hurt Colapinto, who would have added five points and might have climbed a position in the drivers’ table. Currently, he remains sixth with 93 points and in front of him are the Brazilian leader Gabriel Bortoleto (144), the Spanish Martí (102), the British Zak O’Sullivan (101), the Estonian Paul Aron (94) and the Swede Dino Beganovic (94). That is to say that although Colapinto is separated by 51 points from the top of the tournament, he is just 9 units from second place with three races remaining for the closing of the contest.
In this Sprint Race, the MP Motorsport driver had taken advantage of the fact that many of his direct rivals in the competition suffered problems, including the absolute leader Gabriel Bortoleto who left due to mechanical problems at the end. Brazilian Caio Collet was the winner, followed by Taylor Barnard, Paul Aron, Zak O’Sullivan and Jonny Edgar ahead of Franco.
The Argentine rider started this Sprint in ninth place, but managed to overtake Nikola Tsolov and took the opportunity to accommodate himself with the entry of the safety car due to the incident involving Sebastián Montoya and Rafael Villagomez that immediately stopped the race. The restart was on the third lap, where he passed Dino Beganovic and Hugh Barter.
Again the problems: Gabriele Miní and José Martí collided, who when he tried to re-enter left Ido Cohen out of the race with a dangerous maneuver. Although so far it is unknown if the Spanish Martí will be sanctioned for this risky action. “I don’t know what position Pepe will be in following what he did in the race, that was something quite dangerous I would say. Of course he didn’t do it on purpose, but at the end of the day, it is what it is, ”Bortoleto raised in Autosport regarding this maneuver that might take Sunday’s pole position from the Spanish.
The track, which had absolutely wet sectors and others that were drier, was once once more dominated by the safety car because the German Oliver Goethe had also been left out of the event. Lap 7 of the 12 scheduled was that of a new restart, but with three laps to go the safety car appeared once more as a result of Bortoleto’s abandonment. And so the competition ended, without a restart that would allow Collet to cross the checkered flag in competition.
Paul Aron, who finished third, did not hide his frustration. He said he was “very disappointed” although he resigned in dialogue with the Autosport portal: “We can’t do anything regarding it.” Even the second, Taylor Barnard, sentenced: “The three of us who are sitting here do not agree with the decision”, referring to those who got on the podium.
This Sunday, and following completing a time of 2:22.402 in qualifying, Franco will start in a privileged position behind the Spanish José Martí (2:22.160) and the Italians José Fornaroli (2:22.176) and Gabriele Mini (2:22.176). :22.254).
Sunday’s race will award 25 points to the winner, 18 for second, 15 for third, 12 for fourth, 10 for fifth, 8 for sixth, 6 for seventh, 4 for eighth, 2 for ninth and 1 for tenth. Regardless of the other unit for the one who signs the fastest turn.
It should be noted that it is the second time this year that a decision by the authorities leaves Colapinto without points. He had been the winner of the Sprint Race at the Silverstone GP, but hours later he was disqualified for anomalies in his car. That same weekend, he was unable to finish the Feature Race due to a crash.
The Argentine representative has the possibility of making the leap to Formula 2 in 2024, as Infobae learned. It is even expected that he will get into a car of that category during the end-of-year tests in Abu Dhabi in November. Meanwhile, he continues his work under the orbit of Williams pilots: “I participate in events, simulators, a bit with everything. They helped me a lot this year and I am very grateful to them. I learned a lot and it’s an amazing place. There are many people interested in my work and when the good results arrived they were happy for the future, ”he told this newspaper a few days ago.
It should be noted that different statistics that mark Franco’s progress. In 2022, for example, he finished his first season in Formula 3 in ninth place with 76 units with the Van Amersfoort Racing car in the 18 races he starred in and currently registers 93 in 14, taking into account that he suffered an unexpected disqualification following having won the Silverstone GP Sprint.
At the same time, he is by a wide margin the best of his team currently above the British Jonny Edgar (15th) and the Spanish Mari Boya (17th). He also fights hand in hand with O’Zullivan to be the most prominent representative of the Williams Academy in Formula 3 over two other Britons like Luke Browning (12th) and Ollie Gray (25th).
Keep reading:
Formula 1, on alert before running in Spa-Francorchamps: “It’s like driving on a highway without windshield wipers”Franco Colapinto, with Infobae: the analysis of the season, his present at Williams, an expected test at the end of the year and the jump to Formula 2Agustín Canapino returns to race in TC: the reasons and what will happen to the IndyCar
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