Ugochukwu on ‘full attack’ in Madrid title fight after impressive fightback in Monza

Ugo Ugochukwu put in a stunning fightback performance in the Monza Feature Race, recovering from being spun around in the early exchanges to finish in the points.

It was a strong end to what had been a difficult weekend for the Campos Racing driver, starting with an incident in Free Practice that saw him get a five-place grid penalty for both races.

After finishing 10th in the Group A in qualifying, Ugochukwu was forced to start from the back of the field, but his form started to turn around in the races.

The American ended up P13 in the Sprint, and he made a great start in the Feature Race before teammate Théophile Nael made slight contact with the rear of Ugochukwu’s car.

This spun the 19-year-old around and dropped him to the back of the field. However, he continued his fightback, making several overtakes to finish eighth.

“I feel pretty good after today,” he said. “Obviously, you saw the weekend was really tricky, so these four points are quite important for us for the championship.

“Quali just made things a lot more difficult. We had a little unfortunate incident at Practice, so it wasn't a clean Friday overall. Eyes forward now on Madrid. Race pace was good again today, which is a positive.

“I was not expecting to finish in the points after the little incident in the second lap. To get a few points is nice, but eyes forward on Madrid. Go full attack and finish the season well.”

Speaking more about the incident with Nael, Ugochukwu said was it was an “unfortunate” moment, especially as they had been working together to come through the field as a team.

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“We were planning to work a bit together as well as a team,” he said. “But it was just a little unfortunate kind of tap which got me around. I'm happy I didn't give up because, like I said, those four points were important.

“To be fair, it was quite a fun race. I'm going to come through and make some good moves.”

When asked for his favourite overtake, Ugochukwu responded: “There was one where I think I got four or five people before braking at T1.

“I towed one guy, then got to the slipstream of another guy, and then got to the slipstream of another guy, and then I managed to pull out right at the end of the straight.

“It was pretty fun. I think always in Monza, the races here are super good, and it's just about how you place your car to maximise as best as you can.”

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Ugochukwu heads to Madrid 17 points behind Freddie Slater in the title fight, with the TRIDENT driver having retired with an issue from pole, he acknowledges that luck was on their side on Sunday.

“I think the result today was a little bit more on our side,” he said. “We have to take it, but for sure in Madrid we need to be making our own luck and be more on the forefront. I'm really confident going into it.

“I had a good feeling at the in-season test the other week. I think the pace was really strong, so I'll try to have a clean Friday. Quali will be important there, and I'm sure it's going to be a good fight for the championship.”