Alexander Rossi has described his Feature Race win in Monza on Saturday afternoon as “special”.
The Racing Engineering driver took victory in the GP2 series race ahead of championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne and phenomenal driver of the day, Mitch Evans on Saturday afternoon when he passed Vandoorne for the win on Lap 23 of the 30 lap race.
“This win is special. I think we are finally able to really show just how capable we are, and I’m extremely grateful to Racing Engineering for the phenomenal car we have. I feel incredibly proud to be standing on the top step again, representing America and hearing our anthem played out is a truly special feeling,” claimed the American.
Rossi had kept a cool head through the action packed race to find himself standing on the top of the podium just a fortnight after his first season win at the Belgian Grand Prix. The 23-year-old, who is currently second in the championship standings, and his team worked well strategically and mentally to snatch the victory from the grasp of ART Grand Prix driver Vandoorne.
Continuing, Rossi said: “…Every single person in this team deserves our victory today and I know the goal will be to keep our momentum throughout the rest of the season and keep these wins coming. It’s an important moment to pause and thank everyone who has and continues to support me, and I feel exceptionally grateful to the people around me. Thank you.”
“Alexander drove an exceptional race today. It is fair to say we were all disappointed after qualifying as P8 on the grid is not where we wanted to be, and we knew that Alexander had the potential to be on the podium once more,” said Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón, the Racing Engineering Team Principal.
“Alexander truly impressed today, overtaking beautifully and keeping a calm head while incidents happened all around. His overtake on Vandoorne was beautiful to watch and it shows just how experience truly makes the difference. Instead of rushing in and potentially causing damage to his car, he kept a cool head and chose his moment perfectly.
Alexander deserves this win today – we’ve known since the beginning that we were capable of being on the top step throughout the season, and today was the perfect result.“
