Hiyu Yamakoshi has achieved his first victory in the FIA Formula 3, showcasing a dominant performance on the streets of Monte Carlo during the sprint race with an inverted grid. With this triumph, the Japanese driver has marked the return of competition to action with force.
The DAMS driver, Gerrard Xie, finished in second place, while Bruno Del Pino completed the podium, thus culminating a race that was marked by several incidents.
Yamakoshi took the lead of the race from pole position, maintaining the same configuration of the top five during the early laps. However, chaos erupted at Fairmont Curve when Tuukka Taponen and Ernesto Rivera competed for eighth position, resulting in contact that triggered a series of incidents involving several drivers.
After a stop that lasted nearly half an hour to recover the damaged vehicles, the race restarted with a rolling start. Yamakoshi was able to distance himself from his rivals as Pedro Clerot allowed Del Pino to advance to third place after the Rodin driver cut the first corner at the initial restart.
With 20 minutes remaining on the clock, Xie began to lose ground to Yamakoshi. Del Pino closed in to just three tenths, while Fairmont Curve became problematic again, with a new incident involving Freddie Slater and Rivera. The latter caused Nael’s car to collide with Slater, resulting in the necessary appearance of the safety car.
After the safety car was withdrawn with thirteen minutes left, Yamakoshi extended his lead again. A brief stopping to recover debris from the race allowed Yamakoshi to nearly secure the victory. While Xie focused on defending his position, Yamakoshi crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead.
Xie managed to hold onto his second place ahead of Del Pino, who came in third. Pedro Clerot and Alessandro Giusti completed the top five, achieving a notable result in a tumultuous race.
Race Results (18 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1h01m52.069s |
| 2 | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | +3.312s |
| 3 | Bruno Del Pino | Van Amersfoort Racing | +3.564s |
| 4 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin Motorsport | +4.328s |
| 5 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | +5.408s |
| 6 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | +11.092s |
| 7 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos Racing | +11.396s |
| 8 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech | +13.493s |
| 9 | Maciej Gładysz | ART Grand Prix | +14.244s |
| 10 | Kanato Le | ART Grand Prix | +15.810s |
| 11 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | +18.774s |
| 12 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | +19.960s |
| 13 | Louis Sharp | Prema Racing | +20.298s |
| 14 | Michael Shin | Hitech | +20.986s |
| 15 | Enzo Deligny | Van Amersfoort Racing | +21.362s |
| 16 | Jose Garfias | Prema Racing | +22.947s |
| 17 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | +23.756s |
| 18 | Nhandavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | +25.544s |
| 19 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | +28.358s |
| 20 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | +28.715s |
| 21 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech | +29.880s |
| 22 | James Wharton | Prema Racing | +31.591s |
| 23 | Taito Kato | ART Grand Prix | +34.065s |
| 24 | Freddie Slater | Trident | +53.867s |
| 25 | Theophile Naël | Campos Racing | +1m05.342s |
| Ret | Ernesto Rivera | Campos Racing | |
| Ret | Brando Badoer | Rodin Motorsport | |
| Ret | Brad Benavides | AIX Racing | |
| Ret | Christian Ho | Rodin Motorsport | |
| Ret | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport |
Fastest lap: Wharton, 1m25.227s
Championship standings:
- 1. Ugochukwu – 30 points
- 2. Del Pino – 26 points
- 3. Slater – 18 points
- 4. Kato – 16 points
- 5. Deligny – 12 points
- 6. Gladysz – 12 points
- 7. Clerot – 11 points
- 8. Yamakoshi – 10 points
- 9. Xie – 9 points
- 10. Stromsted – 7 points
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
