Jimmy Eriksson was one of the stars of the Hungaroring weekend but left the circuit empty handed after seeing a top eight finish go begging with a last lap retirement during Saturday’s Feature race.
Having started twentieth, the Arden International driver was in superb form, and after a few good overtakes and after making the harder compound tyres last a race-high 33 laps before his pit stop, was on course to take eighth place and reverse grid pole, only for a last lap technical issue seeing him drop out of the race.
Despite the disappointment on Saturday and another retirement while running tenth on Sunday, Eriksson was happy to finally be able to show his potential after a relatively difficult season to date.
“What happened in the first race is every driver’s nightmare,” said Eriksson. “It was my best race so far in GP2 and I was half a lap from Sunday pole, and instead it came to nothing.
“At the same time, it was a relief to prove what we’re actually capable of when we get it right. We know from before that we have strong race pace, but I think this weekend allowed others to see that as well. In that way, it was a very positive race.
“We got nothing out of this weekend when in fact we had the pace to score plenty of points, but that’s motor racing. The car has felt better here than it’s ever done earlier this season, so we have reason to be optimistic going forward.”
