King belies rookie status with F2 fifth

The youngest driver ever to compete in Formula Two’s modern era at just 17, King had already caught the eye with an impressive eighth place on his debut around legendary Belgian circuit Spa-Francorchamps a week earlier.

Buoyed by that, he travelled to the Nürburgring – nestled deep in the spectacular Eifel Mountains – needing to get a handle on another new track, but in optimistic mood.

It took the Warwickshire rookie a mere five laps to get to grips with the Nürburgring’s demanding layout as he effortlessly belied his steep learning curve.

The highly-rated Stoneleigh-based driver lapped third-fastest in practice among the 24-strong field - and although a mistake in qualifying the next day left him a “disappointed” ninth when a top-four spot had looked to be on the cards, he would make amends come the race.

“I had a really good first corner and got up to sixth,” said King.

“I lost a couple of places further round the lap, but then a few battles kicked off ahead and I regained some ground.

“A crash later on lifted me to fifth and I was actually close to the fight over third, but in the final laps they pulled away a bit due to a few small mistakes on my part and tyre degradation.

“Still, fifth was a good, strong result and definitely more representative of our true pace - we were consistently quick throughout the race, so I was happy with that.”

From 11th on the grid following a traffic-plagued qualifying session, early progress in race two would be stymied by a safety car period that took the wind out of King’s sails.

After closing in on the four-way scrap for fifth, the Princethorpe College student’s momentum was rudely interrupted, leaving him to take the chequered flag ninth.

“Our speed was really good,” he said. “I overtook a couple of other drivers early on, but after that, while I was two or three tenths quicker than the pack directly ahead of me, with the downforce and the nature of the circuit, it isn’t hard for someone to stop you from getting past.”

Nevertheless, the result vaulted King into the top ten in the points table despite having only entered two of the four meetings in 2011 .

The Hugo Boss brand ambassador will now head to Brands Hatch for the conclusion of his Formula Two adventure.

Deriving extra motivation as one of just five Brits in the field on home turf, his objective is two top- five finishes.

“I’m happy with the speed we showed and the results we achieved at the Nürburgring.

“Before Spa, I could never have envisaged being in the top ten in the championship now.

“Formula Two is a big step-up from Formula Renault UK, but I feel I’ve got the hang of it already - and scoring points in three-out-of-four races and being consistently up at the sharp end is really promising for the future.”