Logan Sargeant takes maiden FIA F3 win, overtaking Oscar Piastri for championship lead
American Logan Sargeant has taken his first FIA Formula 3 victory in Race 1 at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, ahead of Jake Hughes and kiwi Liam Lawson.
Logan Sargeant celebrates his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory in Silverstone. (Image: Supplied/Formula Motorsport Limited)
Sargeant started on pole and had a great start, as kiwi Liam Lawson was swamped in second place by Jake Hughes and Frederik Vesti from the second row.
After a fierce but brief wheel-to-wheel battle, Hughes came out ahead, with Lawson understeering off the track and falling into the clutches of Vesti and Pourchaire behind, but he was ultimately able to hold the position.
Aussie Jack Doohan had his race ruined on Lap 1 with damage to his front wing, continuing the streak of poor luck he has suffered throughout the year.
With Sargeant off down the track and Hughes holding his own in second place, the main race was the fight for the final podium position. The battle between Pourchaire and Vesti saw David Beckmann join the rear of the pack, and after a few laps of DRS-fuelled sparring, the group set about chasing down Lawson.
Logan Sargeant leads the FIA Formula 3 field in Race 1 at Silverstone. (Image: Suppled/Formula Motorsport Limited)
There was a brief interruption as two Jenzers came together at the rear of the field, as Aussie Calan Williams tipped Federico Malvestitti into a spin off the track.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri, on a recovery drive from P11 after retiring from qualifying, was making his way through the field, up to ninth and passing Lirim Zendeli around the outside for eighth.
Red Bull junior Lawson did well to hold third position, consistently defending against attacks from Vesti as the queue behind them became restless.
The first to blink was Pourchaire, who has a run on Vesti and drew level with the Danish driver, who reacted late and ran wide out of Stowe. The defensive move forced Pourchaire to back off, and he was passed by Beckmann, with Bent Viscaal eagerly watching from the wings.
Vesti earned a black-and-white warning flag for his efforts and responded by setting the fastest lap of the race.
Piastri caught up to the rear of the pack by Lap 15, where Viscaal was snapping at Pourchaire’s heels. He was quickly past the young French driver as he locked up, with Piastri now filling his mirrors.
Lawson was on a defensive charge, breaking away with Vesti as the pair quickly caught Hughes. Lawson, into DRS range of Hughes, set the new fastest lap of the race.
Theo Pourchaire looked certain to reclaim P6 from Viscaal, but his missed his braking spot after completing the move, and the fight continued through the next corner, as Viscaal ran wide off the track.
Piastri, watching this unfold in front of him, and got by into seventh position. Pourchaire, with a few seconds to recover, was able to defend from the Australian—the pair going two-wide as the french driver threw everything at his defence.
Sebastián Fernández and Matteo Nannini came together at the rear of the field, sending both drivers off into the gravel.
This brought out double-waved yellow flags for the final sector of the track, leaving Lawson to hold off his final challenge for second position.
Logan Sargeant sailed across the line with a lead of 1.5 seconds, ahead of Hughes and Lawson.
Logan Sargeant celebrates after crossing the line at Silverstone. (Image: Supplied/Formula Motorsport Limited)
Sargeant said “I am extremely happy.”
“It is my first win in F3, and I am glad that it came in a Race 1. A big thank you to PREMA, they have done a fantastic job all weekend so far and now we are going to focus on tomorrow and try and make up some positions.”
Liam Lawson took 2 bonus points for the fastest lap, and Oscar Piastri finished his recovery drive in P7.
The Australian revealed after the race that his engine had switched off on the way to the grid, and that he had struggled with DRS issues throughout the first three laps of the race.
"Seventh place is not bad,” he said.
“We managed to finish the session after some earlier issues this weekend. The pace was really strong at the start, just a bit difficult in the DRS train as normal. We have a good starting spot for tomorrow and we will have a good opportunity to fight for the win."
The moment @LoganSargeant became an FIA Formula 3 race winner!#F170 🇬🇧 #F3 pic.twitter.com/Z1YuSXpDbQAugust 8, 2020
Sargeant now holds the lead of the championship with 106 points, ahead of Piastri on 100.
Piastri will start Sunday’s Race 2 on the second row of the reverse grid, in a good position to make up his points deficit.
Alex Peroni finished P14, with Jack Doohan in P26.
