Fittipaldi column: Taking Silverstone by storm

The new season of the World Series got off to a great start for me, with my first two wins in the championship, both from pole.

And it was very cool that this was at Silverstone. It's a track I really like, especially in higher-downforce cars – a fast track that's about confidence and feeling comfortable in the car.

I've raced there a fair few times in British two-litre Formula Renault and British F4 and I've always ran decently well – so finally winning there in the World Series was great.

Leading up to the start of the campaign, we had a strong pre-season with my new team Lotus, always placing in the top two. And they won both F3.5 races at Silverstone last year, so there was reason to anticipate a strong showing.

Still, despite the two somewhat dominant wins, I don't think we're that far ahead – Silverstone was the first round of the year, and it's always a lot harder for everyone to get everything right in the opener. But we did just that, for us it was almost a perfect race weekend.

Winning with a broken exhaust pipe

For the two qualifying sessions, on Friday and Saturday, it was typical Silverstone conditions, with the track drying up after rain earlier. In the first shootout, it was drying a lot towards the end and I managed to put in a really good lap to get pole.

On Saturday, it was the same, but much wetter conditions – and we were able to get it done by eight tenths.

The first race was very good initially as, having started from pole, I built up a seven-second lead early on. But then I started to hear this really weird engine noise, and suddenly I was losing time.

It was like the worst nightmare, because by that point you'd be thinking 'okay, I've got this in the bag, let's just bring it home, get my first World Series win'.

Apparently, it was an exhaust pipe that broke within the car, which meant I was now losing six to seven tenths per lap. And Egor Orudzhev, who was second, was running a bit quicker at that time, so he was really catching up. I started thinking that I just needed to hold on for a podium finish.

But he couldn't close up enough and I finished a few tenths ahead. If there were another lap, I think he would've passed me.

I spoke to Egor after the race, as I was surprised he couldn't make up the gap, and he told me his front tyres were graining heavily - which was a really bad problem for everybody this past weekend.

So, in the end, I was unlucky but lucky at the same time.

Doubling up

The second race, despite having a mandatory pitstop, was a bit more straightforward. I pushed early to get a decent lead – the strategy was to then pit as early as possible to make sure we don't get caught out by a safety car.

We were planning a solid, average pitstop, to hit all our marks and get back out, and the guys actually did a really good job.

Then the safety car came out, with something like 10 laps to go. Since tyre wear was a major factor and I could actually see some bad graining on my fronts, I was a little concerned, because there was no gap anymore – and you never know if somebody behind was conserving and preparing for a late push.

But I couldn't afford to worry about what the others were doing, so I focused on keeping the fronts cool and making a good restart.

That worked out, so I opened up a good lead and won the race.

Two days for celebrations

It's an amazing feeling to be back out front, controlling the gap – and especially at Silverstone, given that it was where my grandfather Emerson took his final win in Formula 1.

To continue the Fittipaldi legacy, even if it's World Series and not Formula 1, it still means something.

These two wins have made for a really good start to my championship challenge with Lotus. But I've won three titles in the past and I know I'll have to take it step by step – and I know that I might need a bit of luck, because anything can happen.

I got to enjoy Monday and Tuesday after Silverstone, and the rule is – you can wear the winner's hat, you can look at the trophy and stuff, but on the third day, after you put everything in the cupboard, you say 'okay, now let's focus on the next one'.

Round two is at Spa, which is another track I really like and one where weather conditions can likewise change in an instant.

But for sure, our rivals will arrive there stronger, so we need to keep working on it.