European Formula 3

Callum Ilott: “It was always going to be a difficult weekend”

1 Mins read
Callum Ilott was pleased with his qualifying performances in Belgium but not his race results - Credit: FIA Formula 3 European Championship / Thomas Suer

Callum Ilott left Spa-Francorchamps with a best result of fourth after three tricky races saw the Prema Powerteam driver struggle, with a race one penalty costing him dearly.

The Briton was penalised for causing a collision with Jake Hughes despite being out of control during the incident, thanks to a tap from Lando Norris that pushed him off track and across the sausage kerbs at Les Combes. The subsequent drive-through penalty meant he fell out of the points, although to his credit, he kept pushing on, hoping for a safety car that ultimately never came.

Ilott finished sixth in race two before taking his best result of the weekend in race three, but despite leading in the early stages he was unable to keep hold of his position, struggling to maintain his speed as his tyres faded, but one thing he was happy with was his qualifying pace, with three front row starts.

“It was always going to be a difficult weekend given the long straights at Spa but I am really pleased with our qualifying performance,” said Ilott. “Although pole position is not an advantage at Spa in an F3 car, as a driver you want to show your qualifying speed under pressure and we did that.

“I also do not think we could have done much more in Races Two and Three where we were just not able to maintain our speed as the races developed. We’ve now got to regroup as the gap to my rivals has extended but our qualifying pace is strong and worthy of good points.

“The next round is at Zandvoort where overtaking is much harder. If we can qualify well again then we’ve a good chance to close the gap and keep the championship alive.”

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