Formula 3 braces for six-way title shoot out at Mugello

FIA Formula 3 heads to Mugello with the championship in the balance – with six drivers theoretically in contention to take the championship.

Last year’s powerhouse, Prema was seen as the pre-season favourites and while all three of their drivers still retain a chance to be champion, the dominance has eased from 2019.

Instead, Trident, ART, and Hitech have all shown the ability to challenge the junior series goliath – with each of the trio still able to have a drivers champion in 2020.

This didn’t stop Prema suing up the constructors’ title at Monza – but there is a real threat of a non-Prema champion in F3 – after they took the top three 12 months ago.

It is still advantage Prema though – the top two in the standings both come from the Italian squad – Formula Renault Eurocup champion, Oscar Piatri leading the way from F3 returnee Logan Sargeant.

Renault junior Piastri holds an eight-point advantage over his American rival – after both struggled massively – with Sargeant not scoring all weekend.

This allowed a chasing quartet to close down the leading duo.

Ahead of the queue is F3’s youngest-ever winner – Theo Pourchaire – the young Frenchman has spearheaded ART’s resurgence at this level – and is only 24 points behind in the championship after a pair of podiums at Monza.

Red Bull junior Liam Lawson is just behind Pourchaire, with Lawson ruing a stretch of three races earlier in the year without a point – this included clashing while fighting for the lead at the Styrian round.

The New Zealander will have more than just a title fight on his mind – as a top-three finish in the standings will give him the points required to gain a super license – effectively opening the door to Formula One in the future.

Trident’s David Beckmann is fifth – with the German attempting to complete a Cinderella story by winning the F3 title.

Beckmann showed promise in F3’s former guise as GP3 – winning races with his current Trident team – but a switch to French squad ART left Beckmann beleaguered as he struggled for form.

Without a drive on the 2020 grid – he was offered a lifeline at the eleventh hour by former team Trident – and hasn’t looked back since – claiming a pair of wins to catapult him into the championship conversation.

Finally, we have Frederik Vesti, the final of the three Prema’s, the Danish driver has arguably under-achieved in 2020 after winning the Formula Regional title twelve months ago.

But a feature race win at Monza has given him the slimmest of chances – can he now upstage his team-mates?

Credit: F3

Qualifying is expected to be critical at Mugello in regards to the title battle with four points on offer for pole position – but the importance is heightened due to the lack of overtaking opportunities at the Tuscan circuit – even in these Formula 3 cars.

In the 30-car field, it will be vital for all of the contenders to avoid being mired in the mid-pack, drivers there will not care about championship aspirations and will only be looking to scalp a big name.

One thing is for sure – we are in for one more enthralling round of Formula 3 action as we head to Mugello.