Schumacher Takes Another Podium for PREMA
Mick Schumacher gave PREMA their second podium finish of the weekend in Barcelona.
The Sprint Race saw the German driver manage his tyres perfectly despite the heat and wear concerns. In the end, he was able to cruise to third place in what was a mostly uneventful race.
Schumacher enjoyed a good getaway from third and attempted a move for first, however, he ended up losing a place instead. He eventually made a move back up to third and, with the help of DRS, eased past and back onto the podium.
Schumacher said: “I’m really happy to have taken my fourth podium of the season. The car was much less tyre consuming than yesterday, so it’s great to see that the changes the team made overnight completely paid off. We had a relatively straightforward and consistent race, as overtaking Ilott for P3 was the only battle I got involved in during the race. Now I can’t wait to race at my favourite track in Spa.”
After the double tyre change that handed him second place yesterday, Robert Shwartzman expected to struggle with degradation, the Russian was eventually forced to pit, finishing the race in 13th.
In the bigger picture, Shwartzman leaves Barcelona having shortened the gap to the championship lead.
Shwartzman said: “Race 2 didn’t end up as we wanted. The start was okay, but I found myself out of position and lost one spot. At that point, I was managing the pace and tyres. In the beginning, the situation was quite similar to the others, but then I started to experience understeer issues due to a worn-out front left. When the tyres were gone completely, we decided to pit. In the end, the pace was not bad, but we were too far away. We needed some points today, but it turned out to be impossible. We need to see and analyse how to make tyre wear better and be back stronger at Spa.”
Formula 2 will be back in two weeks at Spa-Francorchamps for round seven.
Image Credits: (C)Â Formula Motorsport Limited
