Mixed fortunes for Max at his F3 racing début
Published on 19 April 2014 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen experienced an eventful day at the office during the first round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Silverstone. The youngster started his first ever Formula 3 race from P4. Unfortunately, after only a couple of corners, Max collided with Nicholas Latifi forcing the Dutchman to retire from the race.
However, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver showed great tenacity in the day's second race. Despite loosing two places at the start, dropping from sixth to eighth, Verstappen junior drove a mature race which led to a deserved fifth place.
After an encouraging Friday on which he showed front running pace, Max struggles to get his car off the line at the start of race 1. In the dash to the first corner, he loses two places before clashing with Latifi. “The first corner went well and I opted for the inside line for the second one. However, Latifi cut across to the inside to set himself up for the following straight. I should've anticipated that but I drove into him. So it was my own fault”, explains a disappointed Max.
The collision has further repercussions for the Dutchman's race. “My front wing was only just hanging on and my front suspension was bend. In short, my race was over. Even if I hadn’t collected my front wing and suspension issues we wouldn’t have been able to finish the race as we also discovered an issue with clutch. There was no pressure and it kept on dragging”, reveals the 16-year-old. His race ends in the pits after just one lap.
Meanwhile, Tom Blomqvist claims a sovereign start-to-finish win after starting from pole. A safety car, out on track for two laps after a crash, cannot bother the Brit on his way to victory as he keeps Esteban Ocon and Jordan King at bay.
After lunch 26 drivers line up for the second of the three Silverstone Euro F3 races. Max has an anxious start and once again drops back two places. “I had a lot of wheel spin and I think we need to make some kind of adjustment to the handbrake to have more traction when getting off the line.”
Both Dennis van de Laar and Ed Jones take advantage of Max' poor start but the Dutchman is quick to retaliate. “It's very important you clear your competitors quickly otherwise you'll get stuck behind them. Thus I was happy when I overtook Van de Laar in the first lap as we turned into Maggotts and Becketts.” A lap later Max takes back sixth place with a swift slipstream move on Jones.
At the front of the race, Esteban Ocon successfully defends his pole and claims his first victory ahead of team mates Latifi and Antonio Fuoco. Meanwhile, Max is entangled in a battle for fifth with Jordan King. Pace wise there is not a lot between the two and after a couple of failed overtaking attempts, Max awaits another chance. “I couldn’t overtake him so I opted to wait for a mistake. With one and a half laps to go he made one and I pounced on the opportunity”.
Max thus collects his first points in the championship with a solid fifth place. Asked if he was pleased with his car's speed, the Dutchman is hesitant: “It's difficult to judge because I was driving behind another car for most of the race which means you drive pretty much at their pace. However, when I had a clear track in the closing stages, the speed of the car was good. So all in all, I'm pleased with P5, but I really need to improve my starts.”
On top of 10 points, Max clinched a third place in the rookie championship. He is therefore invited to the podium joining fellow rookie's Ocon and Fuoco. A proud moment for father and mentor Jos Verstappen who, together with the Van Amersfoort Racing team, witnesses his son receive his first Formula 3 trophy.
In short, Max Verstappen gained both valuable experience and 10 deserved points for the championship. He has a chance to gain more of both on Sunday morning as the third and final race of the weekend is scheduled at 09.15am. Verstappen junior will start the race from fifth.
Live timing is available at: http://livetiming.alkamelsystems.com/fiawec/
Live stream (races only) available at: http://www.fiaf3europe.com/livestream.html
Motors TV will provide live TV coverage.
Via Twitter and Facebook we will keep you updated throughout the weekend followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship – Round 1, Silverstone – Day 2, Saturday April 19:
Results race 1
Results race 2
