F3 Monaco Wrap; Yamakoshi stripped of Sprint win, Benavides withdrawn & Ugochukwu leads the way

After converting reverse-grid pole position into a maiden F3 victory, Hiyu Yamakoshi was disqualified from the Sprint Race in Monaco.

The Van Amersfoort Racing car was found to be in breach of the F3 technical regulations following post-race scrutineering.

The issue related to the front push rods, which had been mounted incorrectly, with the right-side component fitted on the left and vice versa.

Gerrard Xie inherited the victory, having initially secured his maiden F3 podium with second place. Bruno del Pino was promoted to second, while Rodin’s Pedro Clerot moved up to third.

Brando Badoer stormed from second on the grid to claim his maiden F3 victory, commanding the Feature Race on Sunday.

The Italian launched ahead of polesitter Théophile Naël on the run to Sainte Devote and never looked back.

Naël was forced to settle for second ahead of Trident’s Freddie Slater, who banked crucial championship points.

All three Campos drivers finished inside the top five, with championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu taking fourth and Ernesto Rivera fifth.

Brad Benavides suffered three broken vertebrae in an opening-lap crash at the Fairmont Hairpin, forcing the American to withdraw from the upcoming Barcelona round of the F3 Championship.

Benavides was involved in a multi-car incident with Christian Ho, while Tuukka Taponen and Brando Badoer were also caught up in the accident.

AIX has announced that Benavides will be replaced in Barcelona by 21-year-old Ricardo Escotto, who arrives from the Indy NXT feeder series.

The team has pledged its full support to Benavides during his recovery from the heavy crash.

Following a high-profile collision with Prema teammate Louis Sharp in Melbourne that left both drivers hospitalised, Australian prospect James Wharton endured a difficult return to racing in Monaco.

Set back by a heavy crash during practice at Turn 14, Wharton scored no points, finishing 15th in the Sprint and 18th in the Feature. However, he did set the fastest lap in both races.

Wharton is yet to score a point this season, while Prema sits last in the teams’ championship with just a single point.

That point came courtesy of teammate Jose Garfias, who was promoted to 10th following post-race penalties that also affected Sharp in the team’s third car.

A pair of top-six finishes in Monaco kept Ugo Ugochukwu firmly at the top of the championship standings, with an eight-point advantage over del Pino.

Ugochukwu claimed his maiden F3 victory in the Albert Park Feature Race back in March and also collected the bonus point for fastest lap in the Monaco Sprint, despite Wharton setting the quickest overall time.

Slater’s latest Feature Race podium leaves him just one point behind del Pino, while Badoer has surged into fourth in the standings on 28 points, six behind the Briton.

After a lengthy break since Melbourne in March, the F3 season is set to gather momentum with upcoming rounds in Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone and Spa.

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