Lotus GP took two podium places at Silverstone, with Aaro Vainio taking third on Saturday and Conor Daly second on Sunday.
Vainio qualified second for Race 1, with team-mates Daly 5th and Daniel Abt sixth. However, Daly receieved a 10 place grid penalty for an incident inValencia. At the start, Vainio was passed by Antonio Felix da Costa who went on to win, and Abt made up a place to run fourth. Daly was on an absolute charge passing on every one of the opening seven laps of the 14 lap race and finishing fifth.
On Sunday, on a treacherously slippery track, Daly was to prove his overtaking prowess once again. Starting on slick tyres saw this Irish-American fall back through the field from P4 to P19. But then the brave slick runners came to the fore and he followed Will Buller, who started on slicks at the back, across the finish line to take second. Vainio struck the back ofArden’s Mathias Laine at Vale and crashed out, earning a ten place grid penalty for Hockenheim in the process. Abt spun off across the grass on his own accord and was then clouted by Marlon Stockinger’s Status car for good measure.
Vainio remains second in the drivers’ championship while Lotus GP is one point shy of MW Arden in the teams standings.
Conor Daly: “Honestly I was really unhappy with the decision to go on slicks. When you are at the front you want to go with the majority of what everyone else is doing. I should never have doubted the Lotus guys, though. It’s great to be driving for a team like that. Once it started drying out it was fantastic. I didn’t even know where I was at the finish, I thought I was fourth or fifth but it turns out I was second!”
Aaro Vainio: “I always liked these conditions, coming fromFinlandI think it’s quite normal! I pushed really hard even though I knew is would be difficult on the tyres but I tried my best. Antonio [Felix da Costa] was able to pass me [in Race 1] and I was lucky to keep [Mathias] Laine and [Daniel] Abt behind me. Obviously then Antonio and Mitch [Evans] were able to pull away. I’m a bit disappointed with the result because I know the pace is there.”
