by Alex Johnston
As FIA Formula 3 passes race number 100, I’ve enlisted a few people, as well as myself and the other laidbackraceblog contributors, to tell you what our favourite moment is from the first 100 races! Enjoy a little flashback with some exciting moments!
Chris McCarthy, commentator
“I’d say definitely race 88 on Spa when we had the rainfall and Taylor Barnard won and Sophia became the first female points scorer. A race that included drivers and teams gambling on strategy including the race leader!
📸 Sophia Floersch scored first ever points by a woman in FIA Formula 3 at Spa last season in this race.
We had Gabriel Bortoleto almost win the championship on the final lap, a fastest lap in the end would have denied him. Taylor became the first winner for Jenzer since 2019 after a great battle with Mansell and a brave call to stay out on the wets. An amazing race which included 2 bits of history.”
📸 Barnard led home Christian Mansell(right) and teammate Nikita Bedrin(left) in an entrancing race.
Harry Benjamin, commentator
“The the first thing that came to mind was actually Silverstone 2022, Zak O’Sullivan and Ollie Bearman fighting right up until the line for final podium places.
📸 Leclerc took the win, but the battle that saw O’Sullivan(left) and Bearman(right) cross the finish line just 0.051s apart will live on in the memory of many.
In fact that whole weekend was mega for F3!”
George Morgan, commentator
“I think my favourite is Oliver Goethe winning at Silverstone. Because he was Champion in the Euroformula Open in my first season commentating the championship, hahaha!”
📸 Goethe’s maiden win was taken in sumptuous fashion at Silverstone.
Jake Sanson, commentator
“Luke Browning’s first win - both Macau and Bahrain. Macau was really special”.
📸 Browning’s first win in an F3 car came as he did the double in the non championship round at the famous Macau World Cup.
Jake described those wins as “very personal” to me, having worked with Browning previously!
Chris Soulsby, Pace Six Four Senior Editor
“It’s a tough one. Shwartzman vs Armstrong vs Daruvala in 2019. Shwartzman pulled ahead ahead by a good distance by the end of the season, but the season’s start was excellent.
📸 Robert Shwartzman shares the podium with teammates Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala - who Chris now works alongside in Formula E!
Shwartzman won the opener, then Daruvala was on the top step, was back on the top step for the next race, then it was Shwartzman on top again and then Armstrong eventuallly joined the fight in Austria. The best thing was that all three of them were team-mates!”
Alex Johnston, laidbackraceblog contributor
“For my choice, I’m going to opt for drama amongst the leaders in Barcelona from 2021.
Initially, David Schumacher took the race lead from Enzo Fittipaldi, but as Fittipaldi attempted to take Schumacher back, the two leaders made contact and Schumacher ended in the wall, while Fittipaldi also pulled up with an issue.
Matteo Nannini inherited the race lead ahead of Dennis Hauger but on the penultimate lap was spun round by the Norwegian racer who in turn damaged his car and was ruled out of race winning contention.
📸 Nannini(14) and Hauger(1), crashed to bring the drama to an end as Fittipaldi and Schumacher collided before them - also as race leaders.
Olli Caldwell stayed calm in a fight with Victor Martins to take the win but the fact two sets of leaders crashed together will always be the standout takeaway from this race”.
Topher Smith, laidbackraceblog contributor
“The finale of the 2020 Formula 3 season at Mugello in Italy helped fuel my love for the series. A three-way title fight going into the last round, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant were tied on points going into the final race with Theo Pourchaire, then 16, maintaining a mathematical chance.
📸 Piastri was eventually crowned champion.
Sargeant was eliminated on the opening lap, leaving the showdown between Piastri and Pourchaire. The latter put on an overtaking masterclass to finish third from eighth on the grid, but ultimately fell one position too short as Piastri took the title by a slender three points.
Side note, if Pourchaire had taken P2 he and Piastri would have tied on points, with Pourchaire winning the title by virtue of number of second places! Talk about close!”
📸 Left to right: Pourchaire, Piastri and Logan Sargeant.
Linus O’Howell, laidbackraceblog contributor
“My personal favourite FIA Formula 3 moment took place in Monza for the final round of the 2022 Season. This was a pretty stacked field that was very close in competitiveness, and heading into the final weekend, a handful of drivers were in contention. The two races had plenty of action, and the Feature Race actually finished under a red flag.
📸 Monza was the scene of much drama for Formula 3.
Ultimately, it was Victor Martins who was crowned Champion with a total of 139 points, just five points ahead of Zane Maloney whilst Ollie Bearman finished third with 132 points following two second place finishes over the weekend. I guess the most exciting thing about it all was the fact that overall, the top seven in the championshipwere separated by just 30 points, and nearly all of them were a part of an F1 Driver Academy. If only F1 could be like this!”.
📸 Martins took the title in incredibly dramatic fashion.
Thanks to everyone who took part in this article!
📸 Image credits: PREMA Racing, Formula Motorsport Limited, ART Grand Prix.
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