Bruno’s Take – Round 2

Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel looks back at the second round of the 2020 season and picks out his key topics from Round 2 in Spielberg. He discusses the teams’ title battle, our youngest race winner, and the wet race on Saturday.

HALF THE POINTS

The weather conditions on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring were far from ideal and it led to Race 1 being cut short. This means that only half of the points were awarded, and I feel sorry for those who finished in the Top 10. They delivered an amazing show on track: they raced beautifully, and we were all on the edge of our seats watching them fighting for positions in a clean and aggressive way.

It’s not that often that only half the points are added and hopefully this will be the only time this season. However, it must be said that the Race Direction took the correct decision: it was no longer safe for the drivers to race in the heavily wet conditions. Stopping Race 1 was the right call. The safety of the drivers comes first!

PREMA RACING VS TRIDENT

Once again, PREMA looked quite strong out-there scoring yet another win and brining their podium tally to 4. Their three drivers are leading in the Standings. However, Trident have emerged as their toughest competition in Round 2: the team was able to score points with all three cars in both races.

They added three podium finishes to their season record. They definitely have a strong package and they have solid pace, qualifying on the front row in both rounds in Spielberg. Let’s see if they can keep the momentum this week at the Hungaroring, and if they can pocket their first win of 2020.

THE SURPRISING POURCHAIRE

Rookie Théo Pourchaire surprised the rest of the field in an action-packed, very exciting Race 2: he started from reverse pole position and at only sixteen years old held on to the lead for as long as he could.

He could not resist the charge of experienced Jake Hughes and Liam Lawson, but he managed to remain close which was already impressive. When the two race leaders made contact, Théo kept his cool, reclaimed the lead and, sure, luck was on his side, but he made no mistake and is now an F3 race winner. That’s great story-telling and we should keep an eye on him in the future.