The Red Bull Junior Team enjoyed a mixed weekend in Hockenheim, Germany as Jean-Eric Vergne made his Formula Renault 3.5 debut.
British F3 champion Vergne started Saturday’s race from the back of the grid – due to a penalty – before finishing just outside the points in 11th. Starting from 14th in race two, the Frenchman drove excellently to finish sixth.
'I’m already very much looking forward to the next race weekend in Silverstone!' – Vergne
Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo meanwhile cut the gap at the top of the overall standings to eight points as he won the first race with a lights-to-flag victory. Championship leader Mikhail Aleshin finished both races in fifth but Ricciardo was unable to capitalise as he came 12th on Sunday, outside of the points.
After a break of nine weeks, the series resumed on Saturday with race 12 and it couldn’t have gone much better for Ricciardo – who grabbed his sixth pole of the season. The Australian briefly came under pressure from Esteban Guerrieri and Jon Lancaster but held them off to seal a dominant win.
“That was a perfect day, of course it’s always great to win from pole,” Ricciardo said after race 12. “In addition I was able to make up significant ground on Aleshin, tomorrow I want to take the lead in the overall standings.”
GEPA Pictures/Red Bull Photofiles
Vergne meanwhile clocked the ninth-quickest time in qualifying on Saturday but had to start on the back row after being penalised for running too wide over the track limits. However, he made light of the penalty and was quickly up to 13th from 23rd, before finishing comfortably in 11th on his first race in the series.
“I had a really good opening lap and was able to make up ten positions, then another two at the restart,” Vergne said. “I continued to improve further over time and felt better with every single lap, and so my final lap also was my best one. If I continue to work on it, I can run even farther up front for sure.”
Qualifying for race 13 did not go according to plan for the Junior Team, as Ricciardo qualified 10th and Vergne 14th. However, both drivers moved quickly through the field once racing got underway.
GEPA Pictures/Red Bull Photofiles
Ricciardo, quickly moved up to fifth from 10th and was threatening championship rival Aleshin when he was given a drive-through penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. That eventually ended his hopes of points, as the Australian finished 12th.
Series rookie Vergne also made a lightning start to the race, moving up to seventh from 14th. He later tried to overtake Aleshin – and do his team-mate a favour – but had to settle for sixth. Not a bad result at all in just his second Formula Renault 3.5 race.
“I’m really very happy with the race,” the Frenchman said. “I’m already very much looking forward to the next race weekend in Silverstone!”
For more news and reaction from Hockenheim, head to www.redbull-juniorteam.com.
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