Max completes 112 laps during first day of Imola test
Published on 07 October 2014 by Stefan Meens
After a seven week interlude of not driving a Formula 3 racer, Max Verstappen left the pits in his Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara F314 for the first of two test days at Imola. The outing is part of a collective FIA Formula 3 European Championship test scheduled prior to the penultimate round of the series held on the famous Italian track upcoming weekend. At the end of the day, both Max and the team were delighted after the goals, learning the track and finding the right balance in the car, were successfully met. The Red Bull Junior ended the morning in first and the afternoon in third lapping the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 112 times.
After an hour and twenty minutes into the morning session, Max sets the fastest lap thus far and tops the leader boards with a 1:37.5. He manages an impressive 153 mp/h top speed, over 3.7 miles faster than his competitors. The Dutchman continues to improve as he is the only driver to break the 1:37 barrier in the morning with a 1:36.925 and having completed 67 laps.
After lunch, the Formula 1 rookie eases into the session as it takes a while before he joins the front runners. Once again he appears to be the only driver to crack the 1:37 mark. However, three minutes before the end of the session Jake Dennis and Lucas Auer squeeze ahead in the time tables. In the end, Max has to settle for third with 45 laps completed in the afternoon. Nevertheless, the days is a success with the team raking up plenty of miles. The other two Van Amersfoort Racing drivers, Gustavo Menezes and Jules Szymkowiak lapped the Italian course a respectable 311 times, gathering valuable data ahead of the race weekend.
“It went really well”, explains Max after the first day. “I had to get used to the track but at the end we showed good pace. However, today wasn’t about being the fastest. We were the only ones in the top ten to not use new tyres so there is definitely more speed in the car.” In between this test and the previous round of the championship, Max tested a Formula Renault 3.5, a 2012-spec Scuderia Toro Rosso and the Italian team's latest thoroughbred racer, the STR9. Nevertheless, the youngster is enjoying his time in an F3. “You do notice the difference, especially on the main straight you're a lot slower. But I still enjoy driving these F3 cars, especially in the corners, they're very fast.”
Looking ahead to the remaining two rounds of the championship, Max, theoretically, has a chance of winning the title in his debut season. However, the gap to third placed Tom Blomqvist is only ten points. The Briton was not on track today due to a light concussion. Championship leader Esteban Ocon showed good form by ending the day in fifth, confirming his strong season thus far. Max: “Winning the title is going to be tough. I'll never give up but I still have two ten-place grid penalties to content with. I will give it my all though, in racing you never know.”
The test did not go to plan for everyone. Galael, King, Latifi and Sette Camara (twice) damaged their cars quite severely but luckily no heavy injuries were sustained. Tomorrow the teams and drivers will hit the track for the second and last day of the collective test. Once again the day is divided in a morning (8am -12pm) and afternoon session (1.30pm - 5pm). Keep an eye on the Verstappen Info Page for more news.
Results FIA F3 European Championship collective test – Day 1, Tuesday 7 October, Imola:
Results morning session
Results afternoon session
