“I was in a position that allowed me to control the race.” – Nico Müller
Nico Müller (International Draco Racing) started on pole and produced the perfect drive on the streets of Monaco, winning the race and taking his maiden Formula Renault 3.5 Series victory.
The Swiss finished ahead of Marco Sørensen (Lotus), who overtook Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin) at turn one. Kevin Magnussen (DAMS) finished fourth to retain the championship lead, with a 14-point advantage over Stoffel Vandoorne (Fortec Motorsports).
There were several famous faces present for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series race, the curtain-raiser for Monaco’s 71st Formula One Grand Prix. In glorious sunshine, Jacky Ickx, Jean Alesi, Tom Kristensen, Jean Ragnotti and Paul Belmondo could all be seen on the grid, with the latter arriving in the Megane RS Red Bull Racing RB8.
Nico Müller started on pole and made a perfect getaway, while alongside him, Jazeman Jaafar had too much wheelspin and allowed Marco Sorensen to pass into second at Sainte-Dévote. Marlon Stockinger’s race finished at turn one, with Sørensen’s Lotus team-mate spinning after contact and becoming the first driver to retire.
Nico Müller led at the end of lap one, ahead of Marco Sørensen, Jazeman Jaafar, Carlos Sainz Jr. (Zeta Corse), Kevin Magnussen, Antonio Félix da Costa (Arden Caterham), Will Stevens (P1 by Strakka Racing), Mikhail Aleshin (Tech 1 Racing), Stoffel Vandoorne and Arthur Pic (AV Formula). The first ten places, incidentally, were occupied by drivers from ten different teams.
With the race under control, Nico Müller and Marco Sorensen began to pull away from the rest of the field. Behind them was an extremely compact group, composed of Jaafar, Sainz, Magnussen and Da Costa. Further back, Christopher Zanella (ISR) narrowly avoided going off the track after clipping the barrier at the exit of the tunnel section. The Swiss then returned to the pits to change a rear wheel.
After ten laps, the front four were well separated from the chasing pack. Kevin Magnussen, however, remained under constant pressure from Antonio Félix da Costa.
The race order did not change again until lap 14, when Carlos Sainz Jr misjudged his braking at La Rascasse and allowed Kevin Magnussen and Antonio Félix da Costa to pass. Christopher Zanella then retired at the same spot after crashing out. But thanks to the efficiency of the Automobile Club de Monaco’s race marshals, his car was removed without the need to bring out the safety car.
With two laps to go, Antonio Félix da Costa began to step up his assault on Kevin Magnussen’s position. But the Dane, determined to score as many points as possible and maintain his championship lead, kept the door shut and held on to take the chequered flag in fourth.
Nico Müller: “I was in a position that allowed me to control the race. The car was very good and I would just like to thank the team for their hard work. I tried to gauge Marco’s level of performance adapt my own pace accordingly. Winning in Monaco is obviously special, but it’s only one race. We’ll have to do it all over again at Spa.”
Marco Sørensen: “I made a really good start and Jazeman tried to block me, but I was already there and he couldn’t do anything about it. I then had to keep the car on the track and maintain pressure on the leader, but Nico isn’t the kind of driver to make stupid mistakes.”
Jazeman Jaafar: “My start was far from perfect – unlike Marco’s, which was superb. I tried to hold him off but I slipped down into third. I then pushed hard to avoid the threat of Kevin Magnussen. This first podium finish is a good result for me.”
source: worldseriesbyrenault.fr
Kevin Magnussen and DAMS do the job in Monaco
Finally, DAMS enjoyed a pretty good weekend on the Monaco roller-coaster. Although the French squad didn’t clinch victory it consolidated its lead in both the drivers’ and teams’ championships. Kevin Magnussen finished in a solid fourth place and he is now 14 points in front of Stoffel Vandoorne in the drivers’ ratings. Norman Nato was unlucky enough to suffer a technical problem on his car, but his overall level of performance gives him high hopes for the future.
