Funny scene in Australia, Tsolov puts Dunne in the wall during practice. What happened ?

Nikola Tsolov (ART Grand Prix) and Alex Dunne (MP Motorsport) had the merit of making a name for themselves in these free practices of the F3. Unfortunately not for the right reasons since neither the Bulgarian nor the Irishman took the top positions on the timesheet in Melbourne.

In the Australian morning, the two men crossed paths on the track and it took a “funny” turn. So on a flying lap, Nikola Tsolov came across Alex Dunne in slow motion and was inevitably hampered at the exit of the very fast sequence of turns 9 and 10. Unhappy with the attitude of his counterpart, the ART Grand Prix driver went up to him to reprimand him. Unfortunately, he did not manage the distances and sent the Irishman into the background, heavily damaging his car. Red flag three minutes from the checkerboard and final whistle for the 30 entrants.

So Dunne was either not instructed to move out of the way or did not look at his mirrors, two (ok, that's not funny), Tsolov does not cite a problem with the mirrors, he can put his gloves away for this weekend ! #F3

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— Gazou (@paddock_inside) March 21, 2024

Bloodshed or bad judgment? Regardless, Tsolov penalized

The Bulgarian's anger was evident since it could have been very serious if he had not reacted well while driving. But was it enough to reach the point of contact with his counterpart? Following the session, Nikola Tsolov, member of theAlpine Academy, quickly defended itself, assuring Feeder Series that there was nothing intentional in its action, advocating the thesis of a misunderstanding. " He there is nothing to gain in a free practice session, he pointed. I would never do something like that."

This logically earned the two men a summons before the college of commissioners. Heard in turn, Nikola Tsolov and Alex Dunne were determined on their fate. If some on the web called for a suspension for the rest of the weekend, the “Bulgarian lion” got away with a penalty of three places on the grid for the next race in which he will participate, namely the Sprint Race this Saturday (1h15). He will start 9th.

According to the official FIA document, the protégé ofAlpine « wanted that [Alex Dunne] be aware of his presence and the fact that he was bothering him. Car 25 (Tsolov) deviated from its normal racing line to get closer to car 9 (Dunne) to emphasize its presence. He unfortunately misjudged this action and collided with car 9. » If the Bulgarian reiterated the fact that it was an involuntary maneuver, the commissioners considered that the incident could have been avoided. In addition to the three penalty places, he lost two points on his license.

For his part, Alex Dunne got away with a reprimand after mentioning in particular that he was not aware of the presence of the ART Grand Prix driver behind him, in addition to not having his eyes glued to the mirrors while he was in a preparation lap.

The decision regarding Alex Dunne

The decision regarding Nikola Tsolov

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