Christian Lundgaard felt the pace he had during the Red Bull Ring weekend of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship ‘wasn’t too bad’, but the Dane could only take a fifth and a third place away from the event.
The Renault Sport Academy-backed MP Motorsport driver lost out to Neil Verhagen for fourth in the rain-shortened, half-points opening race in Austria on Saturday, and although he finished fourth on the road in Sunday’s finale, he was promoted to third when Lorenzo Colombo was handed a post-race penalty for a jump start.
This ensured that Renault Sport Academy drivers finished one, two and three in the second race, with Lundgaard following home race winner Victor Martins and second placed Max Fewtrell, although this couldn’t be represented on the podium after Colombo’s penalty was handed out after the ceremony had concluded.
The results in Austria ensured Lundgaard remained second in the championship standings heading to this weekend’s sixth round at Spa-Francorchamps, which marks the first round of the second half of the season. He is just six points behind championship leader Yifei Ye after the Chinese driver finished behind the Dane in both races, taking eighth in race one and fifth in race two.
“The pace all weekend wasn’t too bad, but we didn’t quite get the results to show that,” said Lundgaard. “We are working hard to make it better for Spa, so we can be stronger when it counts.
“I’m happy to get a podium in the end, but I was hoping for the top step! It’s good points for the championship and we’re still in the mix.”
