With the dust settled at the end of another enthralling FIA Formula 3 race weekend, at Circuit Paul Ricard, in Le Castellet, we take a look at four talking points from the track.

Who can catch PREMA?

Can anyone catch PREMA Racing? The Italian based outfit have shown an incredible dominance in the opening two rounds, winning all four races so far and amassing a Championship lead of 113 points.

Despite their impeccable control of the season so far, it is much, much closer than the standings suggest, with plenty of threats to their challenge. The emergence of Jake Hughes’ HWA RACELAB machine in qualifying added another team to the mix, as he topped the pile with a storming late laptime of 1:49.519 on Friday.

Trident have also added their name to the hat as Pedro Piquet got his own season underway in France with two podium finishes. His overtake of Race 1 winner Jehan Daruvala on Sunday was the crowning moment for the young Brazilian, as he showed he’s a match for anyone on the grid.

Robert Shwartzman’s eye-catching overtake

The young Russian enjoyed another fruitful race weekend and stepped up his FIA Formula 3 title challenge with second and first place finishes in the South of France. Having achieved P2 in Race 1, he would have to climb six places on Sunday in order to achieve an unlikely race win.

He set about doing so pretty quickly and began his assault by taking advantage of a slip from Liam Lawson on lap 3. He was up to third within nine laps and finished his charge in style, eyeing an audacious double overtake of the front two.

It was an unbelievable and daring move from the 19-year-old, which demonstrated the undoubted potential that he holds. The trio went three wide down the straight and he was able to unlock maximum power from his car to somehow make the move stick, in one astonishing pass. He now leads the Championship by 12 points, ahead of teammate Daruvala.

Unlikely comebacks

Anyone hungry for some overtaking action need look no further than Sunday’s Sprint Race, when a number of drivers fought through the field and made the most of a track with plenty of racing opportunities.

Given their luck across the weekend, none were more impressive than the duo of Hughes and Marcus Armstrong, who were indisputably drivers of the day.

Jake Hughes

Hughes in particular had suffered a quite torrid weekend, which had originally begun so promisingly. The Brit was quickest in qualifying and earned himself pole with an already touched upon laptime of 1:49.519. His Race 1 would quickly unravel when the pace of PREMA duo Daruvala and Armstrong got the better of him. His efforts to reclaim the lost positions saw him dumped to the back of the grid, after attempting an all too risky overtake on Armstrong, before an eventual retirement.

This saw the Englishman start Race 2 from P25, still reeling from the frustration, with little hope of realistically scoring any points in France. So what did he do? He rose nearly 20 places for an incredible P7 finish come the chequered flag.

Marcus Armstrong

With his teammates both enjoying race wins, it could be easy to overlook the achievements of Armstrong over the weekend. The Kiwi driver stalled on the grid at the start of Race 2 and fell as far back as 26th, one place behind Hughes (who had already begun his ascent up the field).

He quietly began fighting his way through the pack, steering clear of any further trouble. By lap 17, he had made his way to 13th, but getting into the points still seemed like an impossible ask. Yet somehow, when the chequered flag was waved he ran through in sixth, having risen a further seven places in the remaining laps.