Points finish for Negrao and Draco in race 1 at Spa

The first race of the Spa F.Renault 3.5 weekend brought both good and bad news to Draco Racing. André Negrao boasted a very good performance and crossed the line in P7 after starting from sixth row of the grid, while Nico Muller crashed out of the race on lap 7 after a contact with Yann Cunha, who was later penalized by the Stewards.

Negrao’s getaway from P12 was brilliant, allowing him to climb up to P6 after just a few corners. André lost a place to Melker on lap four but then he settled in 7th place and, after a lenghty caution period due to Muller’s crash, he managed to keep his position safe from the rivals behind, bagging six points that pushed him to fifteenth place in the drivers’ standings.

Muller, in the meantime, endured a really unlucky Saturday. In the morning Qualifying a contact with Will Stevens ended up in a puncture that ruined his session. Then in the race, after a good start from P16, an issue with the anti-stall system dropped him to the back of the pack. Nico pushed hard to make up some ground, but on lap 7 he found Cunha on his way. The Brazilian driver closed the door and the outcome was a quite big crash.

André Negrao: Q – P12; R1 – P7 “I had a great start and a very good first lap, after just a few corners I had already passed six drivers! The car was quick and my pace was good, but that wasn’t enough to keep Melker at bay, as he was in low downforce configuration and was much quicker than us in the straights. Anyway after that I could maintain P7 easily and I even had the pace to attack Martsenko, but my gearbox ratios were a bit short and so I was hitting the limiter too early in the Raidillon. Anyway seventh place is a good result, and we have the potential to do even better tomorrow”.

Nico Muller: Q – P16; R1 – DNF “Already in the morning, when the contact with Stevens punctured my tyre, I understood that I had to get ready for a tough day. Still, I thought that a good recovery race would have been possible on a track like Spa. The first laps gave me some hope, but then the anti-stall system engaged with no reason in the chicane, and that cost me a lot of ground und, wasting all my efforts. I pushed as hard as I could to make up some places again, but then I got behind Cunha: I was on the outside and far from the ideal line, just trying to get in the best shape for the following corner, but despite that he closed the door and we crashed. At least he got a penalty, but that won’t fix the damage to the car...”.

Draco