Antonio Giovinazzi has become the latest winner of the prestigious Pau Grand Prix after capitalizing on a problem for race leader Jake Dennis to claim his second victory of the FIA F3 European Championship season on Sunday.
Giovinazzi entered the Pau weekend with a 100% podium record in 2015, and continued his good form in the first two races by finishing second and third for the Jagonya Ayam team.
However, it was British youngster Jake Dennis that was the form driver heading into the final race of the weekend after winning the opening two races, and he looked set to complete a hat-trick when he opened up a healthy lead during Sunday’s event.
A problem on his Prema Powerteam car soon put paid to his hopes of victory, though, allowing Giovinazzi to close and eventually take the lead of the race. The Italian driver eventually crossed the line to win the race by 1.9 seconds, whilst Dennis dropped down to 23rd place for the finish.
With victory, Giovinazzi adds his name to a list of winners that reads like a who’s-who of motorsport greats. Lewis Hamilton, Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and Jim Clark are just four of the drivers to have won at Pau in the past, with the grand prix event being run as a F1, F2 and F3 event over the years.
Maximilian Gunther finished the race in second place behind Giovinazzi, whilst Monegasque youngster Charles Leclerc came home third to give himself P2 in the drivers’ standings.
The FIA F3 series has produced a number of notable youngsters in recent years, including Toro Rosso F1 driver Max Verstappen, Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon and Ferrari Driver Academy member Raffaele Marciello.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
