Whilst the entire Dutch motorsport world was either at Zandvoort for the Grand Prix or following the action from Zandvoort on Viaplay, Rocco Coronel was racing himself during the fourth weekend of the Spanish Formula 4 Championship at the Jarama circuit near Madrid. There, the Red Bull junior – racing for the Dutch team MP Motorsport – scored valuable points in all three races, with a fourth-place finish in the second race as his best result. He then travelled straight on to Valencia, where he tested a car from the Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) with Van Amersfoort Racing – the next step on the career ladder. “The race weekend was another one of ‘damage control’, but I do think we got the most out of it. That experience with the FREC car was brilliant; it suits me much better,” said Coronel, who concluded the test with the fastest lap time across the two days.
The race weekend at the former Grand Prix circuit of Jarama was different from the Spanish Formula 4 Championship events held earlier this season, as this time there were no additional testing opportunities for the drivers at the circuit in the days leading up to the weekend. « This time it was a two-day event: Saturday and Sunday. There was only the usual collective test session – which they call the ‘previous test’ in Spanish F4 – on Saturday morning, » said the TeamNL driver. He finished that test with the second-fastest time out of a total of 36 participants. Around midday, there were two free practice sessions held back-to-back. Coronel set the fastest time in the first session, whilst he finished fourth in the second, with the times of the top 26 (!) drivers all within a second of each other. According to Coronel, qualifying did not go as well as he’d hoped: « I gave others a slipstream, so they were faster, but I wasn’t. So I finished fifth on the starting grid for the first two races. »
The first race took place on Saturday afternoon, during which Coronel wasn’t feeling well physically. « I’ve no idea why, but I even threw up in my helmet a couple of times and was suffering from a migraine, which meant I couldn’t concentrate properly either. I think I ate something that wasn’t quite right, » he said. Despite this setback, he still managed to finish the race in eighth place. On Sunday, after a good night’s sleep, Coronel felt a lot better. In the morning, qualifying for the weekend’s final race took place, in which Coronel also qualified in fifth place.
The second race began with a very good start for Coronel, in which he immediately managed to gain a place, but following several incidents, almost the entire race was run behind the safety car, leaving him with hardly any opportunity to move further up the field. « Actually, a very boring race, » laughed Coronel afterwards. He finished fourth. In the third and final race, Coronel had what he himself described as a ‘world-class start’, but was then forced into the track barrier by a rival, causing him to lose the ground he had gained. Once again, multiple safety car interventions meant he had hardly any opportunities to move further up the field. As a result, he crossed the finish line in fifth place. « We knew beforehand that overtaking at Jarama is tricky, because the track is quite narrow, but when you’ve got so many safety car periods on top of that, it’s obviously even more difficult, » he said.
« Overall, there are still a few things we can work on, » said Coronel. « Getting a bit more speed out of myself, but also out of the car. In a Formula 4 car, the ballast is positioned under the engine and, as I’m quite tall myself, the centre of gravity is further back, which causes more wheelspin on the front wheels – especially as Formula 4 is the only single-seater class with an open differential. »
Immediately after the race weekend, Coronel took to the track for a two-day test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, near Valencia, where he drove a Formula Regional car. Of the 13 drivers who took part across five different teams in a Formula Regional car, Coronel was the fastest over the two days. « Formula Regional is clearly a step up and a car that suits me much better. Not so much in terms of speed, but with much more downforce and much more aerodynamic grip – you feel that straight away, especially on a circuit like Valencia with lots of fast corners, » he explained. « The Formula Regional car also suits my driving style much better: entering corners quickly, turning in earlier. In terms of lap times, I was right up there at the front; it’s just a shame I couldn’t finish my race simulation because someone crashed into me from behind, causing damage. But all in all, it was definitely an experience that leaves me wanting more! »
The next race weekend of the Spanish Formula 4 Championship will take place on 26 and 27 September at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit.