Guest Column
It was a special weekend in Barcelona for DAMS Lucas Oil and for their driver Juan Manuel Correa, as he came through the field to finish on the podium in the Feature Race.
We caught up with Correa to talk us through the weekend from Practice to the final lap of the Feature Race and he did not disappoint.
“Practice was very good, we found ourselves with a good package in the car, good speed, the car was in the window that we wanted for the weekend. It's very different conditions this weekend to what we had in the test that about a month and a half ago, so you need to adapt quickly.
“That's part of the game in this Championship, quick adaptation all the time. We go to tracks that we have not driven in over a year sometimes and we have one Practice to put it together, so I think we are used to having to do that.”
READ MORE: Hubert hails ‘fantastic’ double podium for DAMS in Barcelona
“Quali was very positive for us. It’s the best one that we've had as a team so far this year. I was two and a half tenths off from Pole, my teammate was pretty much on the money, so that was where we put most of our focus on for this weekend and we did it. It was a good step forward.”
“The Sprint Race was positive. There was good pace, it was not easy to overtake, but we had good pace and we finished technically on the podium but there were still some things that we had to fix from the Sprint Race to the Feature.
“I think within the car to help with the tyre management, that could have been better during the Sprint but for the Feature we made that step, and the car was even more efficient. Very happy with what we've done so far this weekend."
“We had the pace today in the Feature Race to come back from P8 to P3 and almost challenge for the win. It's very fun to come back through the field like that but you also need to stay cool. It's very easy to get excited, to cook your tyres and then you are not going to get very far. That's a bit where a lot of thinking and the experience sort of kicks in, finding that sweet spot between pushing and using the grip of the tyre but still making sure you have rubber left at the end of the race.
“There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice, and I want more. This just makes me hungrier to go to Austria next week and get one or two positions better, keep scoring points. I'm enjoying it, this is a fun season for me, it's a good environment that I am in, so I am looking forward to the races that are coming.”
“I think we should be strong in Spielberg. I like the track, it's been a track that has suited me in previous years. We will see what package the team gives us, but I have confidence that we will be competitive.”