Debut driver Tuukka Taponen among six drivers handed sprint race grid penalties in Belgium

After Formula 3 qualifying on Friday afternoon, six drivers were handed a grid penalty for Saturday morning's sprint race at Spa Francorchamps, in Belgium.

Among the six drivers who have been handed grid penalties for the sprint race is debut driver at ART Grand Prix Tuukka Taponen who would collect a grid penalty for his first race in FIA Formula 3 career.

Taponen would be joined by Sophia Floersch, Sami Meguetounif, Charlie Wurz, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Mari Boya in receiving a grid penalty for Saturday morning's sprint race for round nine of 10 in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship.

It would be a dramatic qualifying session with Callum Voisin of Rodin Motorsport and Great Britain taking pole position, and his maiden one in FIA Formula 3.

Firstly, Taponen was handed a grid penalty for the sprint race on Saturday due to the driver from Finland to have found to have been impeding Irish driver of MP Motorsport, Alex Dunne.

Taponen would be investigated after the Friday qualifying for allegedly impeding multiple cars at turn 18, on the racing line. The cars that had he ad impeded were on flying laps and had a great chance of improving on their personal best lap times.

After the Stewards had spoke to Taponen and his ART team represntative as well as reviewing all relevant data and video evidence of the reported incident, it was determined that Taponen was driving at a marginally slower speed on the racing line for about nine seconds. This would therefore be against the Race Director's Event Notes.

As a result of being found to have impeded in the session and would subsequently be handed a three-place grid penalty for the next race of which he competes in, which will be Taponen's debut race in Formula 3 at Spa Francorchamps.

For the same reason as each other, the remaining five drivers would also be handed grid penalties for the Saturday morning sprint race. Sami Meguetounif, Sophia Floersch, Mari Boya, Charlie Wurz and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak have all been handed grid penalties.for the sprint race, for the same infringement.

At the end of qualifying, there would be a huge traffic jam in the final few minutes, with a traffic forming at the final two corners of the circuit, with drivers wanting to get on with the laps as they would be aiming to set improved lap times to get themselves in better positions for the races.

In their eagerness to get ahead of the queuing traffic, Floersch of Van Amersfoort, Meguetounif of Trident, Boya of Campos, Wurz of Jenzer and Inthraphuvasak of AIX Racing were all accused of overtaking the slow cars of the circuit. Therefore it would be classed as leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

After the session, the FIA Race Event Stewards reviewed all video evidence from the shenanigans that went on in the latter stages of the session. The Stewards would then speak to each of the five drivers and their respective team representatives.

In their investigations, the Stewards determined that all five drivers had gone off the circuit in the final minute of qualifying to gain track positions and overtook many cars off the circuit, therefore gaining an advantage.

Inthraphuvasak, Boya, Floersch, Wurz and Meguetounif would all be handed a three-place grid penalty each that would be served in the next race of which those drivers are to compete in. That race will be Saturday morning's sprint race.

These penalties will all be joined by a five-place grid drop for Matias Zagazeta, who received his penalty for causing a collision with Arvid Lindblad in the Hungary feature race. 

A sprint race that will see a Prema front row lockout as for the second round in a row Dino Beganovic will start from reverse grid pole position. This time around at Spa Francorchamps he will have championship leader Gabriele Mini starting alongside him, on the front row.

The race will commence at 09:50 track time which will be 08:50 UK time.

2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship: Round 9 - Belgium sprint race starting grid

All drivers highlighted in red start in those positions due to grid penalties

1. ​Dino Beganovic (Sweden, Prema Racing)
2. Gabriele Min (Italy, Prema Racing)
3. Santiago Ramos (Mexico, Trident)
4. Tim Tramnitz (Germany, MP Motorsport)
5. Luke Browning (Great Britain, Hitech Pulse-Eight)
6. Max Esterson (United States, Jenzer Motorsport)
7. Noel Leon (Mexico, Van Amersfoort Racing)
8. Sami Meguetounif (France, Trident)
9. Sebastian Montoya (Colombia, Campos Racing)
10. Leonardo Fornaroli (Italy, Trident)
11. Alexander Dunne (Republic of Ireland, MP Motorsport)
12. Callum Voisin (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
13. Oliver Goethe (Germany, Campos Racing)
14. Laurens Van Hoepen (Netherlands, ART Grand Prix)
15. Nikita Bedrin (Italy, AIX Racing)
16. Tuukka Taponen (Finland, ART Grand Prix)
17. Joseph Loake (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
18. Christian Mansell (Australia, ART Grand Prix)
19. Martinius Stenshorne (Norway, Hitech Pulse-Eight)
20. Piotr Wisnicki (Poland, Rodin Motorsport)
21. Joshua Dufek (Austria, AIX Racing)
22. Matias Zagazeta (Peru, Jenzer Motorsport)
23. Sophia Floersch (Germany, Van Amersfoort Racing)
24. Tommy Smith (Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing)
25. Mari Boya (Spain, Campos Racing)
26. Cian Shields (Great Britain, Hitech Pulse-Eight)
27. Arvid Lindblad (Great Britain, Prema Racing)
28. Kacper Sztuka (Poland, MP Motorsport)
29. Charlie Wurz (Austria, Jenzer Motorsport)
30. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Thailand, AIX Racing)

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Brandon Whiteside