KING CONTINUES POINT-SCORING STREAK IN BARCELONA
MP Motorsport driver, Jordan King, scored in both the feature and sprint races at the Circuit de Barcelona, making it four points finishes from as many races.
Date: 15 / 05 / 2017
After a strong opening weekend in Bahrain and a third place finish at the circuit last year, King was feeling confident going into the weekend.
The British driver kicked off the second round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship with a very promising practice session, in which he finished fourth on the timing sheets. Pace which the racer was looking to continue in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.
“We were very quick on the first set of tyres, but after a set up change we were unable to improve on the second set. Thankfully, after a tense period on the pit wall watching the other teams try to beat our time, we were set to start the feature race in fourth, a great improvement over qualifying last weekend in Bahrain.”
Unfortunately the 23-year-old didn’t get a great start and dropped down the grid temporarily. A strong first lap on the option tyre saw him gain the places he lost, moving back up to just outside the podium places.
“When the safety car came out after the first round of pit stops, we were looking good in terms of pace and were third on our strategy. However, during the restart I got caught up with a slower car that was out of position and subsequently was run off the track. That meant I went right to the back of the grid in the space of one corner.
“I then had to try to make my way back through the field. Ultimately I suffered from the resulting tyre wear and was only able to hold onto ninth. Although it was a frustrating result after what was looking to be another top five finish, we as a team have to take the positives from it that we were very competitive in terms of pace and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
King’s ninth place finish meant he just missed out on the reverse grid for Sunday’s sprint race.
“I had a much-needed strong first lap which, unlike the feature race, was kicked-off with a great start. Although we did then struggle with pace for the first half of the race, we didn’t suffer as much tyre-wear as other cars.”
This meant the Brit was able to pull off some great overtakes, showing his experience from two previous seasons in the series. He worked his way back up the grid to finish in fifth and score six crucial championship points.
“Overall this weekend we could see the pace was there which was really encouraging, we are just still searching for the results. I’m looking forward to coming back to Monaco even stronger. It’s an intense circuit with no margin for error, which I love, and it really shows the skill of individual drivers.”
With points finishes in all four of the races so far, King is currently seventh in the championship with a total of 26 points.
The next round of the Formula 2 Series takes place at the Circuit de Monaco on May 25-27.