Frustrating F2 fortunes for Louis at Spa

Louis Delétraz has promised to move on quickly from a pair of frustrating FIA Formula 2 Championship race results at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend.

Despite an encouraging qualifying session on Friday that placed the ADSS-supported driver P9 on the grid for the opening Feature Race, Louis suffered at the hands of a lack of pace when the 25-lap battle got underway on Saturday afternoon.

Louis identified a mysterious handling problem with his Charouz Racing System car as early as the second lap and that affected the level of grip that he was afforded by his car’s tyres. A prolonged safety car period then conspired to ruin his race strategy and he took the chequered flag in P18.

The result put Louis close to the back of the grid for Sunday’s Sprint Race but the 21-year-old was determined to try and rescue a positive result on one of his favourite tracks.

Typically, he showed the same battling qualities that have helped him secure two podiums and lots of plaudits during 2018 and he impressively made up four places during the opening laps.

But although Louis pushed hard to try and force his way into the point-scoring positions, he wasn’t able to maximise the performance of his car’s tyres and came up short. The Swiss driver completed his Belgian Grand Prix race weekend in P13.

Louis’ results at Spa were less than he hoped for but he’s determined to move on quickly and has full trust that his Czech-based team will identify and solve the issues so he can return to top form during the upcoming F2 races at Monza in Italy next weekend (31 August – 2 September).

“We were out of the window for getting the most out of the tyres for the entire weekend. There was something wrong and we’re working hard to analyse everything so it can be corrected before Monza,” Louis explained.

“It’s the first time we’ve had an issue like this all season. But when the tyre degradation is so high like this, it’s impossible to push and you have no pace.

“Nobody within the team is happy about the situation but we’re working together to put things right before Monza. I have full trust they will cure the issues so we can go for the top in Italy together.”

RACE RESULTS