I can't believe the halfway point of the World Series by Renault season has arrived already, but I guess they say time flies when you're having fun.
The season kicked off in Barcelona, which is normally the venue of the final round. Qualifying on the front row for the first race of the year was a great way to show that I was here to win the championship but, with the reverse grid for the first race, a sixth place was all I could manage. Race two, however, saw me make a mistake that I would live to regret.
Contact with another car meant that I retired on only the third lap of the race. It was a wasted chance to score some vital points on a weekend where my main championship rivals also failed to score big points.
The feeling in the team was disappointment, but we all knew that the pace was there, and the momentum carried over to Spa. It's a track that I've always been quick at so I was very confident of a good result. I was quickest by a long way in my qualifying group, but it was the local driver Bertrand Baguette that took pole away from me by the smallest of margins.
Again, the front row was where we ended the session, so it was still a good result for us, but another DNF in race one was the last thing I needed - but it was what I got whilst lying in sixth place.
Heading into Sunday's race, I knew that I had to make sure I brought the car home and scored good points because, the championship wasn't looking good, as you can imagine. Fortunately, it turned out to be the perfect race. Pitting early and getting into clear air, I set lap record after lap record. This meant that, after everyone had pitted, I sat comfortably at the front of the field, finishing just under seven seconds clear. The last few laps were tense as the Spa rain started to fall, but it wasn't bad enough to stop myself and the team ending the weekend in perfect style.
Monaco was next on the agenda and the Spa win had given me the boost I needed. Nothing had changed when I sat in the pit-lane ready to start the test in Monaco, and ending the session at the top of the timesheets once again kept the team's focus on winning another race. A podium finish at Monaco was a personal goal of mine at the beginning of the year, and it was looking good after I was quickest in my qualifying session, which meant I would start on the front row once again.
Being in the first session of the day meant that, as track sweepers, it was unlikely that our group would be quicker than the next and, as it turned out, we were right. It was fellow Brit Oliver Turvey that grabbed pole and eventually the win. I picked up a third place after a bad start, but it was a very important result as championship leader, Marcos Martinez, failed to finish. Out-scoring Baguette was an added bonus.
Monaco was also a good chance to show new sponsors from Jersey what Renault 3.5 was all about. It is such a bonus to support the grand prix every year. It gives us a great foundation to build relationships with investors, and this year proved to be very valuable for us on and off the track.
