Monégasque driver Arthur Leclerc faced two challenging races after a mistake from DAMS left him with a disappointing P13 qualifying position. The F2 rookie went into the Baku street circuit hopeful to reach a good point-securing position but left disappointed.
“We struggled with the timing in qualifying and both drivers missed out on their final push laps, which made things difficult for the whole weekend” Team Owner Charles Pic said.
Not having the final push lap left both DAMS drivers stuck in the mid-field for both Saturday’s Sprint Race as well as Sunday’s Feature Race. However, Pic believed both drivers ‘had the pace to fight for top positions’.
As drivers struggled in the Sprint Race with similar pace to those around them, a late incident near the end caused many of the front runners to DNF. Trying to avoid this incident, Leclerc ran wide which ultimately led to his car being sent into the outside walls.
DAMS hoped for a strong recovery on Sunday’s Feature Race, splitting both of their drivers’ strategies in an attempt to cover all bases.
Despite a seemingly intelligent move from the French F2 team, Leclerc’s early pit stop was soon covered off by rivals ahead which halted the charge to gain time on cars ahead.
“We lacked some pace but we will learn from it and look better at Imola”
Imola follows Baku on the 19th to the 21st of May; a very different track from the street circuit in Azerbaijan. The 22-year-old is ready to move onto the next round in the championship, a circuit which he is no stranger to where he hopes to climb up from seventh in the Drivers’ Standings.
Image: DAMS
