Front-runner in the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, George Russell (Tech 1 Racing) made the most of his wild-card entry to take his first pole position and maiden victory in the Eurocup. The British driver also gave Tech 1 Racing its first success of the season. 2014 champion in the category, Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP) finished second ahead of Jack Aitken (Fortec Motorsports). In the general classification, Dennis Olsen (Prema Powerteam) and Alexander Albon (KTR) finished behind the member of the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme.
Sunday morning, wild-card George Russell won the pole position and established a new track record in the category with a time of 1:39.691. The Englishman led from Alexander Albon and Nyck de Vries on the grid. Kevin Jörg (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Jack Aitken lined-up behind the leading trio.
When the lights went out, George Russell wasn’t worried. Nyck de Vries, Kevin Jörg and Jack Aitken all got past Alexander Albon, who dropped down to fifth place. Very quickly, the two leaders distanced themselves from the tightly bunched group of chasers.
The safety car was called into service on lap three following an accident involving Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing) and Martin Rump (Fortec Motorsports). At the re-start, George Russell held of Nyck de Vries while Jack Aitken overtook Kevin Jörg for third place.
Increasing the gap as the race went on George Russell didn’t flinch and won ahead of Nyck de Vries and Jack Aitken. Fourth place Kevin Jörg held off Alexander Albon all the way to the chequered flag. Thanks to his result, the member of the Lotus F1 Junior Team picked up the points he needed to finish in the top three in the general classification. Matt Parry (Fortec Motorsports), Dennis Olsen (Prema Powerteam), Jake Hughes (Strakka Racing), Steijn Schothorst (Manor MP Motorsport) and Gustav Malja (Josef Kaufmann Racing) completed the top ten in this final race of the season.
Quotes
George Russell: “We were struggling at the last ALPS meetings, so we decided to change teams for this weekend in the Eurocup. It paid off. The team was fantastic and I am extremely happy with this win in just my second meeting in the most competitive championship in the world. Now, I have the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award selection to win! »
Nyck de Vries: ”It has been a very good weekend that has come to an end and I am happy to finish the season this way. I am a little disappointed due to an error in qualifying, but that’s the way it goes. George did a great job today and he defended very well when the safety car returned to the pits. The most logical next step is now the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and I will be here for the tests on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
Jack Aitken: “I was thrilled to pick up a position at the start before overtaking Kevin Jörg at the restart because it is hard to pass here. We had good pace, but it wasn’t enough to race for the win. All the same, we scored a lot of points, moving from tenth to sixth place in the general classification and it is good to end the season like this.”
Provisional General Classification * : 1. N. de Vries – 254 points, 2. D. Olsen – 124, 3. A. Albon – 117, 4. A. Pizzitola – 108, 5. B. Bonifacio – 88, …*Subject to confirmation of the results following the technical and sporting verifications.
