F3 AUSSIES IN STRIFE IN BELGIUM

F3 Aussies in strife in Belgium – Photo: Suttons

Logan Sargeant drove a mature race out front to take victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship race Sunday race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

By DAN McCARTHY

The inverted top 10 grid race victory has propelled the American back into the championship lead after his teammate and series rival Aussie Oscar Piastri was handed a post-race penalty.

Piastri had a challenging day, after making a good start he had a was borked slightly by the slow starting front row man Liam Lawson into Eau Rouge which compromised the Aussies run up the hill and as a result lost several places.

After starting from sixth Piastri completed the opening lap in eighth position, as the 17-lap race developed Piastri worked his way forwards overtaking Olli Caldwell in lap 4, Richard Verschoor on lap 6 and Theo Pourchaire on lap 15.

However, the stewards found that he overtook Verschoor after running wide at Raidillon and was handed a five second post-race penalty.

The Aussie limited the championship damage by crossing the line fifth but was demoted to sixth after the 5s penalty was applied.

Tasmanian Alex Peroni drove a great race, after starting from 14th position the Campos driver made his way up the order. Taking advantage of a virtual safety car restart Peroni overtook both David Beckmann and Sebastian Fernandez at the Bus Stop Chicane on lap 5 to take ninth.

With just a handful of laps to go when sitting in 10th Peroni was involved in an incident with Olli Caldwell and finished 22nd as a result.

The other two Australians on the grid also had races to forget, Jack Doohan when running on the fringe of the top 10 picked up a puncture and was forced to retire from the race, as Calan Williams finished outside the top 20.

From third on the grid Sargeant instantly took Lawson off the line before claiming the lead on the Kemmel Straight from Richard Verschoor on lap 3.

Sargeant held off his hard charging Prema Racing teammate Frederik Vesti late in the race to take his second win of the season by 0.8s.

After making a poor getaway from the line, New Zealander Lawson recovered to round out the podium in third from Aleksandr Smolyar.

Pourchaire inherited fifth after Piastri’s penalty was applied, dropping the Victorian to sixth.

Verschoor, Lirim Zendeli, Beckmann and Fernandez rounded out the top 10.

The penultimate round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship takes place next weekend at the Cathedral of Speed, Monza next weekend.

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