It was a race to forget for PREMA as all three drivers retire from a hectic race 2 at Monza. As a result, the 2020 F3 Championship will go down to the wire in Mugello.
With three races remaining and only eight points separating Championship frontrunners Piastri and Sargeant, race 2 in Monza could prove pivotal in deciding the 2020 F3 champion. Michael Belov started on reverse grid pole ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi and Bent Viscaal. Piastri and Sargeant started in P8 and P26 respectively, leaving both drivers with plenty of work to do in today’s race in order to collect a significant points haul.
As the lights went out, Belov immediately found himself swamped by Zendeli who swiftly moved ahead of the Russian driver into the first corner. Fittipaldi managed to hold onto second whilst Liam Lawson and Jake Hughes challenged Viscaal for third. On lap 5, after holding Zendeli in DRS for the previous few laps, Fittipaldi moved past the Trident and seized the lead of the race. However, the race lead exchanged a couple of corners later as Zendeli benefitted from the powerful tow provided by the Monza circuit.
The pair continued to battle and exchange positions until Fittipaldi experienced a heartbreaking puncture on lap 8 following contact with Zendeli. As Fittipaldi fell down the order, Lawson and Hughes came into contention for the lead with Piastri hanging behind the leading pack. Shortly after, Zendeli too found himself falling down the order after the Russian driver was forced to take the escape road, gifting the lead to Lawson.
Meanwhile, in dramatic scenes which could prove pivotal in the Championship battle, championship leader Piastri was sent spinning into the barriers following a collision with Clement Novalak. Therefore the pendulum swung once again in favour of Sargeant who after starting the race in P26 had made his way to P5 by lap 10.
Second Half
Piastri’s crash brought out the virtual safety car whilst marshals attempted to retrieve the stranded PREMA. Upon the restart, Hughes held the lead of the race with Lawson, Zendeli, and Vesti in hot pursuit. By lap 16, Hughes had established nearly a two-second gap ahead of Lawson. Behind the leader, the two PREMA’s of Sargeant and Vesti engaged in a tense battle for P3 with the two drivers getting a little bit too close for comfort. This inter-team battle enabled Zendeli to move in between the two teammates and push Sargeant into the clutches of Theo Pourchaire who pushed the championship contender into P6.
The young Frenchman then set his sights on the final PREMA (Vesti), pulling past the Danish driver to land himself into P4. Pourchaire’s maneuver sparked the re-engagement of battle between Sargeant and Vesti who eventually collided with both drivers reporting damage. As a result, Sargeant found himself outside of the points – keeping the championship lead in the hands of Piastri, despite the Australian driver’s retirement earlier in the race.
Whilst the weekend resulted in a triple retirement for PREMA, ART Grand Prix driver Pourchaire provided another sensational drive, moving ahead of Zendeli and into P3 with one lap remaining.
As the checkered flag fell, Hughes stormed home with a comfortable two-second lead ahead of Lawson. Pourchaire held off the challenge from ART teammate Smolyar to take the remaining podium position. With two races at Mugello remaining, Piastri currently sits eight points ahead of his teammate and closest rival Logan Sargeant.
The Top 10
1. J. Hughes HWA Racelab
2. L. Lawson Hitech Grand Prix
3. T. Pourchaire ART Grand Prix
4. A. Smolyar ART Grand Prix
5. L. Zendeli Trident
6. A. Peroni Campos Racing
7. P. Chovet Hitech Grand Prix
8. R. Stanek Charouz Racing System
9. O. Caldwell Trident
10. R. Verschoor MP Motorsport
Featured Image Credit: fiaformula3.com
