Qualifying
Once again qualifying played a big role in the final result of the weekend. Despite a generally encouraging first run, our three drivers did not exploit their potential or that of their respective cars at the end of the session. Greg took 10th place, Niko 19th and Kaylen 21st.
Sprint Race
- In the fight for big points, Greg had a race with twists and turns with many duels, making gains but also losing places. His final position of ninth was transformed into 23rd after a 10 second penalty for causing a collision.
- Niko lost the benefit of a good start in the first corner battle. After this he found himself fighting with Kaylen in the second part of the race. This saw the two drivers finishing in 13th and 14th places respectively.
Feature Race
- Greg was in the lower top 10 places when a puncture caused by an opponent caused him to retire 6 laps from the finish.
- Kaylen and Niko had a tough race back in the pack around 20th place, with lots of battles and only a few opportunities to overtake. They didn’t make any mistakes and saw the finish in 17th and 19th places.
Nikola Tsolov:
“My expectations were high coming back to Barcelona, the first circuit on the calendar that I know and where I had three wins last year. I was hoping to start getting into the points but the whole weekend was tricky. Free practice was difficult because of traffic. We didn’t know what to expect in qualifying and it is the most important session in Formula 3 because it makes your life a lot easier in the race and the closer you are in the top 10 the better. Starting from the back allows you to learn a lot, to fight, overtake and manage the tires, but our aim is to be a lot further up. The positive thing is that we improved the car a lot between the two races and we know what to change for the future. Sunday was not ideal because I was sick and really tired. The little break before the next four race weekends is good because we will analyze everything to improve our race performances.”
Sébastien Philippe:
“It was a weekend that didn’t live up to the team’s expectations in terms of raw results, but there are a number of positives to take away from it and things to improve to be ready to tackle the four back-to-back race weekends in July. Even though we know Barcelona well and we won here last year, the conditions were different: it was much cooler and the last turn modifications changed things when it came to tire management. What’s more, you can’t follow a car very closely. As our three drivers were fighting in the middle of the pack, it made things even more difficult for them to manage their tires and overtake. Greg was unsuccessful from start to finish and his run of point finishes has now come to an end, but he has what it takes to bounce back. Niko keeps making progress, although he still has a way to go, and he didn’t make any mistakes during the race. With Kaylen, we need to find the keys for him to be better placed on the grid, which will help him to give his best in the race.”
Copyright: Dutch Photo Agency
