Christian Mansell battled to yet another podium finish during an intense FIA Formula 3 Championship finale at Monza this past weekend (31 August / 1 September) to seal an impressive fifth in the final standings.
At the conclusion of an impressive second season in the Formula 1-supporting championship, the Newcastle-based Australian entered the final two races of the FIA F3 campaign among an elite list of six drivers still in contention to clinch the title at Italy's renowned 'Temple of Speed'.
With four podiums to his tally across the nine previous rounds, Mansell showed he was still a force to be reckoned with during free practice at the historic circuit after putting his ART Grand Prix machine second in the times on Friday morning.
What followed were two manic timed qualifying sessions that afternoon to decide the grid. Mansell - backed from AJM Transport, Castrol, Vawdrey Trailers, Sargeant Transport and Ultimate Driving Tours - participated in the second run, and finished a strong fourth despite being hindered by drivers slowing up in the fight for slipstreaming partners. Four tenths were lost, although the Australian was still eighth on combined session times.
The following morning brought blue skies and a chance to shine, but lady luck unfortunately evaded Mansell throughout the 17-lap Sprint Race. An electrical gremlin on the formation lap left him requiring a gearbox reset, vacating his ninth place on the grid for a pit lane start.
A safety car brought him onto the rear of the pack where he began a recovery drive up into the top 20. A squabble ahead of him at the first chicane proved a hindrance, before a puncture limited him to 22nd by the finish after being unable to dodge another final-lap chain reaction which occurred at the same corner.
The Rush Performance, Infinity Sports Management, IOR Petroleum, AMSL Diabetes Australia and NTI-backed driver hoped to round out his second FIA F3 season in style in front of the F1 crowds on Sunday morning, starting from eighth spot. What followed was a another overtaking masterclass from the Aussie youngster.
Mansell moved up a place in the opening salvo before slipstreaming by Santiago Ramos into Parabolica for the second time, then swiftly dispatching Sebastian Montoya a corner later to climb into the top five by lap three.
After a safety car period bunched the pack together, his charge continued on the restart. Immediately catching Gabriele Mini napping on the front straight and later clearing Leonardo Fornaroli who made a mistake directly in front of his ART machine at the Ascari chicane.
It delayed Mansell who had to bravely re-pass Mini on the outside under braking for the first chicane, and he soon caught and overtook Alex Dunne with a sensational around-the-outside sweep under braking for the tight second chicane.
As tyres began to fade, Mansell became embroiled in a three-way battle with title contenders Fornaroli and Mini, who found their way by in the closing laps. He attacked back at the former and re-inherited third, but had to bail out in the final corner to avoid contact from a lunging Fornaroli as he settled for a strong fourth place at the chequered flag. That became third place after a post-race disqualification for Mini - Mansell's fifth piece of silverware for the campaign.
That result was enough for Mansell to climb to fifth in the final Drivers' Championship table, after a mightily encouraging second season in FIA F3.
Christian Mansell: “It was an exciting way for us to end a really positive year. We've had an amazing season at times, and kept ourselves in the title hunt up until the final round which showed our steps forward.
"Qualifying was frustrating. We got caught behind a slower driver in Ascari, then had to lift on the back straight after they didn't let me by after making a mistake. Everyone says they could have been on pole, but I believe we should have been on pole or the front row. But that’s how the cookie crumbles.
“On Saturday we had an electrical issue during the formation lap, so that meant we couldn’t get out of first gear off the starts. Later some miscalculations in the pack meant we picked up a puncture, so you could say Lady Luck was absolutely not on my side.
"Sunday was much more like it. We had great pace for most of the race and made it count on track, then we all levelled out and I found myself right in the middle of the title fight, so I also had that to think about on the final lap.
"I want to take the opportunity to thank all those at ART GP for their support and hard work over the year, and to my loyal sponsors for backing me on this journey. There's plenty more to come, and hopefully this is just the start!”
Image from Dutch Photo Agency.
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