Interview
THOUGHTS FROM LAWSON, BECKMANN AND POURCHAIRE
FIA Formula 3: Liam Lawson, winner of the final race of the season here at Mugello. Is it a good way to end a season that did not finish the way you would have hoped, when it comes to the standings?
Liam Lawson: It's a good way to finish, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with the result. We came into this year with the goal to try and win the Championship obviously. I think it was achievable. There's no reason that we couldn't have done it. We just had too many little issues this year. We were unlucky as well. There were things that were out of our control, but also things that are controlled that we could have capitalised on a little bit more. Looking back, it's obviously good and bad to look back sometimes. I think we could have done a bit better this year. It's nice to finish here like this. It showed what we are capable of. It was a fun race for me. I drove flat out from Lap 1 until the end. I had a really cool time, and I'm happy to finish here like this.
FIA Formula 3: Obviously the final race of the season begs the question, what about 2021? Any plans already?
Liam: It's not really up to me actually, so we have to wait and see. It's up to Red Bull and up to the people around me to decide what they think is best for me. I hope to find out soon, and we'll see what happens.
FIA Formula 3: David Beckmann. P2 in today's final FIA Formula 3 race of the 2020 season at Mugello. It's a good result. It was a good race. How was it from the car?
David Beckmann: It was quite hard actually, because we were already struggling in Race 1 with the rear tyres. Now, again, even though we changed the car quite a bit, it was still quite bad. I managed to follow quite well at the beginning, but then the degradation was just too strong. I had to let Liam go because I could not follow his pace. I don't think I'd have lasted the race. I'd have been too slow at the end. I focused more on second place and tried not to get overtaken by Théo. It worked out well in the end. It was really close, but I'm happy to have managed it. On the other hand, I'm not so happy that I could not get P1 and the chance for P5 in the Championship.
FIA Formula 3: How would you summarise your season in a few words?
David: I think it was really constant, actually. We never really had the car, especially at the beginning of season, to win Race 1. To put it on pole. I think we had problems many times. Also, we threw many points away in the first race at Budapest, because we had a bad Qualifying. In Silverstone, in the first weekend, we had a problem in Qualifying and that destroyed Race 1, where you get a lot more points. We managed to get a good result in the Sprint Race, so we had a decent weekend, but still, in the end if you want to fight for P3 you need the Race 1 points. We just did not get them until maybe the last rounds. We also had a problem in Monza with the DNF which really hurt. Those are the points we are missing. It's just shows how hard this Championship is. How many good drivers and teams are in it. Even at the end, P1, P2 and P3 are so close together. I think this year, was maybe even closer than last year, so it was quite tough.
FIA Formula 3: Any plans for 2021 yet?
David: Not yet. I have to see. Obviously, I want to rise up to F2, but I need to see if I can get the budget for that. Anyway, we've had a season end in September, so now we can think for a while about it. That's how it goes. Let's see what I'll do next year, but I think I have a good chance of finding good teams in higher championships.
FIA Formula 3: Théo Pourchaire, you finished third in today's final 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship race, but you finished second overall in the standings. You're the Vice-Champion of 2020. You were definitely gunning for more, but do you think you can still be proud of what you've accomplished?
Théo Pourchaire: Yeah sure. I think I need to realise that. Coming from Formula 4, P2 is amazing. I wanted the Championship win, but everyone wants to win. It's like that. Congratulations to Oscar (Piastri), and to PREMA. They did an excellent job. To my team as well, ART. I think we were the best at the end of the Championship. We finished with four consecutive podiums. It's an incredible performance. We have to be proud. Now we need to be calm. I need to be calmer to realise that P2 is an amazing result for me.
FIA Formula 3: Let's talk about this race. First of all, you started behind Logan Sargeant and then you had your destiny within your own hands, maybe hoping for Oscar Piastri to make a mistake. How was it from the car?
Théo: The start was a bit difficult for me. I was in a bit of trouble. I stayed P8, even losing two positions, but I stayed P8 because of the crash between (Lirim) Zendeli and Sargeant. It was not a good start for me. Then I gave everything. Really, everything. I was really tired at the end of the race. P3, I did some good moves. As I said, I gave everything, but it's like that between the Championship. For me, the car was good today. The team did the best job possible. I did the best job possible. It's just that Oscar had a good race. It's like that. It's good.
FIA Formula 3: Did the team keep you informed? Did you want to know where you were standing, or did you prefer just to focus on the race?
Théo: We were just focusing on the race. Sometimes my engineer would tell me that Oscar was P10, P9, or somewhere, and they just told me every lap, "keep pushing, keep pushing, we can do it." For that, I'd like to thank my engineer. He's always with me, always pushing me, and that's good.
FIA Formula 3: Any particular moment of the season that you'll remember?
Théo: Both wins, and my pole position in Monza was really good. But the whole season was good. Even the downs, with the bad performances, everything was good. I learned a lot. I think I'm ready for a higher series.
FIA Formula 3: Do you have an idea of what your plans are going to be for 2021?
Théo: For the moment, we don't really know. We have an idea for sure. The next category is Formula 2. After P2 in the F3 Championship, really close to P1, with good performances at the end of the Championship... For me I feel ready to go to Formula 2. Everything needs to be ready. The budget, everything. We're going to speak with ART, because I think they're proud of what I achieved today, and proud of this season. Maybe we will try to make everything possible to go to Formula 2.