RACE ANALYSIS: How Monza’s track changes brought the most dramatic F3 finale ever

It doesn’t get closer than that. The Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship was decided in the final corner on the last lap of the season as Leonardo Fornaroli somehow snatched back the title having fallen out of Championship position two laps to the end.
But how did we get to that point? Well, ahead of the 2024 race, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza underwent several changes that indirectly created a title finale that will live long in the memory.
Here is how it unfolded.
With the title in the balance, each of the remaining contenders had to ensure they were in it to win it, as a tangle or non-score would have been catastrophic for their hopes.
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For the leading pair of Fornaroli and Gabriele Minì, their Qualifying result ensured they had some wiggle room, afforded a degree of conservatism. But for Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad, both had to be on full attack.
The Briton knew his goal was sixth-place at minimum and to hope that the Italians hit trouble. Lindblad ideally needed victory to stand a realistic chance, and so was a long shot at lights out.
On the front row, Alex Dunne had nothing to lose as he pursued his maiden Formula 3 race victory, and so when the MP Motorsport driver drew alongside Fornaroli on the run to Parabolica on Lap 1, it’s no surprise the Trident driver conceded the place.
Minì had been on the attack himself on the opening tour, but Fornaroli’s teammate Sami Meguetounif was another Trident to contend with and the Frenchman slipstreamed his way past for third, the PREMA driver unable to fend him off into Turn 1.
Browning managed to gain on the opening lap, but the start of Lap 3 was where his race began to unravel. Having looked set to take both AIX Racing drivers Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Joshua Dufek after the pair baulked each other’s momentum onto the main straight, the Hitech driver had no slipstream and in fact lost two places instead.
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Going into the middle sector, the Briton tried to battle back through and was heading into the revamped Ascari section of track with the kerbs flattened out, lending the drivers the ability to risk more into the high-speed chicane.
Browning committed to re-passing Loake and carried more speed on a shallower line but lost the car on entry. It dropped him to the back of the field and ended his Championship hopes, demonstrating the fine line between fighting back and falling out of contention.
Browning was not the only contender to get things a bit wrong, as the Championship leader himself made a mistake following the resultant Safety Car.
Having seen that the track at Ascari was still covered in gravel on the lap prior to green flag racing resuming, Fornaroli was careful but still got things wrong on the next tour. He’d settled in behind Dunne, a conscious decision to take the DRS from the MP driver without hurting his tyres but, approaching Ascari on the first lap of racing again, he took his normal line and found the surface did not give the expected grip.
READ MORE: Thoughts of a Champion – Leonardo Fornaroli
It sent him off the track and crucially, it allowed Minì and Christian Mansell through and set the wheels in motion towards one of the most climactic title deciders in recent memory.
Fornaroli says that on the track walk on Thursday, the team and driver had noticed the new track resurfacing had left behind a very dirty surface. He’d fallen foul to that at Ascari, but one thing the team also picked up on was the slight camber of the track surface, with the centre of the track slightly higher than the very edges of the circuit in order to aid water drainage.
So having re-passed Minì, a lock-up into Turn 1 on Lap 18 of 22 in an attempt to overtake Mansell was a critical mistake from the Italian driver, caused by his braking on the raised central section of track rather than the usual racing line on the left-hand side of the main straight into Turn 1.
While he was able to get the pass done on Mansell, that lock-up left Fornaroli with sizeable flatspots across the front axle, limiting what had been promising speed from that point on.
FEATURE RACE: Meguetounif wins as Fornaroli seals title with final-corner pass

It opened the door to the late-race drama that turned the title race on its head.
Mansell and Minì capitalised as Fornaroli couldn’t sustain his earlier pace and both were able to pass the Trident driver with two laps of the season to go.
Fornaroli was told over his team radio that he absolutely had to overtake Mansell to move back ahead of Minì in the Championship, as he’d lose the title by a single point if things remained as they were.
He missed out at Turn 1 after not being close enough, but a great slipstream through Curva Grande gave Fornaroli a half chance. However, the earlier flatspots meant he locked-up once again and had to cut across the Roggia chicane and remain behind Mansell.
Trident were frantic telling the Italian he had to pass Mansell to win. Fornaroli followed the duo ahead of him as they ticked off the corners, and with no passing chance into Ascari, it looked to be over.
He followed as they snaked their way towards Parabolica, but crucially, they all moved to the left ahead of entry, giving Fornaroli his final chance.
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In a show of desperation mixed with incredible bravery, he remained on throttle a half second longer and dived towards the apex, and Mansell had no choice but to concede the place as he ran into the tyre marbles on the edge of the track.
Fornaroli salvaged his title in the most dramatic of circumstances, while Minì could do nothing more as both Italians put on a truly special title decider on home soil.