Ricciardo records another top 10 finish
Daniel Ricciardo finished the Portuguese Grand Prix in ninth and one place behind Renault teammate Esteban Ocon.
Having started the race in 10th, it turned out to be a difficult race for the Motorsport Australia ambassador, who struggled for pace all weekend and found himself as low as 19th after having to take an early pitstop.
But just as he has on many occasions this year, Ricciardo managed to fight his way back up the field and secure ninth place.
“It was difficult. I don’t think I had the pace today,” Ricciardo said post-race.
“The soft (tyre), pitted quite early, the front left was graining pretty heavily and I was just struggling with that first stint.
“So was a bit helpless with that one and we jumped on the mediums, but then the medium I struggled just to actually keep the temperature in the tyre.
“I was always on the edge of temperature and trying to push a bit harder to get the temperature up and then you make a mistake because the grip’s not there.”
While Ricciardo was battling hard to finish in the points, Lewis Hamilton made history after winning his 92nd career F1 race as the Briton finished ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
There is no break for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to take place this weekend at the Imola Circuit.
Power ends IndyCar season in top 5
Will Power has ended the 2020 NTT IndyCar season in heartbreaking fashion after retiring from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Queenslander as he started from pole position, his ninth career pole in St. Petersburg, and led the field for at least four laps before he was hit on lap 35 and was forced to retire.
Three-time Virgin Australia Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin also made his long-awaited IndyCar Series debut on the weekend, but like Power, failed to finish the race as he too retired after contact on lap 45.
Despite a tough ending to the year, Power still finished the season in the top five and with two race wins for the year.
Gallant Shields tries hard in tough finish
It seems St Petersburg had it in for Australian drivers on the weekend as youngster Cameron Shields suffered a similar fate to Power in the USF2000 Series.
With the series having two races over the weekend, Shields had the perfect start to the season finale and snatched pole position by less than one hundredth of a second.
Shields then comfortably led the field for half the race until his car lost power, putting him out of the race on the 11th lap.
Looking to change his fortunes on Sunday, the Queenslander started well and qualified in P3 before once again, his car lost power after just eight laps and he finished the season in the pits.
As a result of his two DNFs, Shields dropped down the standings to finish the year in ninth place.
Car finishes season with deserving points
Joshua Car has finished his first campaign in the Formula Regional Americas Championship with two top 10 finishes for the first time since August.
It’s been a long season for the 2019 Formula 4 United States Champion and the 20-year-old had a solid start to the championship’s final round at the Circuit of The Americas picking up sixth in the opening race.
Starting in P7 for the round’s middle race, Car crossed the line ninth before an unfortunate incident in the final race caused the Sydney born driver to retire from the final outing for the year.
Car finished his first year in the championship in sixth place outright and with three runner-up placings.
Horsten gallant in British F3 showdown
Moving across the Atlantic, Bart Horsten will enter the final round of the British Formula 3 Championship in 10th place after two top-10s and an 11th place during the championship’s three races at Donningon Park.
While his final race result of seventh was his highest for the weekend, it was his middle race that proved to be his best performance despite finishing in 10th.
Starting at the back of the grid and entering the race having finished 11th in the round’s opener, Horsten didn’t let the pressure get to him as he passed six drivers and crossed the finish line in P10 and with some extra passing points.
The British Formula 3 Championship has a week off before heading to Silverstone Circuit for the season finale on 7-8 November.
Thrilling stage set for British F4
Christian Mansell has enjoyed the best individual result out of all Australians in action this weekend with the 15-year-old grabbing his first outright podium since the Championships second round.
With the category running three races over the weekend, Mansell showed promise in the opening run to finish third in the outright standings and first in the Rookie Cup.
The Victorian was unable to repeat his efforts over the next two races, finishing eighth and ninth respectively, but he was able to secure another win in the Rookie Cup and extend his lead to 42 points over Frederick Lubin, while he remained eighth in the outright standings.
It’s a longer wait for the next round with the Championship’s season finale to take place at Brands Hatch on 14-15 November.
Campbell close to podium in Spa
Matt Campbell has continued his solid form in 2020 with the Queenslander placing fourth in the prestigious 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend..
Driving alongside French drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Patrick Pilet, the trio put on a wonderful display throughout the race as they started in 11th place and worked their way up to fourth.
Despite having held the lead at multiple points throughout the race, they were unable to hold their position, but still managed a top five finish out of 55 entries in what were extremely difficult conditions that saw a total of 14 safety car interventions and 18 full course yellow periods.
