Max Defourny admitted to playing it safe during the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series race at Monaco on Sunday after twice coming under attack from rivals on track and allowing them passed to avoid a collision.
The R-ace GP driver was first passed by Ferdinand Habsburg for second at Massenet, before Dorian Boccolacci passed him into Ste Devote, although the latter’s move was nullified when the race was stopped and the results taken from the lap before the move was completed, meaning Defourny took a podium finish.
Defourny insisted it was important to claw back as many points as possible to Lando Norris, who had been forced to start at the back of the field following a post-qualifying penalty, but with only half points being awarded due to the race not reaching 75% distance, the Belgian only scored 7.5 points.
“With Lando Norris starting at the back of the grid, I had to take maximum points because this kind of opportunity to get back into the championship is rare,” said Defourny.
“I absolutely had to finish the race in the best possible position. I think our pace was good, but I got passed twice by some risky attacks. If I didn’t let them by, we would’ve have finished in the wall. I preferred to play it safe and guarantee the points although I would have liked to have won.
“I put into perspective in saying to myself that in the future we remember the champions more than winners at Monaco!”
