Frédéric Vervisch made a brilliant start to the season. With a victory, one second place, two fastest laps and the lead in the championship, the 20-year-old Belgian finished the first race weekend of the German ATS F3 Cup on a high.
Already on thursday, during collective testing, Frédéric was one of the front runners. He set the fifth fastest time, six tenths of a second behind the quickest. A result he ameliorated during qualifying on Friday. In qualifying, Frédéric set two times the second fastest laptime and therefor started on the front row, next to Carlo Van Dam, for both races. “An unexpected success. We were missing out on speed in comparison to our rivals, but in qualifying we were fast nevertheless. In the second timed session, I was hindered by slower drivers so I couldn’t take benefit of my new tires.”
Frédéric won the start of the first race, passing Carlo Van Dam immediately. “I was totally surprised by our fantastic start”, Frédéric said. “The car was good so I was able to make a difference.” After a few laps the Belgian had a lead of over five seconds. At the finish, he increased the gap to 7,5 seconds. Frédéric wasn’t on the podium for more than two years. “It’s a fantastic feeling when they play your national anthem”, Frédéric confirmed.
The start of the second race wasn’t as good, but Frédéric succeeded in keeping his second place during the whole race. He also set the fastest lap and finished only a second behind the winner. “I’m surprised by our good form. We know that we have enough potential to be in front. The team did a great job this weekend an I hope we can continue like this throughout the season.”
In two weeks, Frédéric will be back at the wheel of his car during the second race of the ATS F3 Cup at Oschersleben.
Result Race 1:1. Frédéric, 16 laps in 25:59.3082. Carlo van Dam, +7.5783. Recardo Bruins Choi, +8.806
Result Race 2:1. Carlo van Dam, 16 laps in 26:17.9632. Frédéric, +1.0343. Nico Verdonck, +4.206
Championship standings1. Frédéric, 20 points2. Carlo Van Dam, 20 points3. Recardo Bruins Choi, 11 points
