There were a number of Australians in action over the weekend and motorsport.org.au looks over how they fared.
It was a solid weekend for the young drivers flying the Aussie flag in the Formula 3 Championship, with Oscar Piastri and Alex Peroni enjoying podium success, while Calan Williams and Jack Doohan both had season best results.
For the first time since the championship’s opening race, Piastri ended on the top step after a commanding race two victory thanks to his a lightning quick start where he rose from fifth to first on the opening lap.
One of the drivers he passed in the process was Peroni, who remained composed and moved into second place not long after, fending off any challenges later in the race. As a result of his composure, Peroni secured a career high runner-up finish and his
first podium since the season opener, making it an Aussie one-two.
Williams and Doohan finished beside each other in 14th and 15th respectively, as both drivers showed their potential over the weekend, with Doohan claiming 14th in Saturday’s race.
Close call for Ricciardo
Meanwhile, Motorsport Australia Ambassador Daniel Ricciardo finished just outside of the points in a lacklustre race won by Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton led from lights to flag, lapped all but three drivers and was never challenged, while Ricciardo ended the day in 11th after a tough race which saw plenty of battles between the midfield drivers.
It was a tough weekend for Ricciardo and the Renault team, with the outfit failing to score a point for the first time in 2020.
“It was tough today and certainly not where we want to be,” Ricciardo said.
“At every race up until now, we’ve had at least one car in the points, so this is the first one without it. Obviously, it’s a bit disappointing as we came here expecting much more, especially after two decent races last time out.
We didn’t expect to have a difficult weekend, but it was very tight out there.”
Hamilton was understandably delighted, with the result creating more history for the Mercedes driver. Hamilton has now secured the most podiums of any driver in Formula 1 history.
“This feels absolutely incredible. I was just in a daze out there, I didn't even know it was the last lap in the end, that's how in the zone I was,” Hamilton said.
“I can't remember the last time I felt like that. It was really special and a real surprise after our recent tyre problems. We brought all of our learnings from the previous weekend into this one and that enabled us to do well today.”
Teams and drivers now have a rare week off, before the Formula 1 racing returns at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, 30 August.
Photo: Renault F1 Media
Love bounces back in Spain
After a heartbreaking retirement at Silverstone last week, it looked like the pain was going to continue for Jordan Love when the West Australian was given a grid penalty ahead of the Sunday’s Porsche Mobile1 Supercup race in Spain.
Starting the race from P20, Love’s luck changed for the better with the Porsche Rookie avoiding a repeat of last week’s early retirement after a number of cars in front of him had a big collision, causing the red flag to come out.
When the racing resumed, Love avoided any further incidents over the rest of the shortened race to finish just outside the top 10 in 11th place, cementing himself in the top five for the Rookie class ahead of the penultimate round at Spa in two weeks.
Horsten solid in British F3
After enjoying two top-five results during the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship season opener at Oulton Park earlier this month, Bart Horsten came close to repeating his efforts in the weekend’s round at Donnington Park.
Like Love, Horsten had started from towards the back of the grid in P20, but fought way his through the traffic to put himself in contention for a points finish. However he was unable to make it and settled with a solid 11th place.
He had a much better result in the weekend’s second race, but fell just short of his second season podium, finishing in well-deserved fourth place.
It was a harder affair in the weekend’s third and final race with Horsten crossing the line 14th respectively.
The 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship continues next weekend with the championship heading to Brands Hatch for the third round on 29-30 August.
Campbell on podium in Spa
With the FIA World Endurance Championship returning after a long break, Matt Campbell showed no signs of any rust with the Queenslander landing a class podium in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Running alongside German Christian Ried and Riccardo Pera from Italy in the Dempsey-Proton Racing prepared Porsche 911, the trio worked their way into a top 10 outright finish in the GTE class and a runner-up in the Endurance Trophy.
Campbell was behind the wheel during in the race’s final stint where he launched a solid charge for the lead and as a result, got to within three seconds of the leading AF Corse car, securing Dempsey-Proton Racing’s first ever podium.
The result was also the team’s first official points finish for the 2019/20120 season, making it a highly successful weekend of results ahead of the 24 Hour of Le Mans in September.
