DAMS fuelled by a desire for revenge
The game of roulette is intimately linked to Monaco whether in the casinos or on the track. However, the little white ball didn't roll in DAMS's favour, as the team came away from the Principality after a scoreless weekend even though the Sarthe-based squad and its drivers were competitive on the Monegasque roller coaster. Just that little bit of luck was missing. Pierre Gasly and Alex Lynn have every right to feel disappointed with the overall result, but they'll come back even stronger in a month's time! The weekend got off to a good start as Gasly was third quickest in free practice. After that minor glitches began to impede the DAMS machine. In Monaco the qualifying session is split up into two groups, but neither the Frenchman nor Lynn was able to find a clear lap to express their potential on a track that was drying out after a shower. The result was that they were well down the grid for Friday's race (Gasly 12th, Lynn 17th). This guaranteed them a very difficult challenge, and to make matters worse Gasly was wrongly sanctioned for jumping the start in the opening heat. The officials admitted their mistake after the race. He was sent to the pit lane according to the new procedure, and the Red Bull Junior driver showed his strength of character by fighting his way back from 26th to 14th place on the tail of his British team-mate lapping as quickly as the leader. The next day, after a good overall race, the two DAMS rookies again pulled back places (10th and 11th), bu t the initial handicap was too great. Despite this result neither DAMS nor Lynn have lost any places in the teams' and drivers' championships. So nothing's been compromised and the whole team is going to tackle the next round thirsting for revenge! François Sicard, DAMS Managing Director: "The figures of this weekend don't reflect the true potential of the team. At Monaco things can go awry in the wink of an eye whether in the right or wrong direction. What I retain is Pierre's and Alex's level of performance, which didn't reap the rewards it deserved. I've got no doubt that in Austria we'll show the same fighting spirit, and that this time, the results will follow." Pierre Gasly: "We were obviously hoping for something better in Monaco. The team did a good job and I was happy with the car's behavior but I was hit by bad luck. I put my head down and fought my way back, but when you start from so far back on the grid in Monaco scoring points is a hopeless task. Our level of performance wasn't the reason and we're going to bounce back in the next round." Alex Lynn: "This weekend has left me with a huge feeling of frustration. The car was good and I felt good too, but the outcome was decided in qualifying in which, for just two seconds, I wasn't able to do an extra lap that would have given me a place much higher up the grid. However, we have plenty of reasons to remain optimistic for the next round as the team's got what it takes. Rendezvous in Austria for revenge!" Monaco summary Pierre Gasly : P14-P10 Alex Lynn : P13-P11 Classification drivers' championship: 1. S. Vandoorne, 114 points ; 2. A. Rossi, 70 ; 3. R. Haryanto, 49... 5. A. Lynn, 25... 12. P. Gasly, 16. Classification teams' championship: 1. ART, 121 points ; 2. Racing Engineering, 84 ; 3. Campos, 68 ; 4. DAMS, 41. Next round: Red Bull Ring (Austria), 20-21 June.
