Minì heads the field on opening day of Imola post-season test

Gabriele Minì made the most out of the first day of running around the Imola circuit, ending fastest of all on Day 1 of the final post-season test of the 2023 season.

In the morning, Dino Beganovic capitalised on a window between two late Red Flags to put his PREMA Racing car on top with a 1:30.946 ahead of Mari Boya and Luke Browning.

Minì was the pacesetter for most of the second session after setting the leading times early on. The Italian driver returned to the top of the timesheets for the final hour, improving to a 1:30.225 to finish almost three tenths clear of Campos Racing’s Oliver Goethe and teammate Beganovic.

MORNING 

A leisurely start to running saw PHM Racing become the only team to set a laptime inside the opening 35 minutes, with Joshua Dufek getting the initial benchmark on the board with a 1:35.204.

Tommy Smith was the first of the Van Amersfoort Racing’s trio to go fastest. Setting a 1:33.682, the Australian then improved by over a second before teammates Sophia Floersch and Noel León bettered his efforts in turn, with the Mexican driver posting a 1:32.431.

As the track began to liven up, Browning broke into the 1:31s before lowering the time to beat to a 1:31.059, 1.3s ahead of MP Motorsport’s Grégoire Saucy and Martinius Stenshorne in the fellow Hitech Pulse-Eight car.

The Red Flag was flown with just over two hours to go after ART Grand Prix’s Nikola Tsolov found the barriers at Turn 4. Once running resumed, Leonardo Fornaroli in the #4 Trident and Goethe traded personal bests in second, with the German driver shaving Browning’s advantage out front down to 0.134s.

The gap then closed further as Beganovic lifted himself into second, momentarily. Next to improve into P2 was Mari Boya for Campos. Having previously closed to 0.012s the leading time, the Spaniard put himself on top, going quickest on a 1:30.966.

With 23 minutes left of the morning session, the Red Flag made a brief second appearance after Minì stopped on track at Turn 9. Beganovic took advantage of the return to Green Flag conditions, nudging ahead of Boya by two thousandths.

However, the resumption of running was only last a short while before another Red Flag. With less than five minutes on the clock, the session was not resumed.

AFTERNOON

PREMA instantly set to work as Minì set a 1:31.873 to get the afternoon underway. Beganovic hit the ground running too, going almost half a tenth quicker than the Alpine junior, whilst Arvid Lindblad followed close behind in third.

The proceedings were interrupted during the opening 15 minutes after Joshua Dürksen went off track at Turn 3. The #29 PHM Racing car was recovered, and the session recommenced briefly before Callum Voisin found the gravel trap at the same corner, triggering another Red Flag period.

With just over two hours of track time remaining, Minì returned to the top spot on a 1:31.306, as Beganovic and MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz slotted in close behind in second and third.

Improvements were still there to be found inside the final hour. Fornaroli jumped ahead of his compatriot by 0.041s, followed by Goethe who went fastest on a 1:31.142. It wasn’t long before Minì led the field once again, clocking in a 1:30.483.

Goethe closed to within three thousandths of the Italian’s time, but Minì then found a further 0.258s to secure an unbeatable 1:30.225. Boya was another late improver, leapfrogging Fornaroli to fourth, whilst Lindblad ended Day 1 as the leading rookie in sixth.

Six hours of track time await the field when the sixth and final day of post-season testing gets underway tomorrow at 09:00 local time (GMT+2).

2023 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - IMOLA POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION

2023 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - IMOLA POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION