In the high-speed world of Formula 3, few stories are as tumultuous as that of Alpine’s Nicola Lacorte. The young driver’s recent escapades in Monaco and Spain have not only kept fans on the edge of their seats but have also resulted in an unfortunate one-round ban.
Lacorte’s troubles kicked off in Monaco. During the qualifying, a misstep by the Italian driver attracted the stewards’ attention. After being disqualified due to outside assistance at Turn 1, Lacorte failed to acknowledge the black flag, continuing his session oblivious to his disqualification. This oversight cost him five penalty points right off the bat. Not stopping there, an on-track collision with Santiago Ramos during the sprint race added two more points to his tally, taking him to a total of seven points as he moved from Monaco to Barcelona.
With hopes of redemption in Spain, Lacorte’s weekend took another nosedive. In the heat of qualifying, he was penalized for causing a collision with Jose Garfias. The stewards reported that Lacorte, frustrated by what he perceived as brake-testing, moved toward Garfias on the straight, leading to a four-point penalty. An apology was issued, yet the damage was done; Lacorte now stood at 11 penalty points, teetering dangerously close to the limit for a suspension.
The climax of Lacorte’s misfortunes unfolded during the Spanish feature race. Here, the young driver was penalized again, this time for not maintaining the required delta time across eight marshaling sectors during a Safety Car period. The penalty drove his total past the threshold, triggering a suspension for the upcoming Austrian round. The penalty points system operates such that hitting 12 points effectively resets Lacorte’s tally beyond the suspension, but not entirely. Further infractions during the same race weekend saw Lacorte’s points accumulate up to six again after further infractions with Safety Car deltas and a collision with Brando Badoer.
Despite the penalties, Lacorte remains a formidable contender in the F3 world, looking forward to rejoining the fray at Silverstone. His story serves as a dramatic reminder of the high stakes and pressures drivers face in this adrenaline-fueled sport.
Lacorte’s recent run serves as a cautionary tale in the racing community about the weight of maintaining composure under competitive stress. As he prepares for his return at Silverstone, the motorsport community watches keenly to see whether this pause has recalibrated his approach to racing.
