F3 drivers struggle to gain ground in close Round 3 at Imola

Friday’s practice session showed the team had made good progress during the break and found a significant step forward with performance. Martinius Stenshorne came very close to a top-10 grid position but made a small mistake on his crucial lap that saw him drop to P16.

With teammates Joshua Dufek down in P19 and Rookie Gerrard Xie in P27, both the Sprint and Feature Races would pose a tough battle for all three drivers. The field in F3 is incredibly competitive and with only a sole overtaking opportunity across the lap – Turn 2 – it would be difficult to advance up the order.

Nonetheless, in Saturday’s 18-lap Sprint Race all three drivers did just that, Martinius gaining five places to finish P11, while Josh improved to P15 and Gerrard to P20.

It was a similar story in Sunday’s 22-lap Feature Race, when all three drivers improved by four places apiece.

Martinius leads for Hitech in the Drivers’ Standings, where he sits ninth on 20 points, which account for all the squad’s points in the Teams’ battle.

The next two races come thick and fast, starting with Monaco next weekend, where the team and drivers will be hoping to turn the corner and reveal more of the genuine progress.