Lando Norris closed the gap at the top of the MSA Formula Championship to just four points after another well-deserved win at Knockhill.
The 15-year-old Carlin racer topped the podium for the fifth time this season to get the weekend off to the best possible start.
But after leading the Championship for a day, he was disappointed to later lose the early momentum he had built up.
The ADD Motorsports-supported driver said: “We were quite a way off the leaders after practice, but the team worked really hard to help me close the gap.
“So to qualify with the first and second fastest times after that start on Friday, was a brilliant effort and set me up nicely for the win. It was just a shame a few mistakes in the other two races cost us. But we are in a great position now, just four points off the leader and with a bigger gap to third place - so I’m happy with how the weekend went overall.”
Although Lando was strong in the first two sectors in practice, he was losing out on the last sector and knew he needed to improve.
After working hard with the team behind the scenes, he changed his line and improved to such an extent that he posted the fastest lap time in qualifying to get pole for the first race - and his second best time was good enough for second place in the final race.
He got off a good start in the wet in the first race, but on turn six broke a little too late and went through the gravel leaving him in ninth and a long way behind. He overtook two drivers across the next two laps and moved to fifth when the leaders collided with one another around the tenth lap.
By the last lap, Lando’s lightning pace and consistently fast lap times had seen him get back up to third. On the final corner the three leaders were neck and neck - with second and third place managed to just edge in front.
Although Lando finished second at the flag, leader Herta lost five penalty points for exceeding track limits - leaving him the winner after a brilliant comeback.
On the reverse grid, Lando started eighth and was soon seventh. But after nudging the driver in front, another driver behind went into his rear tyre and left the Somerset racer spinning into the gravel for a DNF. Starting in second place in the final race, he lost ground when he pushed too hard on a corner and dropped to third. But on lap four, the driver in second slowed down at a corner, tagging his front wheel and leaving his steering and front wing bent.
Lando was unable to take the corners properly after this and was well down on the lap times and the form he had shown earlier in the weekend. He crossed the line in seventh.
He added: “I felt if I hadn’t made the slight mistake in the second race, I wouldn’t have got hit and it would have been a lot different. But there wasn’t a lot I could do in the last race really. I know I should have been right up there in the last race and could have won it.
“Little mistakes make all the difference at this stage, so although I’m in a really good position now with three races left, I hope I can cut them out and keep on pushing all the way.”
