A return to the top step of the podium for Daniel Ricciardo proved to the highlight of a strong weekend for Carlin as the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series headed to Spa for the latest rounds of the season.
The Australian secured his fourth victory of the campaign in the opening race of the weekend in Belgium to extend his championship lead over Walter Grubmuller, who was forced out following a collision at the first corner.
In a strong start to the weekend for the team, Euroseries runner Jake Rosenzweig finished fifth with Max Chilton rebounding from a poor start to finish ninth, with Philip Major taking his best ever British F3 finish in eleventh – one place ahead of Henry Arundel.
“I had a good start but there was a safety car almost straight away and thankfully I got a good restart once it went green again,” Ricciardo said. “The first lap after the restart was what helped me I think, I pushed hard, I had a lot of grip on the new tyres which helped me break the elastic band so the drivers behind me couldn't get a tow. Then it was about being consistent.
“I could see Renger [van der Zande] and Jules [Bianchi] fighting behind me; Bianchi finally got through and I saw him close in on me at the end, but it wasn't enough to catch me so I didn't take any risks.”
The second race saw Ricciardo secure a second podium finish of the weekend in mixed weather conditions, while Arundel and Chilton also took top six finishes to cap a strong weekend for Trevor Carlin's squad.
“Spa has proved to be a happy hunting ground again for Carlin Motorsport, with yet another win to add to our British F3 tally,” the team boss said. “Daniel drove very maturely in the second race to bag the necessary points. Henry and Max had a super exciting race, mixing it lap after lap with the Hitech duo.
“Philip had a taste of his first pit stop, when we made a strategic tyre change and he dealt with this perfectly. A gamble on strategy with Jake unfortunately backfired and to add insult to injury, he was rudely forced off the circuit by another runner. Nevertheless he can be proud of his British F3 debut.”
