‘It’s all about choosing the right line’ says Beckmann on race start improvements

Making up 10 places in the two Sprint Races to score points for the fourth time in Formula 2, David Beckmann left Silverstone on Saturday pretty pleased with a solid day’s work, labelling the improvements he and the team have made on their race starts as pivotal.

Beckmann made up all 10 positions in the opening laps of the two sprints, launching his Charouz Racing System machine off the line and on the attack, before switching to a more preservative mode to protect his tyres from degradation, amid 50-degree heat on track.

And while the German would have liked a few more points in the bag, he left with a smile on his face given where they started the day.

“I started P18 and that makes it tough,” said Beckmann. “They were great races and I think we made the most of them.

“We made up five positions in each of the starts and that shows that I can drive well on the opening lap. All of the moves were made up to Turn 4 and from there it becomes really hard to overtake.

“After the start here, you just need to watch your tyres and then maybe at the end you will have a chance, but in the middle of the race it’s nearly impossible. Overall, it is not what we hoped for this weekend, so far, but it is one point.”

Beckmann scored points three times from nine races ahead of Silverstone and said that he was targeting stronger starts to capitalise on the Charouz race pace. An improvement that will help the team when starting further down the order, like at Silverstone.

“In Baku, I think the starts were okay, but here I think it has improved more,” continued Beckmann. “Our Race 1 start was good this morning and our Race 2 start was good this afternoon as well - maybe even better.

“I think we've found the right procedure for me and for the team. We've found the limit and that is really important. You cannot lose positions at the start at a track like Silverstone because it's not easy to overtake.

“It is all about choosing the right line. It shows that we have good potential at the start and that we are getting everything right with the clutch map and making good decisions.”