Spa-Francorchamps Preview: One last dance before the summer break

Round 9 of the 2024 FIA Formula 3 season sees the drivers make their way to Spa-Francorchamps for the penultimate race weekend of the year.
The Drivers’ Championship is nicely poised with just 30 points separating the top seven. So, who will steal a march on their rivals this weekend as they head to the longest track on the calendar?
FORM BOOK
Gabriele Minì retains the lead in the Drivers’ Championship despite not scoring in Budapest. The PREMA Racing driver is on 119 points, four clear of his Hitech Pulse-Eight rival Luke Browning in second.
His teammate Arvid Lindblad also went scoreless at the Hungaroring but is third on 113 points, with Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli just one point behind the Briton having finished the Budapest Feature Race in P3.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
ART Grand Prix driver Christian Mansell is up to fifth in the Standings on 97 points ahead of PREMA’s Dino Beganovic who finished on the podium in the Budapest Sprint Race, while Campos Racing’s Oliver Goethe is seventh with 89 points.
In the Teams’ Standings, PREMA Racing, now on 322 points, could seal the title this weekend if things go in their favour, with ART Grand Prix now just 97 points behind them in second.
Trident theoretically could also still win the title from third place and on 183 points, as could Campos Racing in fourth on 146.
FROM THE GRID – Nikita Bedrin, AIX Racing
“For sure racing around there is fun, because there are very long straights, a lot of opportunities for fighting, and of course the high speed second sector is very good. The weather is also unpredictable because quite often it’s raining. For sure to be quick there you must drive on the limit of the car, so you need confidence to be fast around there.
“The main place for overtaking is T1 and especially going to T5 after the long straights. You can still be side by side into the second sector but usually you bail out until the last chicane because there is also a big straight before that, so most likely the last chicane the fighting starts again and it keeps going like that every lap, which is amazing. As a racing driver we like to race the most and that track similar to Monza gives the best racing opportunities.
“You need to be super on the limit in the high-speed corners, you have to be good on braking because the straights are really big there, so you must prepare on exit and the second sector you just have to send it and hope the car sticks.
“Degradation is not as big as in other circuits. For sure it’s not small but it’s on the lower side than on the higher side from what I experienced last year. Even though we had Mediums which were quite difficult last year, we still managed them quite well in the race, it didn’t drop off so much so it’s not a circuit where you need to take care of the tyres a lot.
“I got a podium in the Feature Race last year, that was quite nice even though the weekend was going quite bad for me on the luck side. So, I was really happy to get a podium there, and usually I’m quite quick around that circuit so I have good expectations.”
TECHNICAL PREVIEW
Spa brings a different type of test for the drivers and teams in terms of setup considering that the first and third sectors are largely flat out while the second is an incredibly high-speed section.
As a result, aerodynamic efficiency is key as while you want your car to be stable enough going through the corners in sector two, the teams will also be keen to make sure that their cars are fast in the straights.
Finding this balance is key as on such a long lap, it could lead to a loss in time that you might not be able to gain back, and that could be the difference between Qualifying in the top 12 and not.
RACE STRATEGY
As is also the case with 1 and Formula 2, the biggest unknown for the Formula 3 runners and their tyres centres on the fact that much of the track has been resurfaced. For the penultimate round of the season, Pirelli has chosen, in conjunction with the FIA and the promoter, the P Zero Yellow medium compound. The youngsters who will be tackling one of the most thrilling and challenging race tracks in the world, will have to manage the thermal degradation generated by the many corners on the track, some of the combinations such as Eau Rouge-Raidillon being totally unique, as it is hard to think of any other series of turns that is so demanding: a steep descent leading to a left hand corner which causes a major compression that pushes the car into the ground and then launches it uphill through a right and then left combination of turns. After that, the drivers, and indeed the tyres, can catch their breath down the long Kemmel straight. This description of just a small part of the track gives an idea of what a challenge the Spa circuit presents. It will also be important to know how to deal with any eventual graining. If it does arise, then whoever deals with it best, especially through the fastest corners, could have a significant advantage.
STAT PACK