King's podium finish eases early frustration in Spain

Jordan King left Barcelona with a new addition to his trophy cabinet, having finished third on Sunday in the first GP2 Series sprint race of the season.
Jordan King, right, starts from the front row in Sunday's sprint race.Jordan King, right, starts from the front row in Sunday's sprint race.
Jordan King, right, starts from the front row in Sunday's sprint race.

King had a tricky Friday, with the team struggling with their set-up and rain throwing a curve ball into the mix at the at the Circuit de Catalunya.

It meant the Racing Engineering driver started the feature race 13th. However, he made some serious headway to cross the line in seventh having climbed five places on the first lap.

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The result earned him a front row slot for the sprint race on Sunday and the Harbury driver made a strong start, battling pole-sitter Raffaele Marciello through Turn 1. He had to back off to avoid contact, which allowed countryman Alex Lynn through.

King was able to overhaul Marciello on lap five but was passed by Pierre Gasly a lap later, dropping him to third where he would remain.

Reflecting on the weekend, King said: “Overall it was a good weekend and I’m happy to leave Spain with some points and a podium. It was a frustrating start, though, to line up for the first race in 13th.

“After winter testing I was very confident of challenging for wins but we had some issues with setting up the car. Thirteenth is not the way you want to start a season, but we made some positive changes to the car overnight and found the problems we were looking for.

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“It meant Saturday was pretty racey and if the last safety car hadn’t come out I would have finished in the top five.

“Sunday was better because I got to start P2 and came home third. The two guys who finished ahead were quicker, but behind us everyone else was a long way back, so I’m feeling confident that I can aim for more trophies in Monaco.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

Meanwhile, King had his first taste of this season’s Manor Racing F1 car this week when he tested the MRT05.

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