Three drivers disqualified in Australia over technical infringements

MP Motorsport driver Franco Colapinto has lost his Melbourne Sprint Race victory after a post-race inspection found his a technical infringement on his car.



Colapinto had secured his first victory but officials stripped him of the win after finding that parts of his car’s bodywork were outside regulatory limits.



“Modifications to the geometry of the parts in question are prohibited by the rules outside of basic repairs,” FIA Formula 3 said in a statement, citing Articles 1.3 and 2.5.



“MP Motorsport drivers Mari Boya and Jonny Edgar have also been disqualified from the race for the same technical infringement as was found on Colapinto’s car,” the statement from FIA Formula 3 read.







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Scrutineers found that “the entire length of the edges on each side of the keel spanning more than 150mm had been repaired or modified and the geometry was not consistent, both as to the width and the keel edge and its shape.”



With Colapinto disqualified, PREMA Racing’s Zak O’Sullivan took the victory, with Hitech Pulse-Eights Sebastian Montoya in second and Paul Aron in third. 



The disqualification of Boya and Edgar meant that Campos Racing’s Christian Mansell and ART Grand Prix’s Kaylen Frederick were pushed up to the final points-scoring positions of ninth and 10th.




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“We are proud of the performance our drivers have delivered yesterday. Regardless of how the situation ended, the team has regrouped and we are fully focusing on today’s Feature Race,” MP Motorsport said in a statement.



“Mistakes happen, but we’ll come back stronger! Let’s go Team!” Colapinto added.



Sunday’s Formula 3 Feature Race didn’t bring any better luck for the team, as Edgar finished in P12, while Colapinto and Boya suffered DNFs
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