After an exceptional victory at a tumultuous Canadian GP, Chloe Chambers looks confidently towards a narrowing Championship battle.
The Red Bull Ford driver started off the weekend exhibiting strong performance, coming second in Free Practice, less than a tenth away from leading teammate, Palmowski. She subsequently secured her third consecutive pole position of the season, in a tight Qualifying battle between the two teammates.
However, Chambers’ first and second races did not yield quite the same results, with seventh- and tenth-place finishes in Races 1 and 2, respectively.
In Race one, two incidents of contact between the Campos duo of Chambers and Palmowski meant their race was one of damage control. The second Race was no less chaotic, with Chambers having a spin after challenging Championship leader Doriane Pin.
Fortunately, there was hope yet for the driver, who would be starting on Pole in Race three and hoping to salvage some points and performance.
Redemption at the third hurdle
In a hectic third race that saw several collisions and three Safety Cars, Chambers managed to keep hold of her position in first, fending off competitors like Ella Lloyd in every restart.
In an interview, she reflected on her hard-earned victory. “I’m feeling very good,” she claimed.“We got a decent amount of points this weekend, despite having two pretty low points scoring races yesterday.
“I think we really demonstrated that we have the perseverance to bounce back after a tough day yesterday.“
The American expressed remorse for the team’s performance in the two previous races but remained optimistic about what was gained.
“It’s really unfortunate for the rest of the team to have some troubles this weekend. At least from my side of the garage, we have some positives to takeaway and then hopefully, the three of us can be back up there fighting again at the top in Zandvoort.”
The calm demeanour behind an effortless performance
She explained her exceptionally calm demeanour in the car throughout the chaotic third Race, saying, “I felt pretty in control today. It was a little bit difficult with so many Safety Cars, so (we were) going and stopping and going and stopping a lot. Not a super stressful race actually.
“I felt pretty chill, to be honest. It was an eventful race, not for myself, but for others. I felt pretty comfortable the whole time.”
Going on to explain her approach to the three flawless Safety Car restarts, she revealed, “I had a plan for the first one and that plan worked very well, so I decided to just do the same thing again and it worked.
“I was ready to go for a third time. It’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t get to race as many laps as we did in the other couple of races. In the end, the racecraft was good on my side, the pace was good and I think the team just really has the car in a good spot right now.”
The Championship battle is on
Looking ahead toward the Championship, Chambers having moved up to second in Montreal remains hopeful that the gap to the top is hers to close down.
“Doriane’s got quite a points lead currently,” she said. “20 points is totally doable. I would like to be closer to Doriane in the Standings and I know it’ll be a tough fight to the end.
“When you think about it in the grand scheme of things, that’s one good race weekend and one poor race weekend for her away from taking the lead in the Standings. There are still three race weekends left in the year, so plenty of opportunities to do it.”
