The fourth round of the FIA ??European F3 Championship will go down as one of the most turbulent in the history of the discipline. A wind of madness blew through the European pack at Monza, leading the sporting authorities to interrupt the final race to prevent further accidents. A first! Dorian Boccolacci had some positive points to consider after a contrasting weekend.
“I was finally able to fight and overcome many drivers from the slipstream,” said the Lotus F1 Junior Team driver. “In race 1, and more in race 2 I managed to win back places like never before in F3, after a disappointing qualifying. The results don’t show it, but I still managed to rise from 33rd to 9th place in race 2!“
The specially seconded engine from VW Motorsport played a significant role in the Italian meeting, even though Dorian’s engine was replaced after qualifying. Despite his 23rd time in Q1, the Signature driver had to start from the back of the grid every time. In the first race, he already moved up more than 10 places, and then really went on the offensive in race 2.
“The safety car intervened several times, but I took advantage of the re-starts to regain places. Enjoying the tow and with heavy braking, I could do a lot of overtaking. I took risks, for sure, but all went well until a slight contact with another car when others in front held back a little early. We were penalised for this, when there was no real fault. I understand that the race director was busy with all of the incidents, but there were many more dangerous manoeuvres that were not sanctioned.”
Dorian was still satisfied with his performance in that race where he posted the sixth fastest time, finished 2nd of the rookies and 2nd with a VW engine. Deprived of race 3, his determination however has not weakened. “It’s hard to get a result starting from the back of the grid. We must push hard to move up and I’m happy to have been able to start doing it with good speed in the race. We need to have everything in place from free practice onwards to prepare for qualifying and be in a better position in the race. This is what we strive to do at the team.“
Info Kartcom / © Photo FFK – Joan Codina