Boschung confident Campos’ wet progression can yield return to the points

29 July 2023

Qualifying around Spa-Francorchamps might have been short, but it proved to be sweet for Ralph Boschung. The Campos Racing driver secured his best Friday result of the 2023 campaign with P7 and his first return to the top 10 since Jeddah.

After an early Red Flag left the field at the mercy of the approaching rain, time was of the essence to get a lap in before it got too wet to continue. With the pack filing out in procession in the order they lined up in the pit lane, Boschung admitted that it was the luck of the draw, but that he was pleased to be on the right side of it this time around.

“It was obviously very, very tricky I think for everyone. When the Red Flag came, on the radar it said it was going to start raining. We had some drizzle in the pit lane already and then it was up to the drivers and the team to make the call to stay on the slicks or not. We luckily stayed on the slick, but then already in Sector 3, I had a lot of rain.

“I think I could have improved if I would have been at the front of the pit lane, and I think the result is basically the positions of the pit lane. Unfortunately for some, they didn’t get that luck and we were just in. So, pretty happy to be back in the top 10 – it’s been a while. Also, Friday morning we were pretty good in the wet, so I’m quite happy and confident for the Sprint.

All bar his Campos teammate Kush Maini opted to gamble on the quicker slicks and hope that the dry line would hold up long enough to get an effort on the board.

Being advised to make every second count even on the outlap proved to be right call. Rain had already started to fall heavily in Sector 3 by the time the pack behind the PREMA Racing duo of Frederik Vesti and Oliver Bearman reached it.

“It was a bit like an F1 Qualifying for having just one lap and push,” Boschung noted. “But we obviously don’t have the tyre warmers, so it makes it even trickier to get the tyres up to temperature. I guess we just had to have the confidence to push immediately and it was very, very edgy I think for all of us, but it turned out to be pretty good.”

Lining up fourth on the grid for the reverse grid Sprint Race, he is dreaming of another downpour to bring Campos’ improvements into play after showing his rapid pace in Practice. Wet or ever-changing conditions could hand the advantage to the more experienced drivers, with the top six all being returnees.

Boschung is firmly set on keeping his #25 well within the points, but he admits he wouldn’t be a racing driver if he didn’t have his eye set on a bigger prize and bringing home some silverware.

“We made some big steps I think in the wet. It was one of our weak points and it showed in Free Practice, we were extremely quick. Actually, the quickest in Sector 2 by quite a margin, so that shows that the car has the potential to do it. Then, I think it will be up to the driver to manage the rear tyres not overheating. If it rains completely, I’m quite confident we can score some big points.

“I think it’s going to be quite tough to overtake in the wet, depending on the visibility, I think we’ll have to pay big attention to that. Staying within the top four or five and grabbing some points after a long haul of no points finishes would be good, but I’m here to grab the champagne and the trophy. So, I’ll go for the podium for sure.”