Gabriele Mini wrote his name in the Formula 3 history books as the Alpine junior took his maiden victory with a textbook lights-to-flag performance in the Monaco feature race.
Starting from the pole position, the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver kept Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic off the line and put together a measured and mature drive. Looking calm all the way to the checkered flag, Mini maximized his day with the fastest lap bonus point.
F3: Marti cruises to victory in the Monaco Sprint Race from stoplight to flag
Meanwhile, Paul Aron gave it his all to defend third place from Luke Browning to secure a double podium finish for PREMA Racing, despite the British Williams junior closing in on the Mercedes junior in the closing stages.
A Safety Car restart on Lap 6 put Mini under pressure, after Ido Cohen found the barriers at Turn 12 while battling with Rodin Carlin teammate Oliver Gray. However, Mini showed no signs of nervousness and brought down Rascasse early to leave Beganovic behind.
The Hitech Pulse-Eight had been on course for three top-six finishes, but Sebastian Montoya touched the rear tire of Caio Collet on the uphill run. This left the Red Bull youngster with a broken front wing and a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, while Collet retired.
F2: Iwasa takes the lead in the Drivers’ Championship with victory in the Monaco Sprint
This promoted Gabriel Bortoleto to fifth ahead of Franco Colapinto, Zak O’Sullivan and Taylor Barnard, who received a 10-second penalty for going off track and gaining the lead into the first corner. Sprint Race winner Josep Maria Marti and Gregoire Saucy rounded out the top 10.
Bortoleto retains his dominance in the Drivers’ Championship by 17 points over Mini as F3 heads to Barcelona next weekend June 2-4.