Monza in Italy provided three of the most incident-packed and dramatic races in recent memory in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship over the weekend, 30th/31st May, with contrasting fortunes for Double R Racing team-mates Nicolas Pohler and Matt Solomon.
While Pohler was able to post the best results of his maiden campaign in FIA F3 so far with 17th position in rounds 11 and 12, Solomon’s weekend was one of immense frustration when hugely impressive qualifying pace went unrewarded. His best result of 18th position came in race two of the event, after a terrific rise through from an enforced start at the back of the grid.
During the first qualifying session on Friday, 29th May, Solomon impressed with the 14th fastest time – just 0.6 seconds shy of pole position – and in session two, setting the grid for races two and three, he starred with an even better performance with the eighth quickest lap.
Post-qualifying though, all of Solomon’s times from the second run were deleted after his Dallara-Mercedes didn’t pass the rear floor deflection test by a single millimetre due to wear and tear – a hugely frustrating piece of news for all involved.
“We were so disappointed and absolutely gutted for Matt, he had a fantastic day on Friday and performed brilliantly in both qualifying sessions”, reflected Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “The rear floor we're using this weekend isn't as strong as the usual one, it's more flexible, but it shouldn't have missed the test. All we can do is apologise to Matt, no excuses.”
Thankfully, Solomon retained his seventh row grid start for round 10 on Saturday morning but his shocking run of misfortune unbelievably continued just a few laps into the race. Making a clean start, Solomon remained in the close battle just outside the coveted top 10 and, after a brief Safety Car period following the opening lap, he gained two places at the end of lap three at the Parabolica.
On the very next tour, though, the Double R racer was wiped out at Variante della Roggia when the rear of his car was harpooned by a rival launching over the kerbs. Solomon was already turning through the left hand kink when the rear end was smashed into, leading to instant retirement.
Pohler, meanwhile, had a much calmer race and managed to work his way through from 28th on the grid into 19th place. Managing to avoid a startline tangle, the German made steady progress and at mid-distance he had climbed into the top 20.
As a number of drivers made mistakes in the heat of battle, Pohler kept everything neat and tidy and by lap 15 he was into 17th position. Towards the conclusion he was nudged back to 19th place but the result still marked his best to that point in FIA F3.
Round 11 on Saturday afternoon was punctuated by no fewer than three separate Safety Car periods and the encounter was ultimately red flagged after two cars made contact at the first chicane at the beginning of the penultimate lap.
Pohler started the contest in 29th position, with Solomon at the back of the grid in 33rd place after his penalty, but the team-mates managed to pick their way through the chaos which ensued to carve through into 17th and 18th position respectively.
Lots of contact at the first chicane on lap one resulted in the first cautionary period and within a lap the Safety Car was required again after a major accident involving Lance Stroll and former Double R racer Antonio Giovinazzi. When racing resumed, only half of the allotted time remained and Pohler held 24th place with Solomon two spots further back.
Making good progress in the slipstreaming battles in between the other Safety Car periods, Pohler delivered his most impressive performance of the season and ultimately bettered his previous best from earlier in the day with 17th place, an excellent gain of 12 positions. Solomon’s hard work, meanwhile, was rewarded with 18th, a tremendous 15 places higher than his starting slot.
Beginning the final race on Sunday morning from 28th and 29th respectively, Pohler and Solomon both made terrific progress again and managed to avoid yet more incident which blighted the Monza action once more.
After a Safety Car period between laps two and five, another cautionary period followed on lap eight before officials opted to red flag the contest. Notably, Pohler had managed to work his way into 17th position with another good drive while Solomon ended the outing in 20th place.
“Nici really did make good progress this weekend, he had to work hard to come through the order and he kept his concentration and focus while many others didn’t – finishing 17th in races two and three was good and a lot to build on for the next round”, added Hieatt.
“It’s very much been a case of what might have been this weekend for Matt, he was very quick in qualifying and did an incredible job – we’re all gutted about the penalty. He’s made big strides, the pace is there and hopefully he’ll enjoy the rewards of that at Spa in a few weeks.”
Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps is next on the FIA Formula 3 European Championship schedule with rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the season set to take place on 20th/21st June.
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