With the penultimate round of the 2024 Formula 3 season in the books, the series heads into the summer break with only two races left. The Belgian race weekend saw a brand-new race winner this season, as the main protagonists in the championship fight brought home valuable points in their quest to become champion. Feeder Series sums up the main storylines coming from Spa.

By Daniele Spadi

Another brilliant weekend for Voisin

Despite a difficult start to his rookie campaign, Callum Voisin seems to have finally found his footing in the series. The Brit switched gears at his home race weekend in Silverstone, taking home his first podium finish in the feature race – where he crossed the line in first before dropping to third place thanks to a 10-second time penalty. Since then, the reigning GB3 champion has enjoyed a streak of six consecutive points-finishes, including a maiden win in Spa.

The Belgian weekend was overall a delightful performance from the Brit. After securing pole position in a very tight qualifying session, he was able to showcase his pace in the sprint race as well by finishing seventh – testament that his latest results were not because of luck. Sunday’s performance was even better, as Voisin took a maiden lights-to-flag win.

Since Silverstone, the Rodin driver has proved to be both quick and consistent, as he is the only driver along with Leonardo Fornaroli to have scored points in each of the past six races. Voisin has now risen to tenth in the drivers’ standings, while also helping his team rise to joint seventh in the teams’ championship. A great performance in the final round of the season in Monza could prove to be crucial to decide his future.

A seven-way fight for the crown

Mathematically, seven drivers can win the driver’s title in Monza – though realistically, it will be a fight between the top four. Thanks to his sixth podium of the season in the feature race, Leonardo Fornaroli has once again taken the championship lead as he continues his quest to give Trident their second consecutive title after Gabriel Bortoleto’s run in 2023.

However, his compatriot Gabriele Minì sits just one point behind him, and the two will likely engage in a duel on home soil to settle the outcome of this year’s championship. Minì has been great this season – the highlight of his 2024 being the feature race win in Monaco.

Though the Italian fans are getting ready to rejoice already, two British drivers will be looking to spoil their party in Monza. On the one hand, Luke Browning will try to turn things around after a couple of subpar performances in recent races. Sitting just six points behind Fornaroli, the Brit will try to become the first driver to win the championship with Hitech. 

On the other hand, Arvid Lindblad has been the most successful driver this season with four wins, though the soon-to-be 17-year-old has not scored a single point in the last four races. Racing with Prema, Lindblad has a tough ask ahead of him – as he stands 16 points away from the championship lead – though his pace has been world-class at times this season.

Three additional drivers are still mathematically in the run. The first one is Dino Beganovic, the sprint race winner from Spa, as the Ferrari junior is 29 points behind Fornaroli. He will also have to face friendly fire from his teammates, as both Minì and Lindblad will be trying to clinch the title – and with little to no team orders needed too, as Prema have already been crowned teams’ champions in Spa.

Christian Mansell and Oliver Goethe are also still in the mix but trail by 32 and 35 points respectively, a gap almost impossible to overcome.

Standout performance from Montoya

After switching from Hitech to Campos in 2024, Sebastián Montoya’s second season hasn’t gone the way the Colombian hoped for. With only four top ten finishes in the opening eight rounds, the 19-year-old headed to Spa hoping for a big result – and he came away with exactly that.

Montoya seemed to have found his rhythm right from free practice, before taking an impressive fourth place in qualifying. On Saturday, the Colombian showcased impressive racecraft, as he carved through the field to finish fifth in the sprint. The day after, a phenomenal start saw him jump to second and challenge Voisin for the lead of the race, only for the Brit to defend his lead.

The Campos driver was able to come away with second, his first podium of the season, thanks to what was by far his best performance of the year – and it came at the right time too. Next season could be the most important of his career, and he was able to show that he has what it takes to stay in this series, or perhaps even move up the feeder series ladder.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency