AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL WRAP HUNGARORING AND SPA

GP3 – Hungaroring 

JOEY MAWSON looked set to score points after qualifying in 9th for the first GP3 race at the Hungaroring on Saturday. He moved into 7th and was challenging Jake Hughes for 6th place when the pair made contact at turn one.  Mawson stated on his social media page that he had looked for a move on Hughes for a few laps as he appeared to struggle for grip. A freight train had developed behind Hughes with all remaining drivers in the race running almost line astern. Joey had to make a move as his own position came under threat through Hughes’ defensive driving. He made a move around the outside of the ART car on the entry to turn 1 and was confident that he had completed the pass, only to have contact on the run towards turn two. The resulting damage put Mawson out of the race, while Hughes managed to finish in 16th place.

The dnf placed Mawson at the rear of the field for Sunday’s second race. A fifth or sixth place result would have seen Joey start the Sunday race on the front third of the grid with a strong chance for a second podium for the year.

Renault Europcup.

There were mixed results for the Australian contingent at the final round of the championship at Spa before the summer break commenced. Oscar Piastri (lead photo above) and Thomas Maxwell scored their best results in the championship to date in the first and second races respectiely, while it was a weekend to forget for Monaco winner, Alex Peroni with a pair of dnfs across the weekend.

Oscar Piastri gained his first podium in Renault Eurocup after challenging Christian Lundgaard for the lead throughout much of the first race only to drop back to 3rd in the closing stages. Thomas Maxwell finished comfortably inside the top 10 as Alex Peroni lasted barely a lap after contact with Victor Martins caused the Australian to retire with damage to his MP Motorsport car.

Thomas Maxwell took the charge up in race 2 and ran inside the top 5 throughout the shortened event. The race start had been delayed after a frightening accident in the Lambroghini Trofeo race saw a driver and four marshals injured, thought thankfully all are reported as well. The first laps of the final race was then run under the safety car after Arden teammates Sami Taufik and Nikita Volegov came into contact. Volegov’s car flipped into the air before coming to rest on its wheels in what was just Volegov’s second meeting in the category.

Maxwell mixed it with Ye and Colombo for a podium finish, only to lose contact with Ye and he battled to maintain 4th place. He finally managed to shake off the challenge, but had fallen 3 seconds behind Ye in the process. Oscar Piastri finished in 9th and Alex Peroni recorded a late race dnf as he looked to follow Charles Milesi towards the top 12. Peroni had closed on teammate Jarno Opmeer and looked for a way past. The pair made contact with Opmeer seen on the broadcast limping into retirment with the front left suspension askew, while Peroni’s name dropped down the leader board.

The results sees the Australian contingent hold the final three places in the top 10 of the championship, with Peroni 8th on 65 points, Piastri 9th on 53 points and Maxwell 10th with 46 points.

Photos: supplied via Facebook | Lead Photo: Oscar Piastri – Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI

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