Jordan King fought right the way to the chequered flag to clinch the runner-up spoils in the finale to the fiercely-contested 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship campaign at Hockenheim, in what he described as one of his finest and most enjoyable races of the season.
King has been a consistent front-runner all year in European F3, but a variety of issues dented his hopes of challenging for the coveted crown. He nonetheless headed for Hockenheim with happy memories and a strong track record around the popular German Grand Prix venue, and in qualifying, duly placed his Carlin-prepared, Volkswagen-powered Dallara single-seater fifth, fourth and fifth on the starting grid for the three races amongst the 25 protagonists – the indisputable crème de la crème of young racing talent at F3 level.
In the first of them, an abortive overtaking attempt on the opening lap cost the gifted Warwickshire ace ground, but he turned up the wick on new champion Esteban Ocon in the duel over sixth and made the position his own after running side-by-side through three consecutive corners in the Stadium section on lap nine. He subsequently zeroed in on Felix Rosenqvist in fifth, reducing the gap from 2.5 seconds to barely seven tenths before an errant backmarker scuppered his charge.
In the second outing, following early wheel-to-wheel dices with both Ocon and soon-to-be Formula 1 graduate Max Verstappen, King was forced to pit to rectify some front wing damage. Consequently slipping from inside the top six to outside the top 20, the highly-rated Stoneleigh-based hotshot battled his way stirringly back up through the order and was just two spots shy of the points-paying top ten when the red flags flew for an accident one lap from the end.
An impressively feisty and assertive opening lap in the third and final encounter saw King gain two places in successive manoeuvres and even make a bid to snatch second. From there, he pulled increasingly clear of the pursuing pack behind and set his sights on relieving countryman Tom Blomqvist of the runner-up laurels.
Shadowing his Carlin stablemate throughout but suffering from running in the dirty air, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) SuperStar, MSA Team UK protégé and former McLaren Autosport Award finalist spied his chance on the penultimate lap and seized it to steal away second position. His seventh rostrum result of the campaign was thoroughly well-deserved for an excellent performance, and secured King P7 in the overall classification. As he prepares to take the next step up the motorsport ladder, it was a superb springboard towards 2015.
“I felt confident going into the weekend that we would be in the mix up at the sharp end,” reflected the 20-year-old Hugo Boss brand ambassador and 2013 British F3 Champion. “Hockenheim is an interesting circuit to drive – fast and open through the first half of the lap, and tight-and-twisty in the Stadium section.
“It’s never easy to overtake in F3 because the downforce creates a lot of turbulent air, but the nature of the Hockenheim layout tends to promote good racing. Tyre wear is pretty high, too, which adds another element into the equation and can lead to mistakes creeping in. That prioritises careful race management, and means it is essential to get a good lap time in quickly during qualifying.
“I attacked my team-mate around the outside through the Stadium section on the opening lap of race one; unfortunately it didn’t quite come off and I actually ended up conceding a couple of places, but you have to try these things sometimes. I was then a bit faster than Ocon, and it was great to get the better of him. It was a late dive and whilst he got the cutback on the exit, I had the line for the following corner and was able to complete the move, which was very satisfying.
“It was fun coming through the field in race two as well; I certainly didn’t hang about and was able to pull off a lot of moves. If there had been just a few more laps, I’m fairly sure I could have climbed back into the top ten.
“I was determined to go out in style in race three, and I had a great opening lap. After that, I focussed on putting Tom under as much pressure as possible to try to force a mistake – which eventually came. He got a slow exit off Turn One and I knew that was my opportunity. On the run down towards the hairpin, I was as close as I had ever been, so I went for the inside and he gave me just enough room to squeeze past...
“Second position was a fantastic way to finish the season – particularly as we had to fight so hard and really earn it against some of the best young drivers in the world. I genuinely do believe European F3 this year has been the strongest single-seater category outside of F1, and although we’ve had a tough season at times and things haven’t always gone our way, to sign off with one of our best races and show that we can be a force to be reckoned with is tremendously rewarding and a real source of encouragement ahead of the next step.”
