Callum Ilott secured three top-six finishes at Zandvoort across last weekend, including a podium finish, but the Briton felt he could have had better results had it been a track that was easier to overtake on.
For the first two races of the weekend, Ilott found himself staring at the back of Prema Powerteam’s Maximilian Günther throughout the races, with the Van Amersfoort Racing driver being forced to settle for fifth in race one.
“Our car had better race pace than Max’s but there was no way past,” said Ilott. “We raced hard but I wasn’t able to overcome the aero effect around the fast corners and make a move stick this time.”
Ilott was disappointed not to convert his second pole position of the season into a third victory during Saturday’s second race, dropping behind Prema duo Nick Cassidy and Günther, but was able to secure his fifth visit to the podium with third place despite a suspension issue developing on his car.
“I was disappointed not to win from pole,” revealed Ilott. “My start was OK but Nick did a better job off the line so well done to him.
“Again our speed was good although later in the race we developed an issue with the suspension that meant I could no longer maintain the fight with the leaders. With Lance [Stroll] not scoring, we did move a little closer to his leading points tally.”
Ilott was in tyre management mode during Sunday’s final race, with oversteer developing on his car as the race progressed, but he did manage to gain one position at the start as he made a better getaway than Motopark’s Joel Eriksson, and ultimately finished sixth just behind fellow Briton George Russell.
“The track had rubbered in after the earlier DTM Touring Cars race so whilst we had understeer, the car was easier to drive over the first half of the race,” said Ilott.
“As the used tyres degraded, I could feel the car develop more oversteer, so I managed them carefully to ensure we could bring home the points we need for the championship.”
