Francesco Pizzi experiences another weekend of disappointment in Zandvoort

Just a week after qualifying third in Spa-Francorchamps, Francesco Pizzi returned to Charouz Racing for the penultimate round of the FIA Formula 3 season for the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Italian would not be as fortunate in qualifying this weekend, as he was forced to abort his first flying lap due to traffic. On his final flying lap, Pizzi was once again met with traffic, but this time he was able to complete his lap, which placed him twenty-first on the grid, the highest position within the Charouz team.

Pizzi showed his true potential in Saturday’s sprint race, making his way through the field to find himself fifteenth early on. However, he struggled to make progress from then on, and was eventually overtaken by PREMA’s Arthur Leclerc, leaving Pizzi sixteenth at the end of race one, his fourth-best finish of the season.

Sunday’s sprint race would prove to be uneventful and unimpressive for Pizzi as he crossed the line in twenty-first, the same position the Charouz man started the race from. Pizzi was later promoted to eighteenth place after penalties were applied to those above him, but it wouldn’t be enough for the seventeen-year-old to score just his second point of the season. 

Pizzi will now look ahead to the final FIA F3 weekend of the season in Monza, where he grabbed pole position and two race wins in Formula in 2020, which will give him a much-needed confidence boost after a torrid few weeks on track.