As Daniel Ricciardo secured his best result for the 2020 Formula 1 season, a number of young Australians were also in action over the weekend in the UK.
Peroni and Piastri pick up podiums
The regular crew of four Australian Formula 3 drivers were in action over the weekend for the championship’s fourth round and there were a variety of mixed results.
Tasmanian Alex Peroni fared best, securing two double points finishes for the first time this season, as well as getting his best round score since joining the championship in 2019.
Peroni started the weekend well with a sixth placed finish in Saturday's race before grabbing fourth in the round’s reverse grid race. Because of Sunday's winner Aleksandr Smolyar slapped with a time penalty post-race, Peroni was promoted to third, which handed him his second career podium and bumped him up to eighth on the standings.
While Peroni enjoyed his best weekend for the year, series leader Oscar Piastri had a Sunday to forget as he fell out of the top 10 in the opening stages before officially retiring for the first time in more than two years towards the end of the race.
Just 24 hours earlier, Piastri was fighting for top spot against fellow contender Liam Lawson, however a safety car finish robbed the Victorian of the chance to secure his second win. Despite a DNF on Sunday’s race, Piastri still holds a solid 17-point championship lead.
Photo: Dutch Photo Agency
Calan Williams also had his best weekend for the year, as he secured two top 15 finishes for the first time in 2020, while it was another frustrating outing for Jack Doohan.
In the opening race, Doohan was in the wrong place at the wrong time as he got hit by Bent Viscaal and was forced to retire, before a tyre puncture in the second race sent him to the back of the field where he was unable to recover and came in at 27th.
Love shows promise Supercup
Reigning Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia series winner Jordan Love has continued his good form in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, with another top five-rookie finish during his maiden appearance at the famous Silverstone circuit.
Starting the race in 15th place outright after a tough qualifying session, Love tried to work his way up the field and successfully picked off three drivers in the process to finish 12th outright.
Former Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia winner Jaxon Evans also had a strong outing with a podium finish, with the result helping him close in on Ayhancan Güven in third place on the standings.
Mansell enjoys F4 debut
The British F4 Championship began its 2020 season at Donington Park with Australian Christian Mansell picking up a number of strong results over the weekend.
It was a tough start for Mansell who qualified in ninth place and finished the round’s race in 12th place before finding his groove for the next two races.
Starting from the sixth row, Mansell held his composure during the wild race and charged his way to a well deserved fifth place finish, which saw him land third in the rookie class.
The 15-year-old then backed up his strong performance with an outright seventh place in the final race, which secured him a runner-up in the rookie class and moved him to eighth on the outright standings.
Photos: British Formula 4 Championship
All six drivers return this weekend with the FIA Formula 3 Championship and Porsche Mobil1 Supercup at Silverstone again, while the British Formula 4 Championship heads to Brands Hatch.