Young New Zealand driver Mitch Evans expressed relief as he returned to the GP2 podium with a third placing at the sprint race in Belgium.
Evans was on the pace all weekend, taking fifth in the feature race and then storming to third late in the shorter sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday (NZ time).
He collected 22 points for the weekend to lift him to eighth in the drivers’ standings in what has been a frustrating year for the 21-year-old Aucklander.
Fellow Kiwi Richie Stanaway finished 18th and 13th in the two races at Spa to be out of the points. He lies 16th overall.
Evans hadn’t scored any points at the previous two meetings and his last moment on the podium came in May at Barcelona where he finished second in the feature race.
This is looking likely to be his third and final year in GP2 racing before he concentrates on endurance racing and he’s keen to finish on a high.
The Belgium result has helped that as series leader Stoffel Vandoome won the feature race at Spa and Alexander Rossi claimed the sprint tile.
“There’s a lot of relief … it means a lot to mean to be back on the podium,” The Russian Time driver said.
“It’s been a very tough season for the team and obviously me. Our goal was to aim high this season so to not be able to achieve this has been very painful to be honest.
“We made a few changes recently which has made a huge difference to the performance. I really tried this weekend. Qualifying was our worst performance, but it was a tight quali. I feel we were one of the fastest cars this weekend especially in the race.
“For me, that’s a huge positive. We’ve been lacking so much pace this year in both quali and the races. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season to try and keep it up. It will be a good thing for the team. That’s important.”
The series moves to Monza on September 4 and Evans is looking to build on his momentum.
“More or less of the same I hope – that’s the plan. I think we can be just as competitive there,” he said.
“Obviously Stoffel is in a lead of his own when it comes to qualifying, but I think in the races, we are just as competitive and it showed this weekend. Sure, he won yesterday, but I don’t think it was a complete fair comparison between us and him with the strategy and the safety car. If we can qualify near him I think we can really take it to him in the races.
“I had a good race in Monza last year and I think we can continue that on to Monza and hopefully to Sochi and finish off the season strong like last year and finish in a respectable position and where I think we deserve to be in the championship.
“I sort of forgot about the championship a while ago. I want good results and finish off on a high.”
