Martinus Stenshorne has been wrestling for a better F3 season, in his second season with Hitech. He finished 18th in the FIA Formula 3 driver’s championship last year. The Norwegian driver currently lies 11th in the driver’s championship with 37 points.
Impressive start to the season
Stenshorne began the F3 season on a high by finishing second in the Sprint Race in Australia. Additionally, securing the fastest lap gained him an extra point. The Feature Race was tricky for the McLaren junior, however he managed to move up one position to finish P8. Leaving the first round of the season with 14 points left the driver wanting to continue on a high.
The 19-year-old had a tougher time at the Bahrain GP. The Feature Race left him without points, after beginning P11 and finishing P18. The Feature Race was demanding as the field found itself incredibly close together and offered plenty of battles. Despite beginning the Sprint Race on the first row, rookie Freddie Slater quickly managed to overtake him at the start, followed by Nikola Tsolov on lap 3. The rest of the Sprint Race required him to get his elbows out and defend hard. However, in the end it was not enough for a podium finish. The Norwegian driver still snagged 6 points in the Sprint Race by finishing P5.
A rough point with a brilliant comeback
The triple header started quite dreadfully for Stenshorne. Imola proved to be the lowest point of the season for the 19-year-old, becoming the first weekend to leave him with zero points. The weekend at the Imola GP was already brutal by Qualifying, with the Hitech driver finding himself in P16. The Sprint Race start was challenging as he dropped to P20. The rest of the race was spent attempting to fight his way through the field. While he worked his way back up the field, it was unfortunately not enough to be in the points, as he finished P13. Similarly, the chaotic Feature Race was not friendly for the Norwegian driver who finished P11.
The peak of his season took place in Monaco when the Norwegian driver launched a brilliant comeback. The Feature Race was a P8 finish for the driver, however the Sprint Race was the true highlight of the weekend. His first Sprint Race win of the season was around the busy Monte Carlo streets, where Stenshorne impressed again. Starting the Sprint Race on the front row offered him the opportunity to show what he can do after the tough weekend in Imola. The McLaren development driver immediately took the lead with a fantastic start and quickly aimed to create a gap. However, the Safety Car came out almost immediately after a chaotic start which forced the drivers to slow down.
The rest of the Sprint Race left Stenshorne attempting to create a comfortable gap to the drivers behind, in order to continue in the lead. The Norwegian won the race with a 2.2 second gap to the driver behind and also snatched the fastest lap. A win in Monaco is a dream for every driver, and Stenshore managed to make the dream come true.
Ready for the next step
After the high of Monaco came the Spanish GP that was less of a dream for the Hitech driver. At the chaotic start of the Sprint Race where the top went three wide into Turn 2, Stenshorne unfortunately ended up in the wall with his first DNF of the season. While he did not score any points in the Sprint Race, he managed to go on to secure two points in the Feature Race.
With the next F3 race taking place in Austria, June 27th-29th, Stenshorne will undoubtedly give it his all to continue his strong season and bounce back from Barcelona. Now that he has had another taste of podium finishes this year, the McLaren junior will strive to grapple his way to more.
If he manages to perform as strongly as he did during the Monaco GP weekend, he might be able to launch his way into a top ten finish in the F3 driver’s championship at the end of the year.
