Road to 100: Piastri wins a nail-bitter as PREMA make it two in a row

Round 5 of the 2024 season is set to a special one for Formula 3 as Barcelona prepares to host the 100th race in the Championship’s history. So, in the build-up to the weekend we are going through the first five seasons and having previously recapped the 2019 campaign, it is now time to look back to 2020.In an action-packed year, Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant and Théo Pourchaire fought until the final lap of the last race for the Drivers’ Championship, while PREMA Racing made it two Teams’ titles in two years. But how did it all play out?START OF THE SEASONThe drama started in Spielberg for Round 1, as Piastri and pole-sitter Sebastián Fernandez collided on the opening lap of Race 1.Road to 100: Shwartzman and PREMA become F3’s first Champions While the contact left the ART Grand Prix driver was out, Piastri continued and went on to dominate and win ahead of his PREMA teammate Sargeant, with Campos Racing’s Alex Peroni in third, while Liam Lawson took victory for Hitech Grand Prix in Race 2.A second race weekend in Austria followed and this time it was the PREMA of Frederik Vesti who won from pole position ahead of Trident teammates Lirim Zendeli and David Beckmann. But due to heavy rain leading to a Red Flag on Lap 15 of 24, half points were awarded.A drier Race 2 followed and after battling for the lead for much of the event, Lawson and HWA Racelab’s Jake Hughes collided in the closing stages, giving ART rookie Pourchaire the win at just 16-years-old.Pourchaire was previously the youngest winner in Formula 3 after his victory in Round 2 in 2020Budapest and Round 3 came next and after qualifying in third, Pourchaire took his second consecutive victory in Race 1. Piastri wound up in second in both races, as Beckmann took his maiden win in the second contest of the weekend. Hitech’s Dennis Hauger ended up third, giving him his first podium in the Championship.After an intense start to the year, Piastri had a 26-point lead over Sargeant, while Pourchaire was in third. With 115.5 points, PREMA held an 80-point advantage over Trident in the Teams’ Standings.MIDSEASONSilverstone hosted Round 4 and it was Sargeant on pole. He would end up third in Race 1 after being overtaken by Lawson and Piastri, as the former claimed his second win of the year.Standing out in the field: Sophia Floersch on her racing helmet design Beckmann won Race 2 for the second weekend in a row, but this race also saw Piastri DNF for the first time that year.A second round at Silverstone followed and once again it was Sargeant on pole, and, on this occasion, the American was able to convert it into a victory in Race 1. With Piastri in sixth, this gave Sargeant a six-point lead in the Championship. The drama continued in Race 2 as MP Motorsport’s Bent Viscaal beat Zendeli in a drag race to the line to take victory, while Pourchaire ended up third.Sargeant's victory at Silverstone saw him take the lead from teammate Piastri in the ChampionshipRound 5 in Barcelona was next up and once again, Sargeant was on pole. It was Hughes, however, who took the win for HWA Racelab, with Lawson and Sargeant joining him on the podium.Piastri’s win in Race 2 allowed him to close to within one point of Sargeant as a great start from fifth gave him the lead by Turn 4. Peroni followed him across the line in P2, while Matteo Nannini scored Jenzer Motorsport’s first podium of the year.But while things were close in the Drivers’ Standings, PREMA 331.5 points put them well clear Trident by 187 heading into the final part of the year.THE CLOSING ROUNDSRound 7 at Spa-Francorchamps brought a change of Championship lead twice over. Piastri finished Race 1 in fifth ahead of Sargeant in P8, giving the Australian top spot only for his teammate to reclaim it with a victory in Race 2.A slice of serenity outside of the city: Tim Tramnitz on his hometown and HamburgZendeli took his first win of the year for Trident in Race 1 ahead of Pourchaire, who was about to go on a run of five podium finishes in the final six races.Sargeant carried a seven-point lead into the penultimate round of the year in Monza, but he was spun into a stoppage in Race 1, as teammate Vesti won for the first time since Spielberg and Round 2. Disappointingly for Sargeant, title rivals Pourchaire and Piastri rounded out the podium places, but the result was enough for PREMA to seal their second consecutive F3 Teams' title.Piastri's P7 in Race 2 at Mugello was enough to see him win the titleSargeant’s weekend took another hit when he made contact with Vesti in Race 2 while battling for P5, putting him out of the race and without a point at Monza. Piastri also retired after colliding with Clément Novalak while battling for a place on the podium. It was good news for Pourchaire who had now closed to within 24 points of leader Piastri, with Sargeant eight points adrift of top spot heading to the final round.In Profile: Nikola Tsolov THE TITLE SHOWDOWNMugello was the venue for the title decider between the th