Théophile Naël took the positives from the F3 Spa-Francorchamps Sprint Race after gaining ground on his title rivals ahead of Sunday’s Feature Race.
The Campos Racing driver was forced to start the Sprint from P8 after receiving a five-place grid penalty for both races. However, he made a strong start and moved up to sixth place during the opening stages.
Naël then battled Taito Kato for fifth, overtaking his ART Grand Prix rival down the Kemmel Straight before losing the position at the final Safety Car restart.
With title rivals Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater both taken out of the race following an opening-lap collision, Naël ultimately finished sixth and moved closer to the championship leaders.
Reflecting on the race, Naël was pleased with his performance and the points gained.
“It was good,” said Naël. “I had quite a lot of fun to be honest. I had a good start, a good T1, then elbows out for the top of Eau Rouge with Ernesto. It was such a great fight.
“The pace was good until the last Safety Car, so we have to look at why and what we can improve for tomorrow in terms of that because at the last restart, the pace was not that good. I was struggling a bit with the grip.
“But let’s see for tomorrow. It’s good points today, and obviously Ugo and Freddie were out, so no points for them. So that’s good as well for the championship.
“Tomorrow is another race with more points, so let’s see. But looking at the pace today that we had, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“I could drive with no pressure”
Despite the championship implications of Ugochukwu and Slater’s retirement during the F3 Spa-Francorchamps Sprint, Naël insisted that his approach to the race had not changed once he realised his title rivals were out.
“Yeah, maybe. I mean, it did not really change my approach for the race because I was just staying focused and I did my job.
“It kind of relaxed me and I could drive with no pressure. It’s good to know that they are not going to have four, five or six points today. So it’s not bad.”
However, the Frenchman was left frustrated by the final Safety Car period, which interrupted his strong pace and caused him to lose tyre temperature.
“I think the last Safety Car wasn’t helpful for me because the pace was coming really, really good,” he said. “I was catching Colnaghi at that point, so it’s a bit frustrating.
“The Safety Car took two laps as well, so it was quite a long one, and I think it was a disadvantage for us because the tyre pressure dropped and then I was sliding quite a lot everywhere.”
Naël will now turn his attention to Sunday’s Feature Race, where he will once again need to recover from his grid penalty.
However, his Sprint performance has given him confidence that a strong result remains possible.
“I think it will be very important to make a clean start tomorrow as well, to gain some positions on the first lap in case of a Safety Car,” said Naël.
“That will be my main goal. Today I did it well, so let’s see, and then I think the race will be longer and cooler as well. So let’s see how the tyres will develop. I think we are in a good window.”
