#27 Dan Ticktum (GBR – Motopark Dallara Volkswagen)
Qualifying 1: 13th – Race 1 Grid: 13th – Race 1 Result: 13th (PEN)
Qualifying 2: 10th – Race 2 Grid: 10th – Race 2 Result: 1st
Qualifying 2nd time: 8th – Race 3 Grid: 7th – Race 3 Result: 5th
FIA F3 European Championship position: 2nd – 153 points – after 15 of 30 races
A great victory, a tough penalty, overnight championship lead and a good net points gain sum up Dan Ticktum’s F3 weekend in Spa. The 19-year-old Briton started on a high by heading free practice but took a knock in qualifying and the Red Bull Junior knew he was in for a hard fought three races.
A plus event
“It was an up and down weekend but the gain in points was more than I expected after qualifying,” explained Ticktum who now lies second, just a single point off the lead. “I had a great car for free practice but the track conditions changed for qualifying and we didn’t keep up with that, we really struggled. I was also a bit unlucky being held up but mainly it was a set-up problem.”
“The car was better in Q2 but the track was drying in sector two and as that happened we were all going quicker, right at the end I got held up and missed what should have been a much better time as it dried, we should probably have been P5.”
Race pace
Ticktum’s drive through from 13th on the grid to fourth in Race 1 was very impressive. Unfortunately he suffered a post race penalty for an early incident. “It happened at turn 1, the guy in front braked way early and I had to dive to the inside to avoid hitting him. That put me up the kerb, the car bottomed out, I lost steering and went straight on into a collision.”
“There was nothing I could do about it, the replay looked worse than it was and a 20 second penalty feels worse than it should have been. I seem to have a bit of a target on my back as far as penalties go. On track I enjoyed the race and getting through to fourth showed the pace we had.”
A classic win in Race 2
It was great form from Ticktum and he carried that into Race 2 where he started from tenth and was unstoppable. “It was a lot of fun, the car was great and it was an intense battle with my team mate Fabio (Scherer). He put me under a lot of pressure and I couldn’t afford any mistakes. There was a lot of pressure in that race both on and off the track and I’m very happy with the way it turned out.”
Typical Spa, the weather changed again on Sunday with Race 3 starting with significant damp sections on the circuit. “We got the pressures wrong and I had no grip at all for the first five laps. Everyone was struggling for grip in places but I had no grip at all early in the race. By the time it improved the lead pack had got away and I had just to work for the points. A shame as I think we should have been on for a podium,” concluded Ticktum.
Source: Red Bull Junior Team – https://win.gs/2LNWjxd