Top-ten finish for King on Formula Two debut

Taking advantage of the long summer break in his Formula Renault UK schedule, King - the youngest driver to compete in the modern era of F2 - headed to the legendary Belgian circuit with just a single day’s testing under his belt.

But, at the wheel of his new, turbocharged 500bhp single-seater, the talented Warwickshire star wasted little time in getting to grips with Spa’s famously demanding layout, lapping third quickest in Friday afternoon’s practice session.

However, a spin in the wet during Saturday’s qualifying ended King’s participation and saw him line up down in 16th for the opening race.

Undaunted, he made an impressive start, making up several places before a costly error relegated him to the back of the 23-strong field.

“Going up through Eau Rouge for the first time, I turned into the top left kink slightly too early and clipped the kerb, sending me sideways and into a complete 360° spin, which was pretty scary,” said King.

“That left me down in last place and it was hard to fight my way back through afterwards, especially in the wet, but we recovered to 17th at the end.”

Happily, the second day would dawn dry, and despite clutch issues that cost him valuable time at the beginning of the qualifying session and “a few small mistakes” on his fastest lap, King went on to claim sixth spot on the grid for race two.

Another fine start saw the Princethorpe College student rise through the field to third place, but dogged by understeer problems, King was unable to maintain his forward momentum.

“We struggled with understeer throughout the race, which didn’t help and I think if I had accepted the situation a bit earlier, we might have ended up with a better result,” he said.

“But I probably fought too hard to try to defend against other drivers, which cost me time and I finished eighth.”

Acknowledging the experience will stand him in good stead for the future, King now turns his attention to round two at the Nürburgring in Germany.

“I learnt a huge amount, and it was a good, solid debut, so I have to be satisfied with that. I think the others were quite surprised by how quick I was first time out.

“The Nürburgring is another new circuit for me, so it will be another learning curve, but I feel stronger after Spa and better prepared for it now. I know what to expect this time and what I need to work on - and the goal has to be to stay inside the top ten.”