Jack Doohan takes bittersweet victory in F3 Asia finale
Jack Doohan has won the 2019-20 F3 Asian Championship certified by FIA finale at Chang International Circuit. Jamie Chadwick was second, with Mikhael Belov in third.
Polesitter Ukyo Sasahara was quick to cut off second-place starter Jamie Chadwick to hold his pole position into Turn 1.
Jack Doohan was up into third with Pietro Fittipaldi not taking the start, and the Red Bull junior driver wasted no time in dispatching Chadwick on the opening lap.
As things settled in, it was Sasahara two seconds ahead of Doohan, who was two seconds ahead of Jamie Chadwick. A train was growing behind the newly-crowned Race 2 victor, as she was followed closely by Yu Kuai, Nikita Mazepin, Mikhael Belov, Yu Kanamura, Tommy Smith, and Joey Alders.
The seven-car locomotive snaked its way around the circuit, with each car less than a second behind their nearest rival.
Mazepin was the first to make a move, diving down the inside of Yu Kuai, but out-braking himself and losing momentum.
The battle was on, and Mazepin applied consistent pressure, eventually getting past the Chinese driver for fourth.
The sparring pair saw their lap times suffer, which brought the following drivers into the fold. Belov snuck past Kuai, and despite a spirited defence from the Chinese driver, the Russian found the challenge much easier than his compatriot, holding steady in fifth position.
Kuai was losing momentum quickly, as Australian Tommy Smith moved past into sixth, and now it was Yu Kanamaru's time to move past the rolling roadblock.
The pack was now down to Kuai, Kanamaru, and Alders, all fighting for sixth place, and soon Kuai was demoted to eighth.
The 2019-20 championship may have been decided on Sunday morning, but the spirited battles through the pack were evidence of the competition for the remaining FIA Super License points, awarded all the way down to the ninth-placed driver in the standings.
As the race order settled in, the championship order was cemented: Alders the champion, with Doohan in second. Mazepin with an unassailable third, with Chadwick in fourth.
The race order looked to be calm, but Mikhael Belov mounted a surprise attack on fellow countryman Nikita Mazepin, with the pair riding wheel-to-wheel through Turn 4, with Mazepin ultimately defending his position.
Behind them Yu Kanamaru slipped past Aussie Tommy Smith into sixth.
As Ukyo Sasahara started the final lap, Mazepin was awarded a five-second penalty. With Belov just half a second behind, this penalty was sure to promote the debutant to the final podium position.
Sasahara crossed the line in first, but ineligible for championship points. Jack Doohan took the race victory, followed by Jamie Chadwick, Nikita Mazepin, and Mikhael Belov.
Mazepin took his penalty falling to eighth on track, promoting Belov to the podium.
The victory was bittersweet, with Doohan lamenting his two tyre failures which had seen him fall from grace in Races 1 & 2, losing any chance of winning the championship.
Aussie Tommy Smith finished P5 in the adjusted results.
The provisional championship order following the final race is:
- Joey Alders - 18 FIA Super License points.
- Jack Doohan (AUS) - 14 SL points.
- Nikita Mazepin - 12 SL points.
- Jamie Chadwick - 10 SL points.
- Pietro Fittipaldi - 8 SL points.
- Devlin DeFrancesco - 6 SL points.
- Sebastián Fernández - 4 SL points.
- Yu Kanamaru - 2 SL points.
- Yu Kuai - 1 SL point.
Aussie Tommy Smith was P10 in the championship standings.
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