Vesti wins ahead of Pourchaire, Prema team champion

There was no need to upset him. Author of an authoritarian pole position with almost half a second ahead of the competition on Friday, Theo Pourchaire had the unpleasant surprise of finally being deprived of it later in the evening. Like eight other drivers, he was penalized for driving too slowly in the Parabolic in order to find the right slipstream. In short, he lost five places on the grid and was relegated to 6th position at the start. 

But it ultimately only took him three laps to get back to where he needed to be: in first place. Author of a great start, with an exceptional reaction time, he got rid of Calan Williams and Logan sargeant (Prema) before the first turn, before swallowing up Nannini, Hughes and Lawson in the next two loops. Behind, without DRS and without aspiration, he resisted as best he could the various attacks.

It was ultimately a Safety Car caused by his teammate Sebastian Fernandez (ART Grand Prix), which allowed Frédérik Vesti (Prema) to enter the race for victory. And to overtake Pourchaire two laps from the end. The Frenchman did not win despite a very solid race, but he took the opportunity to steal 3rd place in the championship from David Beckmann (Trident). 

Last on the brakes @frederik_vesti locked up on his way to the lead #ItalianGP #F3 pic.twitter.com/TloBDUXKoM

- Formula 3 (@ FIAFormula3) September 5, 2020

Turning point in the championship? 

The title race may have reached a turning point. While he started 5th and his teammate Oscar piastri starting 15th, Logan Sargeant had a break point in the championship. But small errors, combined with an excellent start to the race from the Australian, saw the two men side by side for 9th place at the halfway mark. The turning point came on the 14th lap, when Clément Novalak, author of a crazy comeback (+15 places), slightly pushed Sargeant into the background. The Frenchman received a ten-second penalty for this maneuver, dropping to 14th place.

The American lost everything instantly: the points for race 1, and a bad position for race 2 (26th). Meanwhile, Piastri, usually so calculated, continued to overtake and even finished on the podium. Seven points behind in the championship, this Saturday noon he can count on an eight-unit lead at the top of the standings. A performance which also contributed to offering the team title to Prema, now out of reach for the other teams.