F3: Browning earns maiden victory with measured Sakhir drive

Luke Browning took top honours on Saturday, winning his first FIA Formula 3 race in the Sakhir Feature for Hitech Pulse-Eight.

The Williams Driver Academy talent took advantage of a slow start for pole sitter and PREMA Racing’s Dino Beganovic, who dropped to last off the line.

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Having taken the lead into Turn 1, Browning fended off ART Grand Prix’s Christian Mansell from the early phase right to the end of the Feature Race, resisting the Australian despite his pursuer having the DRS advantage.

Mansell’s P2 finish was his second in three F3 rounds, having taken his maiden podium in the Championship at the Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race last year.

Rounding out the podium was Tim Tramnitz who put on an impressive display on his Formula 3 debut weekend.

The German driver surged up the order on the first lap, rising from seventh on the grid to third position. The MP Motorsport and Red Bull Junior Team talent did lose out mid-way through the race to Trident’s Sami Meguetounif, but a mistake from the French driver allowed Tramnitz back through in the closing laps.

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Victory for Browning puts him at the top of the F3 Drivers’ Championship on 25 points, and it’s Tramnitz who is his closest rival, just four points back in second having also scored in the Sprint. Mansell’s podium leaves him third going into the following round in Melbourne later this month.

For a full in-depth report of the FIA F3 Feature Race, visit the official website here.