FORMULA 2
SCHUMACHER WINS IN SOCHI
“It’s definitely among the top drives,” beamed a smiley Mick Schumacher in the wake of his second victory in Formula 2 – a win that strengthened his grip on the Driver’s Championship.
As has become a customary feature of his F2 career, Schumacher’s win was borne from a sterling getaway. Starting from third, the German flung his PREMA around Jehan Daruvala off the line for P2.
From there, he carefully managed his Pirellis, before a race-winning move on the polesitter Tsunoda with 10 laps to go.
“We had good tyre management, both on supersofts and on the mediums, so I’m very, very happy with that. I think Yuki probably pushed a bit too hard at the beginning.
“That was something we spoke about on the team radio and I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to do that pace for the laps remaining. It proved to be the case.
“Tyre management was a concern for this race, and I think we managed it pretty well to then use Yuki’s mistake in going on to the marbles, and take the move for victory. Afterwards, if you’re in clean air, it’s a lot easier to manage the tyres.”
In the end, Schumacher’s win was dominant, finishing 6s ahead of the Carlin racer, so it seems hard to believe that at one point in the race, the German thought he’d missed his opportunity.
“I’d thought even earlier to do the move, because Yuki was stuck behind (Artem) Markelov and I wasn’t able to get past. That bunched us all up a bit, and I didn’t want Callum to get too close because I know he’s quite quick usually.
“I tried to make the move as soon as possible. After that, Markelov pitted straight away, so that basically then gave Yuki the clean air that he needed in the last two corners.
“I was a bit concerned that I was maybe a bit too far, therefore I had to brake on the outside and wasn’t able to get around to brake in front of him. But, Yuki overshot a bit and then I just used that inside, and the undercut, to try and get around the outside which worked, thankfully.
“I’m quite happy and satisfied with the race and how we managed it with the team. I’m very proud of them.”