F3: Schumacher surges to first in Monza Free Practice

Just over a week after switching to Carlin Buzz Racing, David Schumacher (above) enjoyed his best FIA Formula 3 session of the season so far, topping Free Practice in Monza. The German driver finished 0.2s ahead of compatriot David Beckmann and the HWA RACELAB of Jack Doohan.

On a bright but mild morning in Monza, it was Italian outfit PREMA who led the pack out onto the circuit, on a weekend where they will more than likely win the Teams’ Championship. They only opted for an installation lap though and ducked back into the pits.

This left Igor Fraga to set the first push lap of the day, putting in a time of 1:40.760, before HWA RACELAB duo Jake Hughes and Doohan fizzed round three tenths quicker for first and second.

There was still plenty of time to be found, and PREMA found it when they eventually headed back out. Championship leader Logan Sargeant dipped under 1m 40s for P1, ahead of teammate Frederik Vesti. Hughes found time too, gaining an extra half a second to return to first.

MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 04: David Beckmann of Germany and Trident (11) drives during practice for the Formula 3 Championship at Autodromo di Monza on September 04, 2020 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

The lap times continued to drop as Trident explored their straight-line speeds. Beckmann made the most of them to jump to first, going under 1m 39s, ahead of title rivals Sargeant and Liam Lawson.

The German followed up his fast lap by diving into the pitlane for a freshen up, but Sargeant opted to remain out for one more lap and used it to steal P1 from the Trident racer by seven hundredths of a second.

They returned to the tarmac with 10 minutes to go, but neither Beckmann nor Sargeant could set quite the same standard. Instead, it was Schumacher in his Carlin Buzz machine who enjoyed the final fastest stint.

Pierre-Louis Chovet spun on track, which brought out a brief yellow flag and spoiled a number of push laps. The Hitech Grand Prix driver got going again, but in the end, no one would improve. This saw Schumacher finish on top of a session for the first time in F3. Beckmann took P2, ahead of Doohan, Sargeant and Olli Caldwell.

Richard Verschoor, Cameron Das and Roman Stanek followed, while Clément Novalak ensured all three Carlin’s were in the top ten for the first time in F3, taking ninth ahead of Lirim Zendeli.

Schumacher will hope to continue his early form in Monza, although PREMA will be looking to collect the four points that come from taking pole to edge them closer to the Teams’ title when qualifying takes place at 2.05pm (local time).

F3 Monza Practice Results

Pos No. Driver Team LAPS TIME GAP INT.
1 27 D. Schumacher Carlin Buzz Racing 19 1:38.096
2 11 D. Beckmann Trident 14 1:38.334 0.238 0.238
3 16 J. Doohan HWA RACELAB 16 1:38.390 0.294 0.056
4 3 L. Sargeant PREMA Racing 16 1:38.517 0.421 0.127
5 12 O. Caldwell Trident 17 1:38.521 0.425 0.004
6 17 R. Verschoor MP Motorsport 14 1:38.522 0.426 0.001
7 28 C. Das Carlin Buzz Racing 19 1:38.586 0.490 0.064
8 23 R. Stanek Charouz Racing System 19 1:38.588 0.492 0.002
9 26 C. Novalak Carlin Buzz Racing 18 1:38.616 0.520 0.028
10 10 L. Zendeli Trident 20 1:38.697 0.601 0.081
11 2 F. Vesti PREMA Racing 16 1:38.753 0.657 0.056
12 22 M. Nannini Jenzer Motorsport 16 1:38.820 0.724 0.067
13 25 M. Belov Charouz Racing System 14 1:38.857 0.761 0.037
14 7 T. Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 17 1:38.862 0.766 0.005
15 6 D. Hauger Hitech Grand Prix 19 1:38.872 0.776 0.010
16 9 S. Fernández ART Grand Prix 17 1:38.919 0.823 0.047
17 15 J. Hughes HWA RACELAB 17 1:38.937 0.841 0.018
18 4 P. Chovet Hitech Grand Prix 22 1:38.943 0.847 0.006
19 5 L. Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 18 1:38.964 0.868 0.021
20 24 I. Fraga Charouz Racing System 17 1:38.987 0.891 0.023
21 1 O. Piastri PREMA Racing 16 1:39.055 0.959 0.068
22 14 E. Fittipaldi HWA RACELAB 17 1:39.059 0.963 0.004
23 8 A. Smolyar ART Grand Prix 17 1:39.172 1.076 0.113
24 29 A. Peroni Campos Racing 15 1:39.189 1.093 0.017
25 21 F. Malvestiti Jenzer Motorsport 18 1:39.411 1.315 0.222
26 31 S. Floersch Campos Racing 18 1:39.416 1.320 0.005
27 30 A. Deledda Campos Racing 18 1:39.475 1.379 0.059
28 18 B. Viscaal MP Motorsport 16 1:39.647 1.551 0.172
29 20 C. Williams Jenzer Motorsport 17 1:39.658 1.562 0.011
30 19 L. Dunner MP Motorsport 17 1:40.174 2.078 0.516
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