Full house for Jean-Eric Vergne!
Apart from pole position for this race, nothing has escaped Jean-Eric Vergne (Carlin) this weekend. The Frenchman went quickest in both collective testing sessions, was on pole position for race one and won both races. Thanks to his perfect weekend he is now leading the championship. Albert Costa (Epic Racing) and Adam Carroll (P1 Motorsport) took advantage of penalties imposed on Sergio Canamasas (BVM Target) and Robert Wickens (Carlin) to complete the podium.
On Sunday, the battle for pole position went right to the wire. Vergne thought he had done the hard part, but was not expecting a challenge from Canamasas. Having felt good all weekend and boosted by his first podium in race one, the Spaniard surprised everyone by recording his first pole position in Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
Vergne had a great start and led into the first corner from Sergio Canamasas, Adam Carroll, Alexander Rossi (Fortec Motorsport) and Brendon Hartley (Charouz-Gravity). Meanwhile, there was mayhem in the midfield. Sten Pentus (Epic Racing) and André Negrão (International Draco Racing) collided, forcing the race director to bring out the safety car. When the pack was released, Vergne retained his lead.
With nobody managing to make a mark in the lead group, Rossi and Wickens decided to pit early. It worked for the Canadian, who was able to get past the American. The leaders waited longer before making their mandatory pitstop. Vergne pitted on lap nine. He retained his lead after the pitstops, with a one-second gap back to Canamasas. Wickens, who was sixth before changing his tyres, had now moved up to third, ahead of Albert Costa, Adam Carroll and Alexander Rossi.
Canamasas tried to pressure Vergne by recording the fastest lap, but the Frenchman was unwaivered. The two men moved clear of Wickens and Costa. Adam Carroll led the second chase group, with Alexander Rossi and Brendon Hartley just behind.
A few drops of rain fell towards the end of the race but did nothing to halt Vergne’s march to victory. The Frenchman was in full control and completed a double in Hungary. Canamasas and Wickens, who were second and third over the finish line, were each handed a ten-second penalty for failing to give way in the pitlane. Those penalties handed second place to Costa and third to Carroll. Sergio Canamasas was relegated to fourth and Wickens dropped down to seventh. All this further helped the cause of Vergne, who will go on his summer holidays leading the championship by four points from Wickens. Let battle recommence at Silverstone on August 20.
Drivers’ comments: Jean-Eric Vergne: “Everything went well during the race, as it did throughout the weekend. I knew I had to take the lead at the start, and that’s what I did. This weekend could be a turning point in the championship. Taking 50 points is just perfect. The next race is at Silverstone. I love the circuit and it’s where I won the British Formula 3 championship last year. I hope we continue as we left off.”
Albert Costa: “Our weekend went off to a bad start, but we sorted things out well. Epic Racing is a new team, and each day is a new day for us. We will use the break to analyse everything. I’m happy to be back on the podium. Everything is still possible, as the season concludes with three circuits I love.”
Adam Carroll: “I’ve only done three races in two years, so I really feel like a rookie. It’s good to see that I can still fight with the future stars of Formula One. I won here in GP2 in 2007. It was Jean-Eric’s and Albert’s single-seater debut, which makes me feel a little old!”
