PREMA Racing wraps up F2 weekend in Russia
PREMA Racing claimed another podium finish today in Sochi after race 2 of the FIA Formula 2 event at the Russian venue was red-flagged after just seven laps due to a vicious crash that heavily damaged the side barriers.
While fortunately both the drivers involved in the wreck escaped the incident uninjured, the race was stopped for good and half points were awarded.
Mick Schumacher was able to secure another superb result after rocketing to P4 from eighth on the grid following his race 1 win. The German had time to gain one more spot with a swift attack and moved up to another podium and his 12th consecutive points finish.
Robert Shwartzman had an equally good first part of the race. Starting from the 11th spot, the 21-year-old Russian moved up to P10 but that’s all he had time for before the race was called for good.
PREMA Racing and Schumacher exit the 10th round of the series with the lead in both the team and driver championships heading for the season-closing Bahrain doubleheader.
#20 MICK SCHUMACHER
“It was a heavy crash, so I’m glad that Luca and Jack are fine. By the time the red flag came out, I was comfortably in third position after having had a great first lap and gaining four positions at the start. Nevertheless, I would have hoped for a regular race, however, we still can be very happy with the weekend. Unfortunately, we are now facing a nine-week break, but I’m already looking forward to Bahrain and the final showdown in the title fight.”
Qualifying: P3
Race 1: P1
Race 2: P3
Fastest Lap: 1:48.883
Fastest Lap: 1:52.304
Fastest Lap: 1:52.625
#21 ROBERT SHWARTZMAN
“It was a weekend to forget, the third one in a row and being in front of my home crowd, I’m quite disappointed. The start itself was not bad even if I had a bit of wheelspin. Then, in turn 2, I found myself in the wrong place again and lost a bit of ground there. After that, we had just a few laps without many opportunities to get past because we were all in a train. I tried to push harder, but there wasn’t just the right moment to overtake. Then there was the crash, and I’m happy that everyone involved is OK because it was very big, and the race got suspended. I think I need to work a lot, we are struggling in terms of pace and general preparation. For Bahrain, I want to be prepared, do the work that I need to do and put everything together to hopefully be back to the results we had at the beginning of the season.”
Qualifying: P7
Race 1: P11
Race 2: P10
Fastest Lap: 1:49.284
Fastest Lap: 1:52.779
Fastest Lap: 1:52.911
Source | Photo: PREMA Racing