F3 Bahrain: Williams junior Browning Browning Secures Maiden F3 Victory in Bahrain, Holding off Mansell’s Challengemaiden win in feature race

Browning kicked off his F3 season in spectacular fashion, dominating from start to finish and clinching a well-deserved victory, while fending off relentless pressure from Christian Mansell throughout the race.

The start of the race marked a disastrous moment for Beganovic as his Prema car failed to launch from pole position, plummeting him to the back of the grid. This setback, coupled with a puncture on the first lap, left him scoreless for the sprint.

Capitalizing on Beganovic’s misfortune, Browning seized an early lead into the first corner, uncontested. He quickly extended his advantage beyond the reach of the chasing pack, who were embroiled in their own intense battles.

Despite Beganovic’s eventual recovery to P13, he departed Bahrain empty-handed.

Campos driver Mari Boya also faced adversity, suffering a puncture following an incident with teammate Laurens van Hoepen. Adding insult to injury, Boya received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Sami Meguetounif and Christian Mansell were quick to capitalize on these setbacks, climbing to second and third respectively after starting fourth and fifth on the grid.

Mansell’s fortunes improved further on lap five, as he overtook Meguetounif with a daring maneuver into Turn 10.

As the race progressed, Browning’s lead diminished, with Mansell closing the gap to just half a second by lap 10. Lap 17 saw the top four drivers break away from the rest of the field, with Browning expressing initial concern over a change in engine tone, which was later attributed to a broken heat shield.

With five laps remaining, Browning attempted to extend his lead, but Mansell remained glued to his gearbox. This push split the leading group, allowing Tim Tramnitz to snatch the final podium position from Meguetounif.

In the end, Browning secured a comfortable victory, crossing the finish line ahead of Mansell and Tramnitz.