Qualifying
• With 20 drivers separated by less than half a second across the midfield, Laurens made the most of his package and traffic management to secure P3.
• Tuukka (P9) and James (P13) were both very close on pace but didn’t quite get the clean lap they needed to match Laurens’s result.
Sprint Race
• Tuukka nearly stalled at the start and was hit from behind by a car at full speed, forcing him to retire immediately.
• Laurens and James capitalized on the chaos at the start to break into the top 6 on the first lap.
• Both managed their tires well and finished P4 (Laurens) and P8 (James).
Feature Race
• Laurens held 2nd place until a safety car with 4 laps to go left him vulnerable to DRS attacks. On worn tires, he dropped to P4.
• James fought hard for the full 25 laps, entering the points on the final lap — but was demoted to 16th due to a penalty.
• Tuukka made a great start, jumping from 9th to 4th, but a gearbox issue forced him to the back of the field.
Laurens Van Hoepen:
“Qualifying was always going to be the toughest part of the weekend — everyone knows this track so well. Our goal was top 12, so P3 is a great result.
The team did an excellent job with track positioning, which is key with 30 cars.
In the Sprint, it was all about staying calm, avoiding contact, and managing tires. On Sunday, tire degradation made it impossible to defend P2, and I lost the podium in the final laps.
But it’s only a matter of time before it clicks.”
Sébastien Philippe:
“Tuukka’s weekend turned from very promising to an impossible mission with the stall in the Sprint and the gearbox issue in the Feature — that’s racing.
James is a true fighter, and scoring his first points should give him confidence heading into the first summer break.
Laurens delivered the best results he could and claimed his highest points haul in Spain.
Barcelona marks a clear step forward for the team, and now we must build on this momentum to come back stronger in a month.”
