Laurens Van Hoepen was forced to settle for second place in the Formula 2 Sprint Race around the Miami International Autodromo after a tense battle that raged between the Trident and the Campos of Nikola Tsolov for the entire race.
From lights out, Van Hoepen stuck close to the gearbox of the Red Bull-liveried Campos in front, remaining within his DRS in the early stages of the race. Facing challenges from those behind and in front, the Trident driver kept his focus on the lead and made multiple moves on the Bulgarian driver.
However, getting ahead was only half of the battle, wth the powerful DRS around Miami, Tsolov was back on his tail and passing him time and time again. Van Hoepen timed his final lunge on the last lap, but Tsolov managed to brake later and got the better exit out of the corner. Round the final corners, Tsolov held the lead, and Van Hoepen settled for second after a hard-fought battle.
Much like Tsolov, who admitted the battle was ‘fun’, Van Hoepen equally told the media, including Motorsport Week, that it was a ‘super nice’ and ‘respectful’ battle.
“It was a super nice battle. Nikola and I, as he said, we know each other well, and we kept it very respectful between the two of us. Although the racing was hard but fair, which was nice, especially going into that last corner. It’s all coming down to that breaking zone, and then it was on the limit, but good.
“Then, in the end, to come away with P2 is still a good result. Just a shame not to win, especially after leading in the last lap.”
The power of DRS
He spoke about how the power of DRS meant that being in the lead wasn’t always beneficial, and trying to be tactical led to the consistent swapping of positions seen throughout the race.
“I noticed quite soon that the DRS was very powerful, and I tried to use that to my advantage as much as possible. So yeah, I tried to manage the tyres, stay in the DRS, keep everything a bit cooler, and then go for the move in the end. It also helped that when I looked in my mirror, we had a bit of a gap. I was like, okay, we can use this now and then just fight in the end. And that worked quite well.
“Maybe I should have played it a bit differently, now looking at the result. But yeah, it was just very fun to play it like that.”
Both Tsolov and Van Hoepen said that at times they weren’t even thinking about victory or their current position, but were instead caught up in the ongoing wheel-to-wheel battles.
“I mean, you’re just so busy with the fight itself that you’re not really thinking about the position you’re going to end up in. You just want to cross the line first, of course, but you’re just thinking about being in front of the other car. So that’s just not really something you think about.
“But then you go into that last corner thinking, OK, I should brake on my marks, you know, don’t lock up, don’t go straight into him or something like that. Especially when he came in front of me before the braking. So those are all things you take into consideration. But I think we’ve done a good job of not touching each other and just keeping respectful through the last corner there.”
The challenge from behind
The challenge for the lead wasn’t the only worry Van Hoepen had. Throughout the race, he was under pressure from those behind, overtaken by Joshua Duerksen’s Invicta in the early stages before getting back past.
In the final stages, Alex Dunne climbed through the ranks and got within DRS range of the leading duo in the final two laps.
Van Hopen told the media that Dunne’s looming presence urged him to make his lunges for the lead, but he tried to keep his focus on Tsolov ahead rather than the Alpine-liveried car behind him.
“Well, you definitely saw a pink car coming close in the mirror. So yeah, I knew I had to go for the move at some point soon. So then, after I tried to go straight away for a move, but it was a bit too optimistic, I would say.
“But in the end, you’re just focusing on the car ahead. I mean, the main target was to win, so we’re just looking forward and not too much worrying about the back.”
Schedule changes for F2
The weather is due to shift for the Feature Race, with rain forecast throughout the days and thunderstorms in the evening. F2 was moved two hours earlier to avoid the rain, but there’s still a chance of a light downpour.
For Van Hoepen, if it does rain, it’ll be his first time driving the F2 machinery in the wet, which poses its own challenge on top of racing on a new track.
“I’ve also never driven the F2 car in the rain, but I mean, it’s whatever. I would like to drive in the rain. I think here you’d have a lot of chaos, though, but today we proved that the pace was also good in the dry. So it doesn’t change that much apart from what tyres you fit.
“So I’m ready for everything, and I’m just looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Van Hoepen qualified ninth for the F2 Feature Race but was bumped to eighth as Dunne received a penalty for his collision in Australia.
From further back in the top ten, it will be a harder-fought battle for the Trident driver, but he showed he not only has the pace but the race craft to keep himself in contention. Especially with overtaking coming easily around the Hard Rock Stadium.
READ MORE: Nikola Tsolov reflects on ‘intense but funny’ Miami F2 Sprint
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