PREMA Racing scores fifth win of 2020
Mick Schumacher scored his second win of the year at Sochi for PREMA Racing, extending his lead at the top of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship. After gaining three positions in the opening lap, and nursing his tyres to perfection in the middle stages of the race, following to an early switch from supersofts to softs, the 21-year-old German made a stellar pass for the lead on lap 19. He then made it impossible for any of his contenders to get close to his DRS range.
Robert Shwartzman had a more complicated day at his home event, and a communication mistake within the team cost him a chance to score valuable points. Starting from the seventh place, Shwartzman was pushed slightly off at the start and found himself bottled in the pack. Unfortunately, a last-second decision led Schumacher to pit in the same lap as him which heavily compromised his strategy and race outcome.
With today’s win, PREMA Racing increased its lead at the top of the FIA Formula 2 Team Championship.
#20 MICK SCHUMACHER
“The race could not have gone better. My start was good, the pit stop super fast, the balance of the car mega and the tyre management spot on. Many thanks to my team for making my second victory of the season possible! We are simply very consistent at the moment, which makes me incredibly happy. It’s a lot of fun and I’m already really keen on getting back in that car tomorrow.”
Qualifying: P3
Race 1: P1
Fastest Lap: 1:48.883
Fastest Lap: 1:52.304
#21 ROBERT SHWARTZMAN
“The start was good but I didn’t manage to get into the right slipstream right away and lost a bit of smoothness. In turn 2 I was pushed wide so I found myself down to P9 and at that point it was difficult to try and do something because the pace was too similar from one car to the other. Then there was the slow pit-stop which eventually forced me in a pack where everybody was slower and on cold tyres. I tried to fight as hard as I could to get back, but that took a toll on the tyres and I ended up losing places and taking P11.”
Qualifying: P7
Race 1: P11
Fastest Lap: 1:49.284
Fastest Lap: 1:52.779
Source | Photo: PREMA Racing