Rivera going from strength to strength after controlled Spa victory

It was an impressive drive by Ernesto Rivera as the Campos Racing driver went from fourth place on the grid to the top step of the podium on Sunday at Spa.

The Mexican driver lost ground at the start but was then in full control, calmly dispatching his rivals as he executed his game plan to perfection in a race with higher-than-expected tyre degradation.

Speaking in the paddock after his win, Rivera recapped what had been a 'fun' race and explained his mentality and approach to the Feature Race.

"It was a very tough race. Lots of tyre degradation. I started P4, fell to P5 at the start. But I spent the first couple laps going easy on the tyres, and then mid-race to the end when I saw the others start to struggle, and I had more tyres than them I was able to go through.

"I knew before the race that the tyre degradation was going to be a lot. So, as I said, first laps take it very easy. I saw the others were pushing a lot. When I was behind Freddie, he was pushing a lot in Sector 2, and I was thinking, maybe I'm taking it too easy because he went from P4 to P1 in three or four laps.

"But it was fun to go through the field. DRS was massive. So, I was just trying to get a good run up Eau Rouge and the Kemmel Straight."

His pass for the lead came on Lap 12 of 15, as he remained patient and made each overtake stick at the first time of asking in the closing stages.

It proved pivotal, as his strategy following his race-winning overtake on Slater was to push hard in the twisty middle sector in order to be able to defend P1.

"When I was able to get by Freddie, I pushed as much as I could in Sector 2 to try to get him out of the DRS. I really didn't think it was possible.

"But when I saw the gap after T14, I was surprised. I didn't know if he made a mistake or something, but I could see that he was dropping a lot. From there towards the end, I just managed. I didn't take a lot of risks. I was safe in track limits too, so I was just managing it."

After missing pre-season testing and the opening round of the season in Melbourne, Rivera has been a near constant presence in the top 10 on Sunday's missing the points just once in Spielberg's Feature event.

He says that his race pace has been a strength of his since his return to racing, but that his one lap speed can still be improved upon.

Even then however, he's very happy with how his rookie F3 campaign has gone so far this season.

"Honestly, it has been a very strong season, especially in qualifying. I've been always in the top 12 and three times in the top five. So, I've been always quite fast on Fridays. Saturdays haven't been the greatest, apart from Red Bull Ring.

"Some days have been better. Silverstone was very good and ended P3 on the road, up to P2 after, then had a penalty. But it's great to come back with a strong result as Silverstone was tough to swallow."

With one final weekend ahead of the summer to tackle, the Red Bull Junior Team driver is targeting another strong haul of points to take into the break.

Despite a relative lack of experience around the Hungaroring, he's expecting to be fighting at the sharp end once again in Budapest.

"I've never raced at Budapest. The car should be fast this year. Also with the Medium tyre, there will be a lot of degradation. But I think in Budapest it's more about qualifying than race pace because it's difficult to overtake. So, I'm expecting to be at the front for Sunday."