After a long break in action since the first round of the 2026 Formula 3 season in Australia, and a recovery from a broken back after a clash with Prema teammate James Wharton, Louis Sharp finished a chaotic race in thirteenth after a tricky qualifying left him in the middle of the pack.
A chaotic first lap left the track blocked up at the famous hairpin, with Sharp getting caught up in the chaos. He avoided losing too many positions as the safety car came out, while Brando Badoer was forced to retire, along with Tuukka Taponen, Brad Benavides, and Christian Ho.
Sharp sat in seventeenth as the red flag came out. The race was paused for a significant period of time, and the twenty-three-lap race became a race against the clock, with twenty-one minutes remaining at the green flag.
Sharp soon moved back up to sixteenth on the restart, while a battle pack formed at the front. Soon enough, another safety car came out as Freddie Slater, Ernesto Riviera and Theo Nael collided at the hairpin, promoting Sharp to thirteenth.
The Kiwi soon began putting pressure on Matteo de Palo, but was hindered when a virtual safety car was deployed at the swimming pool chicane to retrieve a front wing end plate from Slater’s damaged Trident.
However, the tight and tricky nature of the Monaco circuit made it difficult for Sharp to pass, leaving him stuck behind de Palo for the remainder of the race. Nevertheless, the Kiwi was the highest climber in the race, moving up four places on his way to the chequered flag.
Hiya Yamakoshi took his first FIA Formula 3 win in a lights-to-flag drive, ahead of Gerrard Xie and Bruno del Pino.
Formula 3 action resumes at 5:45 pm tomorrow, with Sharp starting the race in sixteenth position.
