It’s been a good weekend for young Australians competing on the international stage with a number of drivers securing podiums and valuable points in their respective championships.
Double podium Piastri extends the gap
Oscar Piastri has built his lead at the top of the FIA Formula 3 Championship after the Victorian grabbed two runner-up finishes in what were challenging conditions in Hungary.
The Victorian started the round’s first race at the Hungaroring on the third row and avoided any major damage during a dramatic opening turn, which saw front row sitters Aleksandr Smolyar and Logan Sargeant make contact, as well as fellow Australian
Calan Williams spin out, the latter having qualified an impressive fifth.
Slotting into second place behind 16-year-old Theo Pourchaire when the chaos settled down, Piastri managed to stay there for the rest of the race as a number of fellow title contenders dropped down the field.
A strong start In Sunday’s reverse-grid race saw the teenager quickly move up two positions on the opening lap, before slowly picking off drivers one-by-one and crossing the line in third place, but with Bent Viscaal handed a 10 second penalty and
the race finishing under safety car, Piastri was eventually promoted to second behind David Beckmann.
Photo: Dutch Photo Agency
Alex Peroni was also a benefactor of Viscaal’s penalty with the Tasmanian moving up to 10th and adding a point to his well-deserved seventh place from Saturday’s race. Peroni had qualified outside the top 10 for the opening race, but like
Piastri worked his way up the field as a result of the opening lap chaos.
It was a tough weekend for both Williams and Doohan as both drivers retired in the opening race, before Williams finished 15th on Sunday, 10 places ahead of Doohan.
Points wise, Piastri’s two podiums, along with Sunday’s bonus points saw him move 26 points clear at the top of the standings over Prema Racing teammate Sargeant, while Peroni’s seven points saw him move to just two points behind Lirim
Zendeli in seventh.
Love a first podium
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup also held its third round for the season during the Hungarian Grand Prix, which saw 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia winner Jordan Love secure his best ever result in the category.
Starting Sunday’s race in 14th place, the young West Australian put in an excellent drive after a fast start and worked his way up the grid before crossing the line in outright eighth place.
Not only did he secure his first ever top 10 finish in just his third Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race, but the 21-year-old also claimed the final step on the rookie podium.
“I’m happy with that result,” Love said.
“I made up three places on the first lap, and that was a great foundation for my maiden top 10 finish and the third in the Rookie class.”
Photo: Porsche Supercup1
Car earns good haul of points
Reigning Formula 4 United States Champion Joshua Car has posted his best performances to date during his maiden Formula Regional Americas Championship campaign with three runner-up finishes.
Heading into the round in eighth place, Car was on song during the three races at the Virginia International Raceway, qualifying on the front row and finishing behind championship leader Linus Lundqvist in all three races.
The 19-year-old was also rewarded for his efforts with the fastest lap in the round’s third race, which was the first time any driver other than Lundqvist had posted a fastest lap this year - the Swedish driver having also qualified on pole and
won in every race in the season so far.
Car’s good haul of points saw him jump to third on the outright standings and move to within 12 points of the second placed David Malukas.
All three categories will next race on 31 July – 2 August with both the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and FIA Formula 3 Championship to form part of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Formula Regional Americas Championship to run at Barber
Motorsports Park.
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