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16/07/17 Racing Engineering are already thinking about the next round in Hungary. |
| Following yesterday’s Feature Race at round six of the 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship, Racing Engineering’s Louis Delétraz was starting from 12th, on the 6th row of the grid, with Gustav Malja on the next row in 14th position for today’s 21-lap Sprint Race. The weather was cloudy and the morning start meant it was cool again with air and track temperatures of 19° and 23°. The two Racing Engineering cars were fitted with the Pirelli P Zero Orange hard compound tyres as were all the other cars.
Gustav gained two positions at the start passing Sette Camara and Louis but he then lost a position as De Vries got ahead and he finished the lap in 13th and by lap five the Racing Engineering driver was running in a large group of cars, 0.8 seconds behind Boschung and 0.9 seconds ahead of Visoiu. Over the next six laps, as the race passed the halfway point, the young Swede had fallen away from Boschung who was now 2.9 seconds ahead and on lap eleven Gustav was passed by Sette Camara to lie in 14th. A accident to Boschung on lap nineteen, resulting in a Safety Car period, promoted Gustav to 13th and as racing resumed he was very quickly up to speed and he gained three places on the final lap which, together with a time penalty for Rowland, saw him cross the finishing line in 9th, just one place away from scoring points. Louis was slow away at the start losing positions to De Vries, Visoiu, Albon and Gustav and he started lap two in 15th, gaining a place from the retirement of King. Louis soon became involved in the same group of cars that his teammate was in but on lap six he lost another place to Sette Camara falling to 16th and he was being pressed hard by Illot who was just 0.4 seconds behind. By lap ten the young Swiss driver was closing on Visoiu and the gap was just 0.4 seconds and the two men began a hard battle with Louis having to be careful not to make a mistake as Illot was still right behind him. The Safety Car period in the final laps saw the positions remain unchanged and Louis crossed the line in 14th. The Silverstone round has been very disappointing for Racing Engineering with no points scored and they will now return to their base in Spain to analyse what happened this weekend and to prepare for the Hungarian round in two weeks’ time. |
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| Team Comments: Sebastien Viger - Technical Director: “Gustav had a good start, but was squeezed into other cars, so he was not in a position to take full opportunity of his good start off the line which was a pity as he would have been right behind Albon. From this moment on he was not having a very exciting race as he just stayed where he was with the pace we had. Nothing really happened for us until the Safety Car period ended and he was able to make up several positions at the restart and was promoted one more position with Rowland being handed a time penalty. Louis, on the other hand, had a really bad start, which already put us on the back foot. He looked much quicker than Visoiu, but stayed blocked behind him with a faulty DRS. This is a shame as it would have been interesting to see him overtake Visoiu and go at his own pace. Overall a not at all good weekend and we have some hard work ahead of us to come back stronger in Hungary.” Louis Delétraz: “I had a very bad start with a lot of wheel spin, so I lost several positions there. Then I was stuck behind Visoiu, I think we had a much better pace than him and the cars ahead, but I was stuck and my DRS was not working, so I could not overtake. It’s very hard to overtake here without DRS as you lose so much downforce. I liked the car today compared to yesterday, so I am looking forward to the next event now and to doing well there.” Gustav Malja: “A very good start, I think, a very good improvement from yesterday. I think I managed this well and didn’t have a lot of wheel spin so I am happy with today’s start as I could make up some positions. I lost the rear during the opening lap, meaning De Vries could overtake me on Hangar straight. After that we didn’t have the pace, which was a bit disappointing. Towards the finish of the race I caught the guys in front of me when they started to struggle. In the end, with the Safety Car, I had a chance to take some places and I went for it at the restart. I was able to overtake two cars on the outside by braking late. Then there was a penalty for Rowland and I think some drivers are still under investigation, so hopefully we can take a point today. It’s all been down to a good start and a good restart behind the Safety Car today. Now we need to analyse things and see what needs to be changed to improve our race pace.” |
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