Oscar Piastri has cemented his spot as a title contender in the Formula Renault Eurocup after picking up a solid haul of points during the series’ recent Monaco round.
Piastri went into the round leading the championship after picking up a win in Silverstone earlier this month, but finished in third behind race winners Victor Martins and Alexander Smolyar at the iconic Monaco street circuit.
In Saturday’s first race, Piastri started in sixth place and managed to finish fourth, despite dropping to eighth after a disastrous first lap.
The Victorian slowly climbed back up the standings to cross the line in fifth, as well as picking up the race’s fastest lap, before a post-race penalty was handed to to Lorenzo Colombo, promoting Piastri to fourth.
In the second race, Piastri started and finished in fifth after being unable to make up any ground during the race. Along with rookie Caio Collet, Piastri had multiple attempts to surpass eventual third placed Brazilian João Vieira, but both were unsuccessful.
With both Martins and Smolyar claiming crucial wins, Piastri ended the day just five points behind Martins on the outright championship standings and two points behind Smolyar.
There is no rest for crews, with the series to have its third round of the season this weekend in France as part of the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
Also racing as part of the Formula 1 action this weekend were fellow Australians Joey Mawson, Marc Cini and Steven Grove all part of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
Unfortunately it was a weekend to forget for Team Australia as Mawson placed the highest of the three in 13th outright, while Grove ended the day in 22nd and Cini was unable to place after retiring during qualifying.
It was a bitter pill to swallow fir Mawson who had qualified in ninth the day before only to drop down the rankings and finish out of the top 10, 20 seconds behind winner Michael Ammermüller.
Qualifying in 23rd, Grove made up two places early and looked set to break into the top 20, however he was spun around later in the opening lap and ended at the back of the grid. Fortunately some incidents to other drivers saw him finish in 22nd.
The Supercup now has a month off before moving to Austria on 28-30 June for the third round of the year.
Meanwhile, across the North Atlantic Ocean, Will Power was unable to recreate his sensational Indy 500 victory from 2018, instead finishing a gallant fifth in what was a difficult race.
Power started the race in sixth place and was in contention for a historic back-to-back win, however a controversial race penalty was handed to him when he made slight contact with one of his pit-crew on lap 73.
The penalty sent the disgruntled Australian to the back of the field and out of the running, however he was able to put on a sensational display and finish in the top five.
Frenchman Simon Pagenaud ended an eight-year assault at the iconic American race after starting the race in pole.
The IndyCar Series gets straight back into action this weekend with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race 1 hosting the seventh round on the season.
