Advantage Piastri in FIA Formula 3 championship after stellar recovery drive
Australian Oscar Piastri has taken the lead of the FIA Formula 3 Championship after a stellar recovery drive in Monza from P15 to a third-place finish.
Australian Oscar Piastri celebrates on the FIA Formula 3 podium in Monza. (Image: Supplied/Formula Motorsport Limited)
The Renault Academy driver was demoted to P15 on the starting grid after a raft of post-session penalties after Qualifying, and declared Saturday as his chance for a recovery drive.
Piastri held firm throughout the race, catching and passing championship rival and teammate Logan Sargeant.
The pair swapped positions three times before Piastri came out on top, with the wheel-to-wheel battle with Sargeant getting extremely tight at times, with both drivers understanding the potential ramifications of the result.
After dispatching Sargeant, Piastri made his way up to third after close battles with kiwi Liam Lawson and fellow Aussie Alex Peroni.
Meanwhile, Sargeant’s luck went from bad to worse, tipped around by Clément Novalak and demoted to the rear of the field.
Piastri now leads the championship on 160 points to Sargeant’s 152, with just three races remaining.
“Third from 15th on the grid, it was a very good race,” he said.
“I think I made a lot of good moves, but I didn’t really rush any, they were all calculated, picked the right moment. The late safety car helped us quite a bit. Third is awesome from where it started, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Seven spots ahead of today, let’s see what we can do.”
