On Thursday evening when the race truck was set up and my engineer was ready, we went on the usual track walk. It soon became apparent how bumpy this track was. Its layout was relatively simple, but with the bumps it made it a lot more challenging; this is simply because a small mistake is always exaggerated when there are bumps. On a smooth track, a small lock-up can be rectified quickly by releasing the brake pressure slightly, whereas say you lock up on a bumpy surface, the tyre is constantly having more and then less load on it due to the car bouncing; therefore it is harder to regulate the releasing of the brake. This, then, is the same case when you have a bit of oversteer or have to make a small correction to your line in the corner.

The other characteristic of this track was long straights and slow corners! This meant there was not so much gain to be had by running much downforce, as that works the most in high-speed corners. Therefore the car had little grip in the braking zones, which would make it very difficult if you made a small mistake. Also, with it being a street track, there is no possibility of testing there before the race weekend starts, so if drivers had raced in the Euroseries in previous years they would know the track, otherwise there is no way of learning it.

So, on Friday we were testing in the early afternoon and then qualifying in the late afternoon. Testing went well; I took my time to get comfortable with the track. I didn't want to rush it, but was equally aware that with only one hour of track time before qualifying it was necessary to get on with it! Very near the end of the session I realised where I could really find some time, so I changed my technique slightly and found a good amount of time. We finished the session third. This was positive having not been at the Norisring before. We got back to the awning after testing and went through the data as usual to understand where and why I was fast, and also to see where I could improve compared to my team-mates. Thankfully there was not too much that I needed to change, just some very small details.

Qualifying was nearing, and with about half an hour to go the heavens opened! It poured down for about 15 minutes, and drenched everything. We could see that the weather was far better straight after the rain, so it was clear the best times would come at the end of the session when there would be less water on the track. We changed the car to what we thought would suit the conditions, and I got out on-track with around 20 minutes of the half-hour session left.

Many people went out straightaway, so I knew it would take a few laps for my times to be close to theirs' as they would have tyre temperature and be finding the limits sooner than me. I didn't panic; I just took my time to adjust to the different grip level and after ten or twelve laps we were starting to be pretty competitive. The track was starting to show signs of drying up in the last five minutes – this is when the lap times really start to tumble as the grip level increases dramatically. I kept pushing and was trading fastest laps consistently with a couple of other drivers. At the flag I improved my time dramatically, making the most of the drying conditions, and ended the session fastest! It was great to get my first pole position in F3. The team had worked very hard and it was good to get the result. I was all-too aware that it was only qualifying, though. You do get one point for pole which is a bonus, but the main points haul would be in the first race the next day.

From pole, I made a great start and comfortably led into the first corner. After three-quarters of the lap, though, the safety car was deployed due to an accident that had happened on that lap. The safety car stayed out for around five laps, and on the re-start I showed a little inexperience and left myself prone to Bianchi – who was in second – to slipstream me on the long straight and overtake me into the first corner. I fought back, but was not able to get back in front and stay there. The car in third was close behind all along, and as he was running no rear wing element, he was mighty fast on the straights. This made for some fun battles, but ultimately he had little confidence in the braking zones and I was able to keep out-braking him. I was happy with our set-up which gave us small, but at least some, rear downforce. This kept the car balanced and slightly easier to drive.

The rain then started to fall halfway into the race, and the race was stopped. We all changed to wets and then set off behind the safety car. By the time the officials felt it was safe to get the action underway again, we had run out of time and the race finished without having had a racing lap in the wet. I finished the race second, which was great as I got my first podium, but on the other hand I had gone backwards one place from where I had started, so that was not so good. Overall, though, I knew I would look at my re-start procedure and improve it so that would come. To get eight points and a podium was a real positive to take from the race. I then had the press conference, which was nice as it was my first one. After that it was back to the team, and we waited to go through the usual data from the race once the cars were free from the technical checks.

On Sunday I started the race from seventh, due to the reverse grid rule for the top eight. I got a reasonable start and held my position into the first corner. There was then a slight coming-together between a couple of cars ahead of me which I was able to take advantage of, and suddenly I was in third! From there I held my position and was pressuring the cars ahead as much as I could. On lap six, though, into the first corner, I down-shifted on a bump and the rears locked a bit. This made me lose some control and I could not slow down fast enough. Unfortunately I skidded into the back of the car that was leading and put us both out of the race. I was able to pit to repair my front wing, but by then I was a lap down and with no hope of any recovery.

It was a massive disappointment to have lost a second podium for myself and the team. That is racing, though, and I have to learn from it and improve. Now I am back home and preparing in every way I can think of for my next race, which is round four at Zandvoort on 18-19 July. At Zandvoort I plan to get two good results in the points so I can really start making progress in the championship table. I am fast and the car is very good, so strong results will come very soon I believe.

I'll keep you posted...

Alexander

To follow Alexander's racing activities throughout the year, please visit: http://www.alexandersims.com/