Verschoor: “It feels amazing”

Richard Verschoor struggled to sum up his excitement in the aftermath of the 66th Macau Grand Prix. The Dutchman, who finished 13th in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, had emerged as an unexpected, but willing challenger over the course of the four-day event.

With both Verschoor and his MP Motorsport team making their debuts in Macau, few expected them to be fighting at the front, but fifth place in the First Practice session highlighted them as ones to watch.

Their form continued over the course of the weekend and handed them a second-row start for the main race, which Verschoor went on to execute immaculately, as he leapt to first place over the course of 15-gruelling tours of the Guia Circuit.

Attempting to sum up his emotions, he elated: “It feels amazing. I am so thankful and grateful at the moment that I cannot really describe my feelings.

“It was a really, really tough race, with a lot of pressure from behind and a lot of thinking while driving. I hit the wall accidentally two laps before the end, so it was a really eventful race. I am just so happy to get it done and win the 66th race here.

“It is the first time for MP here, as well as for myself, so I think that it is just a great achievement all together. We worked really hard from practice and I was on it really, really quickly.”

The 18-year-old had barely had the chance to breathe since his emphatic victory, drawing huge attention from media, racing fans, and those closest to him. Despite this, the Dutchman was already looking ahead to both the 2020 edition of the event, and of course, the new FIA Formula 3 season.

However, he admitted that first, there will be plenty of celebrations tonight.

“I think if we come back here, and hopefully we will, we still need to make more steps forward. I think that not being a rookie will help as well.

“The evening tonight will be nice though for sure. I am going to have a nice party with the team, and then, I am going to work as hard as I can to work out the budget and everything for next year.”