Cordeel pleased hard work paid off on path to maiden points

5 September 2022

Amaury Cordeel put in a poised performance on his way to claiming his first Formula 2 points in a tricky Feature Race on Sunday morning. Starting in P12, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver held his own to reach the chequered flag in P6 and add eight points to his Championship tally.

With the 38-lap race around the demanding Circuit Zandvoort testing the drivers both mentally and physically, Cordeel said he was satisfied with how he and his Dutch team had dealt with the challenges that came their way.

“We finally got points. All the hard work the team and I have done has paid off,” he remarked. “First of all, the red flag - it's always hard because you're focused, and you get in the car focused. But then, the red flag came out, so you jump out of the car. You have to keep your head straight, don’t make mistakes after the red flag.

“The restarts were good, good strategy too. We lost some places at the pit stop, but eventually taking P6 was a good ending.”

In the race of many parts, the Belgian managed to navigate his way through the field and utilise the lessons he’s learnt throughout in rookie campaign. One standout moment was right at the beginning as he got the getaway of his 2022 season so far. Moving up to ninth by Lap 2, he pulled off a daring move to go the long way around the outside of Jüri Vips and Frederik Vesti at the top of Turn 3’s banking.

From there on, he survived three separate Safety Car restarts alongside dealing with the pace of those around him ebbing and flowing. At one point, Cordeel found himself simultaneously sizing up a move on Enzo Fittipaldi whilst keeping an eye on his wing mirrors as Vips tried to pressurise him into a mistake behind.

Knowing how critical tyre strategy would be, he and his VAR team took full advantage of their opportunities, starting on the option tyres before swapping to the primes during the red flag. After he became the first driver to take his mandatory stop on Lap 8, it was all down to Cordeel to keep those tyres in check until the end.

“We did our pit stop quite early so I had to manage the hard tyre, but I think we did a good job on that. That was key, don’t make mistakes and to manage the tyre fully to the end of the race.”

As his thoughts turn to the penultimate round, Cordeel is confident that he and the team can keep their positive momentum going as he returns to one of his favourite circuits – Monza. He’s scored points at the circuit in previous visits with Formula Renault Eurocup and French F4 and believes he’s got the potential to climb even further up the order next time out.

“Of course, for the team and I, it’s a confidence boost. We’re just going to continue like we have been working to improve at Monza. I like the track a lot, so let’s do even better in Monza!”