Points and a maintained third place in Spa
One week after Silverstone, Théophile was back on track from 17th to 19th July at Spa-Francorchamps. The weekend alternated encouraging pace, important points and racing incidents. Nevertheless, Théophile leaves Belgium still third in the championship and fully committed to the fight for the top spots.
A promising start to the weekend
Right from Friday morning's free practice, Théophile was quickly at ease. Present among the fastest drivers, he finished in second place, just a few tenths off the fastest time.
This first session confirmed the competitiveness of the car and allowed us to approach qualifying with encouraging benchmarks.
Interrupted qualifying
Conditions then evolved, with the gradual arrival of rain and an increasingly tricky track. Théophile placed his car in tenth position during the first attempts.
As the drivers were preparing for their final flying laps, several incidents caused a red flag. The session could not be restarted, preventing a large part of the field from improving.
Following qualifying, Théophile and several other drivers received a five-place grid penalty for both of the weekend's races.
Important points in the Sprint
Starting eighth on Saturday morning, Théophile immediately gained two positions thanks to a very good first lap. Settled in sixth place, he then fought in the leading group.
On lap seven, he overtook Taito Kato on the Kemmel straight to take fifth position. The two drivers continued their duel until the final restart, with Théophile trying again to retake the advantage in the final chicane.
He eventually crossed the line in sixth position, adding five important points to his championship total.
It was a good race and I really enjoyed myself. The start was good and the pace was there. These are important points for the championship.
A compromised main race at the start
Fifteenth on the grid on Sunday morning due to his penalty, Théophile had to drive an offensive race to get back into the points.
However, contact in the opening corners damaged his front wing. He had to pit on the very first lap to make repairs, heavily compromising his chances of a result.
Having restarted at the back of the pack, he never gave up and gradually regained several positions to fight back to fifteenth place at the chequered flag.
The final result does not reflect the potential seen since practice, but his comeback and his pace remain positive elements for the future.
Still third in the championship
With the five points scored in the Sprint, Théophile retains third place in the general classification with 65 points.
Spa did not offer all the hoped-for results, but the second place obtained during practice and the pace shown during the Sprint confirm that the performance is still there.
Heading to Budapest
Formula 3 will travel to the Hungaroring from 24th to 26th July for the next round of the season.
On a circuit that is very different from Spa, the objective will be to quickly return to the top positions and continue gathering points. Théophile remains third in the championship and fully committed to the fight.
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