DAMS recovered to score points after a difficult Formula 2 weekend at the 70th Anniversary GP. Neither Sean Gelael or Dan Ticktum scored in the Feature Race, but Ticktum recovered to P7 on Sunday.
The team had a pretty strong start to the weekend with a strong practice pace. But the feature race saw the drivers struggle with high tyre degradation.
Ticktum took victory last week at Silverstone, but found it tougher going this time round. He dropped from fourth to 15th in the first race. The Brit pulled it back to seventh in the Sprint Race, claiming two points for the DAMS team.
Dan Ticktum said: “We started the weekend well, it’s clear we’ve made progress with our one-lap pace which we lacked in the previous race.
“It looked like we were going to score another strong result after our victory last time out, but we suffered so much with high tyre wear that we were on the back foot.
“Starting from 15th in the Sprint Race I managed to make up places very quickly, it was another very strong start to get into the top 10 straightaway.
“After that it was just about management and we bagged a couple of points but obviously we expected more from this weekend. Hopefully, we can bring everything together in Barcelona.”
Engine issues forced Gelael to retire on Saturday and the Indonesian couldn’t even start on Sunday. DAMS and Gelael have had a few engine problems this year. Gelael reveals his frustration at the issues that ruined his weekend.
Sean Gelael said: “It looked like everything was coming together this weekend with strong pace early on. I didn’t put in my second qualifying lap so we were a bit further down than we should have been, but it didn’t matter in the end because we had engine issues in both races once again. It’s extremely frustrating but I know that it’s not the team’s fault and they are doing everything they can to find a solution.”
DAMS will want to build on the performance from the Sprint Race when Formula 2 heads to Barcelona next weekend.
Image Credits: (C) Formula Motorsport Limited
