Pole-sitter Nikola Tsolov retained his lead throughout the Lap 1 chaos and rolling restart in the Formula 3 Monaco Sprint Race.
Leading the Sprint from start to finish, Tsolov led Tim Tramnitz and teammate Laurens Van Hoepen to become the first Bulgarian to win in Monaco.
Tsolov started from pole position after securing a front-row lockout for ART Grand Prix ahead of teammate Van Hoepen.
Tramnitz got a great start, overtaking Van Hoepen off the line before a big crash at Turn 4 caused chaos on the first lap.
Chaos unfolded when Arvid Lindblad made contact with Christian Mansell in an attempt to overtake, forcing both cars into the wall.
The incident took out Alex Dunne, Joshua Dufek and Cian Shields as collateral, creating a pile-up of cars with nowhere else to go.
A safety car was initially called, causing a handful of drivers to pit for swift repairs as marshals attempted to retrieve the stranded cars.
Conditions quickly changed to a red flag as the marshals retrieved the two sets of cars connected together after the first lap chaos.
Dunne’s front wing was firmly lodged in the diffuser of Lindblad’s Prema Racing car, with cranes retrieving the two deeply connected cars.
Well, this is awkward… ????#F3 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/e4HqYdnrlJ
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) May 25, 2024
The race resumed under a rolling start procedure led by the Mercedes AMG safety car.
Tsolov retained his lead going into Lap 3, pulling away from Tramnitz and Van Hoepen going into the fourth lap and breaking the DRS chain.
The restart saw many drivers struggle to warm up their tyres towards the hairpin, but the race leader managed to build a small gap.
Luke Browning gained two more places in the restart, after his 10-position jump on the first lap before the hectic crash.
Beganovic retained his seventh position but began to fall under pressure from the Williams Junior Driver Browning on a great run on Lap 7.
The Red Bull Junior Driver Tramnitz set some early fastest laps, hoping to close the 1.3s gap to the Alpine Junior Driver in the lead.
Sophia Floersch picked up a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during the first lap incident, dropping her from her provisional 15th place to the bottom of the grid.
James Hedley also received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, putting extra pressure on his battle with Piotr Wisnicki for 20th place.
Van Hoepen closed the gap to the MP Motorsport driver in second as he tried to regain the position behind his teammate.
An unlucky day in Monaco for Floersch, she made contact with MP Motorsport driver Kacper Sztuka at the final turn on Lap 13.
As another safety car was deployed, Tsolov’s seven-second gap to the Red Bull Junior was reduced while Floersch was forced to retire with extensive front wing damage.
Tramnitz got a great restart, fighting off Van Hoepen but failing to reach Tsolov making the jump to lead with 1.2s going into the hairpin.
Nikita Bedrin retired his PHM Racing car on Lap 17 as his teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak struggled in the 19th position.
The race leader was instructed by his ART Grand Prix team to build a gap of over five seconds to runner-up Tramnitz as he was investigated for weaving at Turn 18.
By Lap 21, Tsolov had built a gap of four seconds to Tramnitz as the Red Bull junior faced extra pressure from Van Hoepen.
Sami Meguetounif tumbled down the table after slowing and stopping on the track on Lap 22, having to be wheeled back to the pit lane.
Van Amersfoort Racing driver Noel Leon secured a fourth-place finish behind Van Hoepen who filled the third podium step for ART Grand Prix behind Tramnitz in second.
Joseph Loake found himself in fifth ahead of Campos Racing driver Mari Boya who retained his sixth position.
Beganovic finished the Sprint Race in seventh place, in front of Browning and the Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli and Oliver Goethe.
