Formula Renault 3.5
After taking the Formula Renault 3.5 Series championship lead on the streets of Monaco, Sam Bird (ISR) picked up from where he left off by recording the fastest lap in collective testing. Bird’s effort was more than three seconds quicker than the fastest ever Formula Renault 3.5 lap time at Spa. Richie Stanaway (Lotus), who finished first in the morning session and second in the afternoon, was also on the pace. The New Zealander will no doubt draw confidence from his display after a difficult weekend in Monaco.
Barely a week after Monaco, the 26 drivers in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series were in action again at Spa-Francorchamps. Two collective testing sessions, each 75 minutes long, were scheduled for Friday. And, as the drivers had never driven the new Formula Renault 3.5 on the circuit before, they all took the opportunity to get a number of laps under their belts over the course of the two sessions.
With the track still damp in parts, Kevin Korjus (Tech 1 Racing) was the first driver to top the timesheets. The day started badly for Lucas Foresti (Dams), however, after his car came to a stop at La Source hairpin and forced the red flag to come out.
The main players in the first session were Arthur Pic (Dams), Nico Müller (International Draco Racing), Kevin Magnussen and Sam Bird (ISR). Bird, who represents Mercedes AMG F1 Team, occupied first place for most of the session thanks to a flying lap of 1:59.877. As is often the case, the situation changed in the final ten minutes of the session, with a number of sets of fresh tyres coming out. It was Richie Stanaway who took control of the session, before the rain returned once again. The iRace Professional driver held on to finish the session on top with a lap of 1:59.441, ahead of Alexander Rossi (Arden Caterham), Sam Bird, Nico Müller and Kevin Magnussen.
The second session was punctuated by several red flags, after Vittorio Ghirelli (Comtec Racing), Giovanni Venturini (BVM Target) and Alexander Rossi (Arden Caterham) each went off the track. Arthur Pic led at the start of the session, but Sam Bird then set about improving on the fastest time in spectacular fashion. Bird was the first of the drivers to better Richie Stanaway’s effort from the morning session, before eventually clocking the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:58.838. In the final seconds of the session, Richie Stanaway managed to remove Kevin Magnussen from second place. With 17 cars in the same second, qualifying promises to be wide-open.
What they said:
Sam Bird: “Winning in Monaco was something I’d wanted to do. I did it and I hope I’ll do it again, but now I have to forget about that and focus completely on the rest of the season. Driving this weekend is the perfect way to do that. Monaco is a rather slow, narrow circuit, where you’re often in second gear. Spa is a different world altogether, with fast bends and long straights. We’ll need a different car, particularly in terms of aerodynamic set-up.”
Richie Stanaway: “It’s better to start the weekend like this rather than against the barrier, like at Monaco! It’s a circuit that I like a lot, and it’s a completely different feeling to know from the outset where the turns are. We started working with little aerodynamic load. We then added a bit and the car became very quick. I really want some big results here.”
Kevin Magnussen: “Like everyone else, we did a lot of work on our set-ups between sessions and, unsurprisingly, we improved our times. You really can’t make the slightest mistake with such small gaps. Personally, I made a small mistake during my best lap and it no doubt cost me first place. To get pole position you have to get a perfect lap, which is far from simple here.”
Official Renault Sport Press Release.