Oscar Piastri claimed the 2020 FIA Formula 3 title in a tense season finale at Mugello, beating Theo Pourchaire to the crown, as Liam Lawson dominated the race itself.
Renault Formula 1 junior Piastri went into the last round level on points with Logan Sargeant but ahead on count-back, while Pourchaire was nine points behind.
Sargeant started ahead of his rivals but his prospects came to an end on the opening lap after he was involved in a collision with Pourchaire.
Piastri made gains at the start but so too did Pourchaire, with the Sauber junior working his way into contention for the podium positions, putting Piastri’s title at risk.
Pourchaire made his way up to fourth, then took third from ART team-mate Sebastian Fernandez, though needed one more spot to claim the title.
But second-placed David Beckmann remained out of reach while further back Piastri took eighth from team-mate Frederik Vesti, which was enough for the crown.
Pourchaire crossed the line third, while Piastri demoted Fernandez for seventh in a photo finish, ensuring the Prema driver emerged as 2020 champion by just three points over Pourchaire, with the retired Sargeant slipping to third.
Up front Lawson controlled the race for his third win of the year to finish fifth in the standings, just 21 points behind Piastri, while runner-up Beckmann wound up only 24.5 points down on the champion.
Enzo Fittipaldi achieved his best F3 race finish of fourth in front of Richard Verschoor, Jake Hughes, Piastri, Fernandez, Vesti and Alex Smolyar. Vesti also picked up the points for the fastest lap.
