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ROAD TO F1: Hughes wins chaotic Monza F3 race from P6 over Smolyar and Pourchaire after Lawson penalty
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Sunday’s Formula 3 Race 2 was an incredible advert for the series – a race so manic, so chaotic, that it’s difficult to make sense of it. Jake Hughes won from sixth, Liam Lawson finished second from P5 and Theo Pourchaire completed the podium from ninth, but that barely even scratches the surface of the story with post-race penalties changing the order.
READ MORE: PREMA take F3 teams' championship as Vesti wins from P9 in Italy - report and highlights
After the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Lawson was given a 10s penalty for forcing a car off track, meaning Smolyar took his maiden podium and Pourchaire took second.
None of top three from the grid finished in the points, all three of the PREMAs retired, Alex Smolyar finished fourth from 20th, Alex Peroni nabbed sixth from 16th, Pierre-Louis Chovet clinched seventh from 18th for his first F3 points, while Olli Caldwell (P9) snuck into the points from P29.
At one point, Oscar Piastri was on course to stretch his championship lead, but a four-car collision forced him to retire and robbed him of points.
Race winner Jake Hughes of Great Britain and HWA Racelab, second placed Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Hitech Grand Prix and third placed Theo Pourchaire of France and ART Grand Prix celebrate on the podium during race two of the Formula 3 Championship at Autodromo di Monza
Logan Sargeant was in first place in the drivers’ standings as a result, with the PREMA racer somehow finding himself in fifth having started from 26th. But it proved to be temporary, as the American was also forced to retire after a coming together with team mate Frederik Vesti, which dramatically took them both out of the race.
All the while, Hughes calmly stretched his lead out in front, letting the drama play out behind him, keeping his nose clean ahead of Liam Lawson. The duo would close out first and second, with Pourchaire making a late assault on the podium to finish in third place.
Just eight points separate the top two in the drivers’ championship heading into the season finale next week at Mugello, where we will crown the second F3 drivers’ champion. After the chaos of Round 8, who takes the title is still anyone’s guess.
For the full report, results and more news, visit the official F3 website.
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