FIA Formula 3 has concluded its first official day of the 2024 season. After 45 minutes of uninterrupted free practice, it was Prema Racing’s Dino Beganovic who took the first pole position of the year in spectacular fashion, beating both Luke Browning and teammate Gabriele Minì on his very final attempt. However, both sessions saw limited track time, as teams tried to save tyres as much as possible. Feeder Series spoke to the top three drivers in qualifying right after the session to hear their thoughts.

By Daniele Spadi

For the opening round of the 2024 season, Pirelli opted to bring its hardest compound, a decision that is in line with the Italian manufacturer’s usual choice on tracks as abrasive as Bahrain. However, this year’s hard tyre is a slightly softer version of its predecessor, meaning that a more delicate approach may be required from the drivers.

Knowing this, teams were reluctant to go out on track at the start of free practice, and no valid lap times were set during the first 15 minutes of the session. Similarly, the middle part of qualifying saw little to no on-track action. Although this is often the case in F3, it raised the question of whether or not drivers should be given another set of tyres for each race weekend.

Enough track time?

“I think we would still try to save that tyre if we got another one,” pole-sitter Beganovic told Feeder Series. 

The Swedish driver, who finally claimed his first pole position in F3 on his tenth attempt, also spoke about how the lack of tyre sets may affect track time. “We had three days of testing here, which I think is enough. Then maybe if we come to another track, we need some more time than the two push laps we got this morning.”

The Prema driver’s thoughts were echoed by his new teammate and last year’s poleman Gabriele Minì. “We got already three days of testing here, so it was not a big issue. Of course, if we go to another track, it might be better [to have more track time].”

Part of the job

However, Minì also spoke about the issue as something to adapt to rather than to contest, as F3 drivers are required to be able to raise the level at the first time of asking. 

“I think that’s how F3 works,” he told Feeder Series. ”We know we have two laps in practice, or three when it goes really well, and yeah, the skill of the driver is delivering in that very short amount of time. […] Of course, it’s never a lot of running compared to other categories, but it has always been like this, so we just get used to it.”

Second after today’s qualifying, Hitech GP’s Luke Browning agreed with Minì when talking about the lack of track time actually being an aspect to master as a racing driver. “I’m perfectly happy with the amount of track time we have,” the Brit told Feeder Series.

“Ultimately you come to this level and you’re expected to perform at this level, and with that comes the challenge of turning up to tracks that you don’t know very well and perform. That’s what gives you the skill gap. If everyone could test all the time, it would make it a lot closer and maybe the real talent wouldn’t shine through.” 

Beganovic agreed with his rival, who will start alongside him in Saturday’s feature race. “We know that it’s very limited running in Formula 3,” he told Feeder Series. “That’s what makes it challenging.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency