Lights to flag win for Nyck De Vries

PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing delivered a fantastic result in race 1 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the famed Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Lining-up from pole position in the main heat of the weekend, Nyck De Vries led most of the laps despite a late safety-car situation that deleted his advantage.

The 23-year-old Dutchman managed the restart to perfection and controlled the situation well, securing his third win of the season while also setting the fastest lap of the race. With seven races still to go before the end of the year, De Vries proved that the championship fight is far from over.

Unfortunately, Sean Gelael faced a more troubled day. After an early contact in the opening stages, he struggled with tire wear and was eventually assessed a 5-second pit speeding penalty. He will try to go for a rebound in tomorrow’s race 2.

Sean Gelael, Car #3

“The race started quite well. I moved up to P13 but while fighting with a Campos car which kind of t-boned me I lost ground. After that, it was quite hard with the tires so we couldn’t do what we could have done in terms of laps with the primes. Then the pace on options was quite good and there was a safety car. We got the advantage we wanted but we also got a five-second penalty. Tough race, we were struggling in the first part of the track and we were quite competitive in the second. For the second race, the car potentially is really good so we will do our best tomorrow.”

Nyck De Vries, Car #4

“I’m obviously extremely happy with our win today. This is kind of my home race and there were loads of Dutch fans there to support us. It was great to deliver in front of them. We have been super competitive during all weekend. I just want to thank the team for giving me a great car, without them, we wouldn’t be able to be as dominant. Now we have to stay focused and push for race 2.”