Dries Van Langendonck shines, first Winter Series victory for Rocco Coronel

It was a productive first weekend at Estoril for the opening round of the Winter Series season in F4. Academy member McLarenDries Van Langendonck is already leading the championship after winning race 1 and finishing on the podium in race 2. In torrential rain, the papaya driver came out on top, even though qualifying took place in catastrophic conditions for the drivers.

In this respect, race 2 on Sunday morning went better for young Rocco Coronel. He is being monitored by the development program. Red BullCoronel started in sixth position, and managed to distinguish himself to go on to win. “I got off to a very good start, I was very careful not to let the wheels spin and it worked perfectly, which allowed me to immediately gain places and move up to second place,” he said after the event. “Shortly after, I managed to take the lead and extend my advantage a bit. Dries van Langendonck put me under a lot of pressure, but I defended my position. There were two safety car periods, but each time the restart went smoothly and I was able to maintain a good pace. It was also necessary to cool the tires, as the track was drying out more and more. This worked well, and I was therefore able to take the victory and set the fastest lap of the race. I'm really happy!”

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Third in the championship, Rocco Coronel now ranks third in the championship with 26 points, behind Oleksandr Savinkov in second place, and Dries Van Langendonck, leader with 48 points.