Due to the specific Monaco layout the cars were split up into two groups for qualifying. Overall, things went well for the DAMS drivers with Magnussen clinching fourth place and Nato seventh. Given that it is virtually impossible to overtake in the Principality these positions should have more or less corresponded to those at the finish. It was the case for Magnussen. The Dane lost a place at the start which he clawed back later on in the race after Carlos Sainz Jr made a mistake. Above all, towards the end of the race he fought off the attacks of Antonio Felix da Costa, one of his main rivals for the title, who put him under a lot of pressure, and bagged the 12 points that went with fourth. Nato’s race was ruined at the start when his engine overheated and triggered the safeguard mode. He finally retired with two-thirds of the race gone after a contact. Nonetheless, he made a strong impression on his maiden outing in Monaco with his performance and times in both free practice and qualifying.
François Sicard, Managing Director: “Congratulations to the team who did a great job. We’ve increased our lead in both championships after one of the most difficult rounds on the calendar: it bodes well for the future. Kevin’s race reflected his image: he was quick, consistent and very solid under pressure. I’d also like to underline Norman’s good Monaco debut. In free practice, qualifying and in the race he set times that say a lot about his ultimate potential. We’re heading for Spa next weekend in a confident frame of mind.”
Kevin Magnussen: “A big thanks to the team who again gave me a great car. I wasn’t able to fight for victory but the important thing was to stay in front of my rivals in the championship. And that’s what I managed to do. There’s no time to rest on our laurels and we have to continue in the same vein next weekend and aim for victory again.”
Norman Nato: “On my first Monaco outing I had a pretty hectic weekend! Once again I have mitigated feelings. On the one hand I have the speed as I showed in practice and qualifying even if I was hoping to do better. But on the other, I’m very frustrated with the problem at the start. This being said it’s motor racing and things can go wrong on the mechanical side from time to time. Now, I can’t wait to tackle another legendary track, Spa-Francorchamps.”
Next round: Spa-Francorchamps, 1-2 June 2013
source: dams.fr
Pic secures top-10 finish in Monaco
Arthur Pic emerged from a challenging weekend on the world-famous streets of Monte Carlo with a top-10 finish in Sunday’s Formula Renault 3.5 race.
Running as part of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix support bill, the event consisted of a single race on Sunday morning. The streets of the Principality represented a particular challenge for Pic’s new AV Formula squad, with just 45 minutes of free practice available on Thursday to find the optimum setup.
The Spanish outfit coped admirably however, providing Pic with a car capable of competing for a top-10 finish throughout the weekend.
Due to the tight nature of the circuit, qualifying was split into two groups. Pic ran in the first session, securing the sixth best lap time and with it 12th on the grid. With overtaking extremely difficult on the Monte Carlo streets Pic knew that a good start would be key to securing a points-paying finish.
Here the 21-year-old played his part perfectly, producing a textbook getaway to climb to 10th spot on the opening tour.
From there Pic comfortably held off the perusing Oliver Webb but was unable to make an attempt on ninth-placed Stoffel Vandoorne, despite applying pressure to the Belgian. With no mandatory pit-stop the chance of jumping his competitors through strategy was also ruled out, leaving the AV Formula driver to come home in P10.
The result secured Pic a single championship point, boosting his total to 36 and leaving him sixth in the ultra-competitive single-seater series. The Frenchman and his team will have little time to relax ahead of their next Formula Renault 3.5 encounter, which takes place this weekend (June 1/2) at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Arthur Pic: “We didn’t have great pace in qualifying as it was colder than free practice and our setup didn’t suit the conditions. I feel I could have been P3 or P4 in my group, but we weren’t able to challenge the fastest guys. The order seemed to have been shaken up this weekend, with the usual front-runners struggling and some different names at the top.
“The car was a lot better in the race. I got a good start to move into 10th but from there I couldn’t make a pass and remained in the same position to the finish. Obviously it’s frustrating, but from P12 the main objective was to score points and we achieved that.
“Though I’m a little disappointed with the weekend I feel I did a good job and have no regrets. This week I’ll be going to Paris to do some simulator work and then we’re back in action at Spa just a few days later. It’s the complete opposite of Monaco as the circuit is extremely fast, so we’ll look to bring home strong points from both races.”
source: www.arthurpic.com