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Nael aiming to come back ‘stronger’ in Silverstone after tough Spielberg weekend
Théophile Nael is aiming to bounce back in Silverstone after a difficult weekend in Spielberg where he left with no points.
The Campos Racing driver endured a challenging Friday, qualifying in P24 after he was unable to set a clean lap during the session. This left him with an uphill battle to score points in both races.
Nael recovered to finishing both the Sprint and the Feature in P15. But with two of his championship rivals, Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater, finishing on the podium, it left the Frenchman to rue their strategic decision in qualifying.
“I think it's wrong place, wrong time, and wrong timing,” he said. “We decided to go in the pack for our lap in the tow, and that was clearly the wrong choice.
“We bet on the slipstream but I think it was better to be alone on track like Hiyu and Ugo. So anyway, we learned from that. It was a team decision and my decision as well.
“So wrong place, wrong time but I mean the pace was still good. I was P3 and in the top five in the first push.
“We showed some great pace this weekend with the fastest lap in the Feature race as well. So quite happy with that and we will come back stronger for Silverstone.”
Despite the tough weekend, Nael says there were positives for him and Campos, especially with the setup they tested on the car during the races.
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“The goal was to gain some position in both races, don't crash, and learn from it,” said Nael. “We tried something on the car today, and it worked well, so I'm super happy.
“Of course, it was a bit frustrating in Quali, but I mean, it was done, so heads up and we still had a strong pace the whole weekend.
“So still quite happy, still P3 in the championship, so not too far. We are still not in the mid-season, so it's okay.”
Next up is Silverstone where Nael finished second in the Feature Race last season. He is excited to be back in the car at the British venue and is hopeful of adding to the three pole positions he has already achieved this year.
“Hopefully we can keep the momentum that we have had in Quali since the beginning of the season, apart from this weekend,” said Nael. “I think this was the joker, let's say.
“But I’m super happy to be back in the car in less than a week. I’m looking forward to it. I really enjoyed Silverstone last year, so let's see.”