Juan Manuel Correa returns full-time to Formula 2 for the 2023 Championship. After a chaotic feature race, the 23-year-old driver managed to gain six places and finish in tenth, adding one point to Van Amersfoort Racing’s tally. His team-mate Richard Verschoor placed fifth.
Correa started on the hard tyre, much like many of his competitors, but issues off the line with his clutch caused him to quickly lose his position. An incident on Lap 1 , which caused many front-runners to retire, brought out a safety car bringing the field together once again.
The VAR car seemingly struggled on the hard tyre, causing a significant drop in pace which was also highlighted in the Sprint Race the previous day. VAR responded to this, pitting Correa early on Lap 13 and changing him onto soft tyres. After the early pit stop caused him time, Correa found pace on the new set of tyres. Théo Pourchaire and Ralph Boschung in first and second built a large gap ahead of the rest of the cars, whilst the mid-field were separated by smaller intervals, leading to a Feature Race full of action.
“We were coming like rockets at the end of the race, making up positions”
Correa said.
The change in pace meant he could challenge the drivers ahead and take advantage of other competitors competing in their mandatory pit stops. Correa made up the final places on Lap 32, the final lap. As Bearman struggled with tyres, causing costly mistakes, Correa made his way past and into tenth across the line.
“Decent points for the team, we know what to work on and time to keep working” Juan added. The two VAR cars brought 12 points to the team’s tally for Round One, putting them fifth in the standings and giving Van Amersfoort Racing a good start and an opportunity to learn and develop throughout the season.
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited
