PREMA Racing gets double points finish in hard-fought race 2
The Australian weekend of the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship started with two points finishes for PREMA Racing at Melbourne. As Race 2 offered fewer chances for overtaking, with a pack of cars running at similar speeds near the front, most of the competitors finished where they started or whereabouts. However, there was again no shortage of safety cars, which didn't help break the DRS trains.
Zak O'Sullivan was in podium contention but finished in fifth place, delivering a solid race and capping a weekend that gave him his first win in the series yesterday. Paul Aron got home in seventh as he tried to catch the top-5 pack as well but was prevented from doing so by a safety car.
Dino Beganovic had a complicated race starting from P8 on the grid, the Swede made an off early which cost him track position, but kept pushing during the race and was able to recover the same spot he had at the start. However, late contact led to a 10-second penalty which deprived him of the points finish.
The series will be back in Europe with four days of collective testing at Barcelona and Imola in April.
#1 - Paul Aron
"We finished race 2 in P7. I think we can be quite pleased with that result. We showed great pace, but generally, the race was filled with a lot of safety cars again so there was a DRS train, and it was difficult to overtake. I made a mistake mid-way into it, but I think I took a mature decision to let the driver pass and follow him to catch the cars in front. In the end, it would have paid off if we didn't have another safety car. Generally, I'm quite happy, we definitely made some steps from Bahrain, and we have a great pace in the races. I feel much more confident going into the future."
#2 - Dino Beganovic
"It was not an easy race. The start was OK, and I gained a couple of positions, but then I made a mistake in T10 which cost me quite a lot. I went wide and lost some positions as the car went into safety mode so I couldn't go full throttle. Then I managed to recover one position, but overall, it was tough because it was difficult to overtake as everybody was on the train. I was struggling a little bit with the balance and not confident as yesterday with the car. We have quite many things to look at when we go for testing, and we can discover quite a lot there."
#3 - Zak O'Sullivan
"We finished where we started with P5 in the end. The pace was good, it was just harder to overtake than yesterday. I think with more cars at a similar speed in the top group it was hard to make progress. For sure, it has been a positive weekend coming out with a win and a P5, it's good points and a step from Bahrain."