Martinius Stenshorne was confirmed today as the new McLaren Junior and subsequently banned from the Formula 3 race at Silverstone in July
Thursday at Imola has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions for young Norwegian Martinius Stenshorne: the 18-year-old Formula 3 driver was unveiled as McLaren’s new Junior driver alongside Irishman Alex Dunne in the morning, before receiving some bad news in the afternoon: Stenshorne has been banned from the Formula 3 event at Silverstone
This will not take place until Formula 1 at the beginning of July, but it is already clear that Stenshorne will not be allowed to take part in either race. The reason for this is curious: a few weeks ago, the Hitech driver took part in another junior race on the British circuit, thereby breaching the sporting regulations.
Stenshorne had competed in the second event of the British GB3 series season for the Chris Dittmann Racing team (9th and 14th place) and thereby gained a sporting advantage, according to the FIA.
Neither Stenshorne nor his Hitech team had informed the FIA about his excursion into GB3, nor had they asked for permission in advance. But even if they had asked for permission, it would not have been granted “due to the similarities between the GB3 and Formula 3 cars and the sporting advantage for the driver”.
The British GB3 series uses a 250 hp car from Tatuus, which is equipped with a 2.0-liter engine and is therefore significantly more powerful than a Formula 4 car. Although Formula 3 is a little more powerful with 380 hp and a 3.4-liter engine, the commissioners see enough similarities to give the Norwegian a sporting advantage.
Welcome, Alex and Martinius!
We are delighted to announce Formula 3 drivers Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne have joined the McLaren Driver Development programme!
– McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 16, 2024
Stenshorne himself says that he was unaware of the rule and that both the test drives beforehand and his participation in the event were organized by his management.
Hitech lodges protest
Curious: According to the FIA, the Hitech team representative was also unaware of Stenshorne’s participation until the team received the summons from the stewards. The Hitech team itself had three cars on the grid at the GB3 event in Silverstone.
In addition to his ban, the 18-year-old will receive four penalty points on his license, which means he now has ten points
– Hitech Grand Prix (@HitechGP) May 16, 2024
Hitech has since confirmed that it has lodged a protest against this decision because it considers the penalty to be “extremely harsh” compared to similar incidents. No further comments will be made until the hearing
Stenshorne: “Honored to be part of the McLaren family “
Stenshorne finished runner-up in the European Formula Regional Series in 2023 behind Formula 1 hotshot Andrea Kimi Antonelli and will contest his first season in Formula 3 in 2024. The Norwegian celebrated his first victory in the series at the sprint race in Melbourne.
However, a possible title fight is now made more difficult for him by the ban, which only applies to the seventh event of the season in Silverstone. In Imola, the championship is only contesting its third of ten events this weekend
However, the news of his signing for the McLaren junior squad should be of little consolation to him. “It’s an honor to be part of the McLaren family now,” he says. “The team has a great history of developing talent. I’m looking forward to growing with the team and learning from their expertise.”
Incidentally, the FIA also excluded Alpine Junior Nikola Zolow (ART) from the race at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of July for the same reason. The Bulgarian had contested the opening weekend of the Eurocup 3 series on the Belgian race track in April