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Monza, 6th September 2020 – HWA RACELAB was well-positioned going into Sunday's race at the high-speed Italian circuit, courtesy of second place on the grid for Enzo Fittipaldi (Brazil) and sixth for Jake Hughes (Great Britain). Jake started strongly and fought his way into fourth place in turn one. Shortly after that, he produced an overtaking manoeuvre on the long straight to take third place. He then dropped back to fourth place on lap five, when he was passed on the outside. However, this was to be the last time that Jake was overtaken on Sunday. From that point on, he showed impressive pace to apply pressure to those ahead of him. Jake initially benefitted from a collision involving the two race leaders, and then spotted his chance on lap ten whilst running second. He took the lead with a perfectly timed manoeuvre, before a virtually safety car phase brought a temporary halt to the racing. When the race resumed on lap 13, Jake pulled clear at the front of the field. He soon opened up a comfortable advantage over the chasing pack - at times, his lead stood at over two seconds. Jake was simply not going to be denied, and eventually took his second win of the season with a lead of 1.8 seconds.   

 

Starting from second place on the grid, Enzo overtook the pole-sitter, but was unable to prevent Lirim Zendeli (Trident) from slipping through at the same time. As such, Enzo initially settled into second place, but immediately set about applying pressure to the leader. He took the lead with an outstanding manoeuvre on lap five, passing the leader on the outside on the way into the chicane. Enzo was then embroiled in an exciting battle with Zendeli, which ran for several laps. His rival regained the lead with the help of DRS, but Enzo was able to counter and pass him again on lap seven. Then came an ill-fated attack from his rival, who hit the left rear of Enzo's car. The Brazilian suffered a puncture and had to return to the pits. This put an end to any hopes of a podium. Despite this, Enzo continued to demonstrate his impressive pace for the rest of the race and set some of the fastest laps. In the end, he crossed the finish line in 20th place. 

 

Jack Doohan (Australia) made a good start from 17th place on the grid on Sunday and gained several positions. Jack then lost his front wing, when he made contact whilst attempting to overtake another rival on lap two. He had to pit and rejoined the race one lap behind the rest of the field. After that, there was not a lot more he could do. On multiple occasions, in accordance with the rules, he had to let drivers behind him lap him. Jack ended the race in 22nd place. 

 

Jake Hughes started Saturday's race from third place, but lost a position in the first turn when he was passed by another car. However, Jake regained third place on lap three. He then set off in pursuit of the front two, clocking the fastest lap of the race in the process, and took second place on lap six courtesy of a skilful manoeuvre in the Ascari Chicane. Jake continued to put the leader under pressure and show great pace. Just as the race looked set for a two-man battle for victory, a safety car phase on lap twelve shook things up again. The chasing pack closed in on Jake, who lost pace after the restart on lap 14 and promptly lost second place. With two laps to go, Jake still held the third spot on the podium, but two rivals had closed to within touching distance. Jake did all he could to defend third place, but had no hope of holding off the competition with DRS on the long straight on lap 21. Jake ultimately fell back to fifth place on the final lap.

 

Enzo caught the eye with an impressive fightback on Saturday. Having qualified down in 17th place, he initially had a seemingly disastrous start: an issue with the clutch saw him fail to get off the mark when the lights turned to green, and the entire field pulled past him. He switched to 'all or nothing' mode and set off in pursuit. By lap five, he had already climbed into 22nd place. The son of two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi continued to work his way through the field, courtesy of strong pace and an impressive sense of timing for overtaking manoeuvres. He moved into 18th place on lap eight, and was running 16th by the time the safety car made its appearance. Three laps from the finish, Enzo took twelfth place and moved to within striking distance of a points finish. The 19-year-old did indeed overtake another two cars on the final lap and, after a time penalty for one of his rivals, ended the race in ninth place, having climbed 21 positions in 22 laps. 

 

Jack drove consistently for much of Saturday's race, and soon climbed from 18th on the grid into 16th place. On lap ten, he was involved in a battle with team-mate Enzo, who passed Jack. The son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan remained within touching distance and attempted to counter after a safety car phase. In doing so, he reacted a little too quickly and, in the opinion of race control, overtook Enzo before crossing the start/finish line. Jack went on to finish twelfth, but was relegated five positions and classified in 17th place.

 

The FIA Formula 3 Championship continues on 12th and 13th September with two races in Mugello.