With a commanding second-place finish in the first race and a spectacular charge through the field in the final race, Red Bull Junior driver Rocco Coronel impressed once again in the Formula Winter Series, which this time was in action at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo in Cheste near Valencia. For Coronel, it was his final appearance in the Formula Winter Series, in which he drove with Van Amersfoort Racing in preparation for his campaign in the Spanish Formula 4 Winter Championship with MP Motorsport, which gets underway in Portimão next weekend.It was a rather remarkable weekend in Valencia, as once again the extreme weather on the Iberian Peninsula played tricks on the participants. On Thursday and Friday, all test sessions could be held in normal conditions, with Coronel almost constantly at the front of the field. « In the dry sessions, I was almost always in the top three, so we had a good feeling going into the weekend, » he said.
It was a rather remarkable weekend in Valencia, as once again the extreme weather on the Iberian Peninsula played tricks on the participants. On Thursday and Friday, all test sessions could be held in normal conditions, with Coronel almost constantly at the front of the field. « In the dry sessions, I was almost always in the top three, so we had a good feeling going into the weekend, » he said.
However, strong winds were forecast for Saturday, prompting the authorities to cancel all public events in the region. This also had its impact on the race meeting at the circuit as the organisers decided to move all activities to Sunday. « That was quite unusual. We even received an official alert on our mobile phones. The wind was really strong here, » said Coronel.
When the starting lights went out for the first race later that morning, Coronel got off to an excellent start. He immediately charged through the field and came out of the first corner in second place. Then there was a safety car intervention after a competitor further back in the field had come off the track. Racing resumed on lap three, with Coronel managing to hold on to his second place. As the race progressed, he came under a little more pressure, but his position was not in danger, so after 13 laps he took the chequered flag in second place. This gave him another podium finish in the Formula Winter Series.With qualifying and three Formula Winter Series races all held on Sunday, it was a full programme, although the duration of the races was shortened to 20 minutes each, as the other series in the event also needed sufficient track time for their sessions. The qualifying session early on Sunday morning resulted in Coronel posting the seventh fastest time out of a total of 31 participants. « It wasn’t my best qualifying session, » he admitted. « The tyres weren’t quite at the right temperature, I didn’t quite get the peak moment right, but that was also something I was able to learn from. »
When the starting lights went out for the first race later that morning, Coronel got off to an excellent start. He immediately charged through the field and came out of the first corner in second place. Then there was a safety car intervention after a competitor further back in the field had come off the track. Racing resumed on lap three, with Coronel managing to hold on to his second place. As the race progressed, he came under a little more pressure, but his position was not in danger, so after 13 laps he took the chequered flag in second place. This gave him another podium finish in the Formula Winter Series.
The second race was a rather brief affair for Coronel. Once again, starting from seventh place on the grid, he got off to a good start, managing to make up several places, but in the second corner he was hit on the left rear wheel by his teammate Thomas Bearman, spun around and ended up in the gravel trap with a broken suspension. Bearman was subsequently given a five-second time penalty for the incident. After the race, he immediately apologised to Coronel, but for the Dutchman, the retirement was a fact.
Because the fastest lap per driver from the second race determined the starting grid positions for the third race, Coronel had to start last in that race, as he obviously had no timed lap to his name following his retirement. A safety car intervention during the opening lap of the race meant that he was unable to make up any places in the first three laps, although he had already gained some ground just after the start. However, he also had to pit because the front wing of his car had come loose during the battle. When the race was restarted on the fourth lap, Coronel, with a new front wing, continued his progress and managed to gain positions on every lap. In the ninth lap, there was another neutralisation, but after one lap, normal racing resumed and Coronel eventually finished in 15th place. This meant he had overtaken half the field!
« I look back on these three weekends with Van Amersfoort Racing in the Formula Winter Series with a very positive feeling, having achieved my maiden Formula 4 race win at Estoril and a total of two podium places. I learned a lot again this weekend, which will be useful in the run-up to the winter championship, in which I will be competing with MP Motorsport starting at the end of this week. We will start in Portimão, which I am already really looking forward to, » said Coronel.