PORTIMÃO – Rocco Coronel has secured his first podium results with MP Motorsport in this year's Formula 4 competition. In the first of three race weekends of the Spanish E4 Winter Championship at the Portimão circuit in the Algarve, the Red Bull Junior driver finished third in the second race after an excellent start and a strong race. He also finished third in the third race, again after a great start, solid progress and a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre in the final stages. ‘Two overall podium result, the best rookie in one race and a lot learned, a great weekend,’ said Coronel of his performance in Portugal.
The E4 Winter Championship is considered an important preparation for the regular season in the highly competitive Spanish Formula 4 championship, in which Coronel is also participating with MP Motorsport this year. This weekend, 32 drivers started in Portimão, about a third of whom already have at least one season in the class under their belts. The others, including Coronel, are newcomers, who are also competing for points in the rookie classification.
The weekend in Portimão began with a test and a pair of free practice sessions, during which Coronel was consistently among the front-runners. ‘We were able to try out different things and improve the car,’ Coronel reported. ‘The car I'm driving here is a bit different from the one I drove in the Winter Series over the past few weeks. Among other things, the brakes are different, as are the tyres: in the Winter Series we drove on Pirelli, here we drive on Hankook. This means that the way you warm up the tyres is different, as is tyre management. The brake pressure you apply is also different.’
Qualifying on Saturday morning determined the starting grid positions for the first and second races of the weekend, with the twelve fastest drivers from qualifying starting the second race in reverse order on the grid. ‘We had two red flags during qualifying, so I didn't have many opportunities to post a fast time and, of course, it was all very close,’ said Coronel, who was classified fifth, but was only three hundredths of a second short of a place on the second row of the grid.
In the first race, Coronel got off to a good start on the right-hand side of the track, immediately gaining two positions, but after the start, he was pushed towards the pit wall by another driver, causing the left front wing of his car to come loose. ‘That resulted into a significant loss of downforce and on the second lap I was almost launched over the kerbstones in the first corner, a kind of flying lesson, haha! I dropped back further and further, and then someone hit my right rear wheel, causing a puncture. I had to pull the car over to the side,’ said the driver.
The second race was much more positive. Due to the reverse starting order, Coronel started in eighth place, but he immediately managed to climb to third position. He then lost that position again for a short time, but after a safety car phase and the restart, Coronel quickly regained third place, which he managed to hold on to until the finish. This secured his first podium finish with MP Motorsport for this year. ‘The two drivers in front of me had new tyres, while I was driving on used tyres, so I didn't quite have the speed to get further ahead, but I am very satisfied with this result as the second rookie,’ he said.
Qualifying for the final race saw Coronel set the eighth fastest time, making him the second fastest rookie in the field. When the lights went out, he got off to another excellent start and immediately gained three positions. He then drove in fifth place for a long time, partly due to two safety car interventions. After the final restart, there were two laps left to complete at racing speed, during which Coronel took advantage in the final lap of the race by passing two drivers in a spectacular manoeuvre while they were battling each other. This moved him up from fifth to third place, which he maintained until the finish.
This secured his second podium finish of the weekend, ‘a brilliant, flamboyant podium’, as English-language series commentator Jake Sanson described it, while also earning him the maximum score in the rookie classification, as the only newcomer among six other drivers with up to four seasons of experience in the top seven. ‘Another very good start,’ reported the driver. ‘At the restarts after the safety car, I also had to defend my position so that I couldn't move forward immediately, but on the last lap I was in the right place in turn five when Kanthan and Francot tangled, so I was able to take advantage of that.’
This weekend, from Friday 27 February to Sunday 1 March, the second round is scheduled at the Jarama circuit near Madrid.