Formula Renault 3.5

Commanding Sainz On Verge of Title after Dominant Win

2 Mins read

Carlos Sainz Jr took his second convincing win of the weekend at Paul Ricard to move closer to the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series title as his main rival Roberto Merhi could only finish fourth.

DAMS driver Sainz made a great start to beat pole-sitter Pierre Gasly of Arden Motorsport into the first corner and quickly pulled out a large gap, and eventually led his fellow Red Bull Junior driver home by 12.637s.

Oliver Rowland made amends from his race one disappointments to complete the podium for Fortec Motorsports after managing to pass the fast starting Jazeman Jaafar of ISR Racing and Merhi’s Zeta Corse during the pit stops.

Merhi maintained his outside chance of the championship by finishing fourth, passing Jaafar impressively just after his pit stop. The Spaniard is now the only one that can deny Sainz the championship but sits forty-four points behind with only fifty available in the final event at Jerez in three weeks time.

Jaafar keep Merhi on his toes for a good spell afterwards but was forced to settle for fifth, while Lotus driver Matthieu Vaxiviere built on his race one podium with a sixth place finish in race two.

Sergey Sirotkin made a bad start from third place on the grid and could not recover, finishing seventh in the second Fortec Motorsports machine, while Will Stevens finished eighth for Strakka Racing.

Nicholas Latifi claimed his first points for Tech 1 Racing with a fighting ninth place, with William Buller claiming the final point for Arden Motorsport in tenth, just ahead of Beitske Visser.

Paul Ricard Race 2 Result

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME/Laps
1 Carlos Sainz Jr ESP DAMS 42m02.446s
2 Pierre Gasly FRA Arden Motorsport +12.637s
3 Oliver Rowland GBR Fortec Motorsports +19.676s
4 Roberto Merhi ESP Zeta Corse +22.253s
5 Jazeman Jaafar MAL ISR +23.671s
6 Matthieu Vaxiviere FRA Lotus +24.653s
7 Sergey Sirotkin RUS Fortec Motorsports +33.820s
8 Will Stevens GBR Strakka Racing +39.277s
9 Nicholas Latifi CAN Tech 1 Racing +41.967s
10 William Buller GBR Arden Motorsport +42.392s
11 Beitske Visser NED AV Formula +44.825s
12 Esteban Ocon FRA Comtec Racing +46.242s
13 Marlon Stockinger PHI Lotus +54.613s
14 Meindert van Buuren NED Pons Racing +58.022s
15 Oscar Tunjo COL Pons Racing +58.331s
16 Luca Ghiotto ITA International Draco Racing +58.574s
17 Matias Lainé FIN Strakka Racing +58.976s
18 Cameron Twynham GBR Comtec Racing +1m03.271s
19 Zoel Amberg SWI AV Formula +1 Lap
20 Pietro Fantin BRZ International Draco Racing +1 Lap
RET Marco Sorensen DEN Tech 1 Racing 16 Laps
RET Norman Nato FRA DAMS 15 Laps

 

13760 posts

About author
Long time motorsport fanatic, covering Formula 1 and the occassional other series. Feel free to give him a follow on Twitter at @Paul11MSport.
Articles
Related posts
FIA World RallycrossFormula 4Formula Renault 3.5

#BakkerudLife | Testing FORMULA Cars For The FIRST TIME! Red Bull Ring

1 Mins read
In preparation for his upcoming DTM test, Andreas Bakkerud figured he needed some downforce training, and what better way to do it – than a sunny Red Bull Ring day kind of way.
Formula Renault 3.5Indy Lights

Stoneman in Indy Lights move with Andretti Autosport

1 Mins read
British driver Dean Stoneman will race in Indy Lights in 2016 after joining Andretti Autosport.
Formula Renault 3.5Season Review

2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Season Review – Rowland’s Year

5 Mins read
The Checkered Flag looks back at the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, with a good battle for the championship between Oliver Rowland and Matthieu Vaxiviere.