Making history: Ivan Domingues Barcelona Debrief

It was a weekend to remember for Ivan Domingues and Van Amersfoort Racing, as the team enjoyed a huge points haul while Portugal got its first winner in FIA Formula 3 history.

The Dutch outfit are now fourth in the Teams’ Standings after such a successful weekend, while Domingues enjoyed his maiden F3 win in front of family and friends and plenty of Portuguese fans who made the trip to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for Round 5.

Here is what the VAR driver made of his stellar weekend in Barcelona.

EARLY WEEKEND MOMENTUM

“We all know that Barcelona is a track where Qualifying is always very, very tight. Two-tenths can be the difference from P5 to P20. So, we all know there is no margin for error in that last lap especially.

“I had a little issue when I hit a kerb, and the car basically went into safe mode on that first set. But I knew that the car was feeling quite good, and I had another good lap in me. I was pretty confident for that second and third lap, and I managed to put it together. It was not the best lap of my life, not the perfect lap, but it was good enough to stay there in the mix.

“We just changed the approach, and I did a very good job to prepare myself mentally for this race. After missing out on reverse grid pole in Monaco by a tenth, we really didn't want to have that same feeling again, and we really went for it. We changed the mindset, the approach, and it paid off.”

A SPRINT RACE TO REMEMBER

“I got quite a good start, and I managed to go from sixth to fourth before the first corner. I had quite a good margin to the cars behind going into T1 as well, so I managed to brake a bit earlier, because I saw cars ahead go three-wide, and I knew it normally doesn't end well.

“So I took some space there to buy me some more reaction time. When I saw them colliding, I just tried to avoid them. I obviously jumped up into P1.

READ MORE: RACE ANALYSIS: Why the Barcelona weekend might have been Câmara’s best

“I knew straight away that we were going to get a Safety Car, so I just tried to keep the place until the end of the lap. After that, I had a bit more time to think about the restart, think about the rest of the race, and kind of cool myself down for a minute.

“At the Safety Car restart, I managed to get a decent one, and then I was just basically trying to manage my tyres. At the same time, I was managing DRS to the cars behind, and it went pretty smoothly.”

THAT WINNING FEELING

“Being the first Portuguese driver to win an FIA F3 race – it’s something that will stay in my mind, stay in my heart forever. I loved how it felt to cross the line in P1, and I also loved the to hear the Portuguese anthem, on the first step of the podium, and to see the all the emotions, not only from me, but from my team, my personal team - my family, my friends.

"This one was not only for myself, but it was also for all of them, and all the Portuguese people that have been supporting me and will support me on this journey.”

SUNDAY DRIVE TO POINTS

“It was a great result for the team. We all got good points across the weekend. It was a shame Santiago had the problem on Sunday, but it was a good team performance. We were all driving well, we all had a good car underneath us, and we managed to do a good job.

“That race on Sunday was just about getting some points home. We were not trying to do anything crazy out there. We had good pace, and we did a clean race. It was a shame that I got kind of stuck between two cars at that start in T2, Otherwise, maybe we could have finished a bit further ahead. But nevertheless, it was good points considering how difficult the rest of the season was for me.”

READ MORE: What We Learned: Some of our key takeaways from Round 5 in Barcelona

LOOKING AHEAD

“Red Bull Ring is a track that is a bit different to the rest of the tracks we drive this year. We still don’t have much experience on the Soft tyres, so that will also be a good thing to see and to feel. “I'm very hopeful for Red Bull Ring, we will prepare for it very well, and hopefully we'll get some good points.”