It was a strong showing for the Rodin Motorsport camp in Saturday’s FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race on the iconic streets of Monaco, with Kiwi driver Louis Sharp charging from 13th to 9th to score points on debut.
His teammates Callum Voisin and Roman Bilinski followed close behind to complete a 1-2-3 Rodin finish, albeit in 9th, 10th and 11th place respectively.
The action kicked off in classic Monaco fashion following a dramatic qualifying session on Friday. Sharp’s effort to qualify 13th in the tightest, most unforgiving circuit on the calendar put him just outside the reversed-grid top 12, meaning he would start from his qualifying position, midfield among the 30-car field.
The race began under pristine Monaco weather and favourable track conditions. With the top 12 qualifiers reversed for the sprint race, MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti found himself on pole alongside Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne. ART Grand Prix duo Laurens Van Hoepen and Tuukka Taponen slotted in on row two.
As the lights went out, Stenshorne surged into the lead while chaos broke loose behind him.
Sharp went three-wide heading into Turn 1 in a daring midfield move, just as the safety car was called out for a major pile-up involving four drivers: Ivan Domingues and Santiago Ramos of Van Amersfoort Racing, James Hedley (AIX Racing), and Nicola Lacorte (DAMS Lucas Oil).
Hedley and Domingues stopped, blocking the track, while Ramos and Lacorte rolled further on before retiring.
Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin was also caught in the drama, making contact with Noel León, who stopped on track and was pushed off by marshals—bringing the retirement count to five before a full lap was completed.
The safety car bunched up the field, and by the time racing resumed on Lap 9, Sharp had moved up to 10th position. Ahead, Stenshorne controlled the pace with Taponen, Van Hoepen, Giusti, and Tim Tramnitz in pursuit.
The Rodin Motorsport trio found themselves line astern by Lap 10, Voisin in 9th, Sharp 10th, and Bilinski 11th, as Voisin fought for 8th with Campos Racing’s Mari Boya.
The battle brought more drama when Trident’s Noah Strømsted, second in the championship, suffered a puncture on Lap 14 and was forced to retire, becoming the sixth non-finisher of the race.
With just four laps remaining, the Rodin trio held position while Rafael Câmara, in 7th, lit up the timing screens with the fastest lap as he chased down teammate Charlie Wurz. Stenshorne extended his lead to 2.7 seconds over Taponen heading into the final lap.
Then came one final shuffle among the Rodin boys: Sharp made a clean pass on Voisin to snatch 9th place and two valuable championship points with it. Voisin held onto 10th to collect a point of his own, while Bilinski narrowly missed the points in 11th.
At the front, Stenshorne claimed a composed lights-to-flag victory ahead of Taponen, Van Hoepen, Giusti, and Tramnitz. Wurz, Câmara, Boya, Sharp, and Voisin rounded out the top 10.
For Sharp, the result was an encouraging reward in his first-ever race at Monaco, with a smart, mistake-free drive under pressure that turned 13th on the grid into a points-paying finish.
Rodin Motorsport will now look to carry this momentum into Sunday’s Feature Race. The trio has shown consistent pace and resilience amidst the chaos of Monte Carlo.
Header Image: James Gasperotti Photography
