Australian racer Oscar Piastri is the 2020 Formula 3 champion. The F3 rookie fought off challenges from Logan Sargeant and Theo Pourchaire to secure the championship at the last race of the season.
On Sunday morning under the scorching Italian sun, the 2020 Formula 3 season reached its conclusion. Three contenders for the title. One race to seize victory. Liam Lawson started on reverse grid pole ahead of Sebastian Fernandez and David Beckmann. Logan Sargeant started in P5 with his closest title contenders Theo Pourchaire and Oscar Piastri starting the final race of the season in P8 and P11.
As the lights went out, polesitter Lawson made a good start with the top four closely matched through the opening corners. However, the championship fight quickly and abruptly turned upside down as Sargeant and Zendeli collided, sending both drivers into the gravel and out of the race. As a result, all Piastri needed to do to secure the championship was to score enough points to keep Pourchaire at bay.
Due to the opening lap chaos, the safety car was deployed whilst Marshals rescued the beached cars. Upon the restart, Pourchaire made instant progress through the cluster whilst Piastri hung on the fringes of the points. The race then settled down as Lawson established a two-second lead ahead of Beckmann and Fernandez.
Down to the wire
By the halfway point of the race, after some audacious maneuvers, Pourchaire had managed to close the championship to four points with Piastri still struggling for pace. By lap 13, the championship hung in the balance for Piastri as Pourchaire improved to P4. Neither Piastri nor Pourchaire were assisted by their teammates (Fernandez and Vesti), both of whom opted to move aside.
On lap 16, Pourchaire made it into the final podium position whilst Piastri passed Smolyar for P9. These pivotal moves reduced the championship to one solitary point. Despite the pressure, Piastri continued his progress and soon moved past his PREMA teammate Frederik Vesti to secure P8. Meanwhile, Pourchaire continued to hunt Beckmann down but as the remaining laps quickly dwindled, the Frenchman found his time running out.
Despite a valiant effort and a sensational end to the season, Pourchaire simply couldn’t catch Beckmann in the few remaining laps. As a result, Oscar Piastri secured the 2020 Formula 3 title by only three points. Pourchaire, due to his stunning performance in Mugello, seizes second place in the championship with American Logan Sargeant in third.
Lawson took a dominant victory in the final race of the season with Beckmann and Pourchaire in the remaining podium positions.
Race Top 10
1. L. Lawson Hitech Grand Prix
2. D. Beckmann Trident
3. T. Pourchaire ART Grand Prix
4. E. Fittipaldi HWA Racelab
5. R. Verschoor MP Motorsport
6. J. Hughes HWA Racelab
7. O. Piastri PREMA
8. S. Fernandez ART Grand Prix
9. F. Vesti PREMA
10. A. Smolyar ART Grand Prix
Championship Top 5
1. O. Piastri PREMA 164
2. T. Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 161
3. L. Sargeant PREMA 160
4. F. Vesti PREMA 146.5
5. L. Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 143
Featured Image Credit: fiaformula3.com
