ROAD TO F1: Vesti wins at Mugello as Piastri and Sargeant are tied on points going into F3 finale

PREMA’s Frederik Vesti took his third win of the season in the Formula 3 Race 1 at Mugello, but it wasn’t enough to keep the PREMA man in championship contention and the title fight will go down to the wire between Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant and Theo Pourchaire.

Vesti started the day sixth in the standings, knowing that only a victory and the fastest lap would be enough to remain in the title battle.

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He clinched the win after an intense race-long three-way fight with Jake Hughes and Lirim Zendeli, eventually finishing three-tenths ahead of the British driver. Crucially, he missed out on the extra two points for the fastest lap, meaning he is now out of contention by just half a point.

Pourchaire claimed the final podium position late on to move within nine points of the championship lead while Sargeant missed out on the chance to take first, losing P5 to Ferrari junior Enzo Fittipaldi in the last few laps.

The American is tied on 160 points with Renault Junior Oscar Piastri, who finished in 11th place and failed to score a single point.

Liam Lawson and David Beckmann joined Vesti in falling out of title contention.

Eighth place wasn’t enough for the German, while Lawson only took a point, finishing P10. The Kiwi will therefore start on reverse grid pole for Race 2 on Sunday at 1030 local time.

For the full report, results and more news, visit the official F3 website.