Nael and Campos in a ‘good window’ going into Sunday after a strong Spa Sprint

Théophile Nael was pleased to have gained a few points on his title rivals in the Spa-Francorchamps Sprint Race, and he believes he and Campos Racing are in a good place heading into the Feature.

After receiving a five-place grid penalty for both races, Nael was left to start the Sprint from P8. But a strong opening lap had the French driver running in sixth place in the early stages.

The Campos driver then fought hard for P5 with Taito Kato, overtaking his ART rival down the Kemmel Straight, only to lose the position at the last Safety Car restart.

But with title rivals Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater’s opening lap collision taking them out of the race, Nael saw the positive in P6, as he closed in on the top two.

“It was good,” said Nael reflecting on the race. “I had quite a lot of fun to be honest. I had a good start, a good T1, then elbows out for the top of Eau Rouge with Ernesto. It was such a great fight.

“The pace was good until the last Safety Car, so we have to look at why and what we can improve for tomorrow in terms of that because at the last restart, the pace was not that good. I was struggling a bit with the grip.

“But let's see for tomorrow. It’s good points today, and obviously Ugo and Freddie were out, so no points for them. So that's good as well for the championship.

“Tomorrow is another race with more points, so let's see. But looking at the pace today that we had, I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”

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When asked whether he changed his approach once he saw Ugochukwu and Slater were out of the race, Nael responded: “Yeah, maybe. I mean, it did not really change my approach for the race because I was just staying focused and I did my job.

“It kind of relaxed me and I could drive with no pressure. It's good to know that they are not going to have four, five or six points today. So it’s not bad.”

It was not all positive for Nael however, as while gaining on his title rivals was good, he reflected more about the lack of performance he had at the Safety Car restart.

“I think the last Safety Car wasn't helpful for me because the pace was coming really, really good,” he said. “I was catching Colnaghi at that point, so it’s a bit frustrating.

“The Safety Car took two laps as well, so it was quite a long one, and I think it was a disadvantage for us because the tyre pressure dropped and then I was sliding quite a lot everywhere.”

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Nael and Campos will now turn their attentions to Sunday’s Feature Race. With the penalty, he is set to start further down the order, but his Sprint performance has shown him what he is capable of achieving tomorrow.

“I think it will be very important to make a clean start tomorrow as well, to gain some positions on the first lap in case of a Safety Car,” said Nael.

“That will be my main goal. Today I did it well, so let's see, and then I think the race will be longer and cooler as well. So let's see how the tyres will develop. I think we are in a good window.”