Liverpool FC suffered a disappointing final round as outgoing Superleague Formula by Sonangol champions at Navarra in Spain yesterday afternoon after separate issues brought to an end Frederic Vervisch’s two races.

Race one was a tail of what might have been when a fine performance went unrewarded thanks to a late problem.Having lined up sixth, the Belgian was already up to third by the time the field reached turn 1. He then kept eventual champion Davide Rigon (RSC Anderlecht) honest for the rest of the opening stint before hunting him down after the pitstops.

An extra push-to-pass at his disposal with only five minutes remaining made second almost look like a formality before his car’s front wing worked lose and dashed his podium chances. Having returned to the pits for repairs, he eventually finished down in 16th.  

That did at least give him third for the fully reverse grid second race, but having again shown searing pace at the start, a gearbox problem while challenging for the lead at the beginning of lap four prompted instant retirement.   

"We had the pace and could have passed Davide at the end of race one because I had the extra boost," he said. "It would have been a great result considering where we started. It was the same story at the start of the second one as well. That was a great chance to win so it’s a real shame, especially to end the season like this. Hopefully I’ll be back again next year."