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Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award finalist Freddie Slater says he “had to go for it” on the Macau Grand Prix’s final lap, even though challenging for third ended with him crashing.
The Italian Formula 4 dominator had impressed on his debut in Formula Regional machinery, as he progressed from seventh on the grid to fourth in the qualifying race.
He then spent much of the disjointed main race attempting to wrestle a spot on the podium from Noel Leon, repeatedly looking around the outside of Lisboa.
Then, on the final lap, the Prema driver tried a move down the inside that ended with him skating past Leon but was unable to make the corner and his weekend ended in the barriers.
Slater felt there was nothing to be gained from spending another lap in fourth place so was keen to make one final attempt to grab a podium.
“I had to go for it,” he told Motorsport.com. “It had been raining so all the grip went away from what it was yesterday and it was also a bit damp [on the inside] so everything was against that overtake.
“In these cars, the tow is not that big so you can’t attack into that corner, you have to kind of dummy them or do something late on the brakes, but there’s not enough grip or stability to brake later than what the cars are already so you’re kind of screwed no matter what you do.
“It was one of those, I wanted to go for it and try to finish on the podium.
Freddie Slater, SJM Theodore PREMA Racing
Photo by: Prema Powerteam
“I tried a few times on the outside and it was never going to work, so tried on the inside and ended up in the wall.”
Despite the disappointing conclusion, Slater felt it was a positive weekend overall and believed he wasn’t able to show his true pace in qualifying as his laps were continually wrecked by the multiple red flags.
Slater also described it as a useful introduction to the Tatuus T-318 car, as he is due to tackle the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema next season.
“We could have been in the top three, even fighting for pole, with our sectors,” he said of qualifying.
“If you look at it in terms of pace, we were really punchy – especially in the qualifying race. I’ve had a mega experience and I’ve learned so much.
“We were obviously very limited on laps with the amount of red flags we’ve had so it’s been tough.
“I’m so glad to be back in Macau [he tackled the F4 race around the Guia track last year battling for the lead before car woes struck], it’s like a world championship, it’s like the karting world championship, so it’s good fun.”
Watch: Drivers pile in at Lisboa after a car hits the barrier
Source : Motorsport.com
Author : News7
Publish date : 2024-11-18 10:36:00
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