Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri take trans-Tasman battle to Silverstone FIA F3 podium

Liam Lawson has won Race 1 of the FIA Formula 3 weekend at Silverstone, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant.

Sargeant started the race in pole position and had a solid getaway, with Lawson tucking in behind him to secure his second place. Aussie Piastri was slow off the start and immediately challenged by teammate Frederik Vesti from behind, and a three-way battle emerged as Max Fewtrell joined the party.

Fewtrell ran out of road and veered off into the gravel, demoted down the order to P20. Piastri held own to come out ahead of his teammate and hold third position—setting the fastest lap the next time around.

Liam Lawson was quick to mount a challenge for the race lead, and quickly dispatched the Floridian leader at Stowe.

After a frenetic opening three laps, the running order was Lawson, Sargeant, Piastri, Vesti, followed by Aussie Alex Peroni.

Matteo Nannini spuns on his own and was beached, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car until he could recover his Jenzer under its own power.

Aussie Red Bull junior Jack Doohan was caught out under the Virtual Safety Car, giving Ben Barnicoat a large shunt from behind, but surprising everyone when he emerged with no obvious damage.

At the front, Piastri was past Sargeant into second, and the Renault Academy driver quickly went about challenging Lawson for the lead.

Behind them, Jake Hughes was past Vesti for fourth position. That wasn’t the only action on track, with close running and battles for position all the way down from eighth to fifteenth.

The battle between Piastri and Lawson for the lead had been simmering as the Prema driver sized up his Hitech counterpart, and on Lap 11 he saw his opportunity, with the pair running wheel-to-wheel for most of the lap.

Kiwi @LiamLawson30 versus Aussie @OscarPiastri side-by-side for the lead of the race in #F3 at Silverstone !!#FIAF3 @FIAFormula3 #RoadToF1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/Fnzop5PdKVAugust 1, 2020

Liam Lawson, well-versed in desperate battles for the lead from his Toyota Racing Series days, was able to hold off the Aussie and momentarily gain his breath.

Behind them, Barnicoat and Bent Viscaal went wheel-to-wheel and both ran wide on the approach to the National starting grid. A moment of contact between the two sent Viscaal sideways back onto the circuit, where he was collected in a dramatic collision with Jack Doohan.

The two cars stranded on track brought out the Safety Car, and with Lawson warning that his tyres were done, it seemed certain that a new battle for the race lead was imminent.

At the restart Lawson maintained his lead, but the real drama was further down the pack.

Max Fewtrell tagged Oli Caldwell, spinning the driver and leaving him stranded sideways in the middle of the track. With the chasing pack on their way, a new collision seemed inevitable, and it was Lukas Dunner who would fall victim, unable to avoid the stranded car in a violent collision.

Olli Caldwell climbed out of his car after a big impact during Race One#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F3 pic.twitter.com/0kJNuqM15DAugust 1, 2020

With three cars on track suffering extensive damage, the Safety Car lead the field for the remainder of the race, with the slightly peculiar sight of the pack pulling into pit lane to cross the line for the final time.

Lawson took the race victory ahead of Piastri and Sargeant. He said “we were able to grab the lead early and control the race from there and take the win.”

“I am very, very happy. It is definitely a step in the right direction, but we do still have a bit of work to do. Hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow.”

Piastri once again grew his championship lead, with his consistency over the season proving to be the crucial element.

Fellow Aussie Alex Peroni finished in sixth, with Calan Williams in P14 for his best finish so far this year.