Victory in the first race and, with the inverted grid, third place in the second
This Sunday (1st) the 2019 F2 World Championship season ended. To bring the year to a perfect end, the Brazilian driver Sérgio Sette Câmara (YOUSE | BMG | MRV | CCR | CBMM | CEMIG | GASMIG | COPASA) gave a real show at the Abu Dhabi track in the United Arab Emirates. The fastest of the weekend, he got the pole-position, won the race on Saturday and, on Sunday, with the grid reversed, went back to the podium in the third position. With this result, Sette Câmara achieved the necessary points to get the Super License for the F1.
The 12th and final double round of the F2 featured the beautiful Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. On the luxurious Middle East track, the 20 cars participating in the competition made the last and perhaps the most exciting race of the year.
After the first 11 rounds of the year, Sette was holding the fourth place in the Championship and his main goal was to keep this position. That’s because the fourth place in the final classification grants him 30 points for the F1 Super License and, added to the 10 he got in 2018, would already be able to drive in the main category of motorsport in the world.
Having devoted a great deal of pre-preparation, tireless hours on the simulator, physical training and karting, the Brazilian entered the track for the free practice aware of what he would need to do. Thus, in the only free session in which the F2 is entitled, the Brazilian showed that he had a very good car. At 1’51s941 he was the fastest and was almost two tenths ahead of second place, his teammate Nicholas Latifi.
The qualifying session happened a few hours later. Sette, in his first attempt, failed to get the best out of the # 5 car and ended up with the third place. In the second set of tyres, then, he made a near-perfect lap. Imposing an extraordinary mark in the third sector of the track Sérgio set the time of 1m49s751 thus ensuring his second pole position of the season.
The first race was held on Saturday night. Sette chose to use hypersoft tyres, however, he dropped to the third position after losing grip at the start. Without losing hope, the driver kept focused. He was not doing a very good pace, and he saw his opponents open a little gap, then fell to the fourth position and, on lap six, he went in for the mandatory pitstop. After a perfect pit, the DAMS team put the Brazilian back on track in the ninth place and from then on, the team’s strategy began to apply. Sergio was a little faster than his competitors and, thus, was saving his tyres without having to fight for positions. In the last eight laps of the race, however, he began to have extremely fast laps, overtaking his opponents one by one, and in the end, received the winning flag with more than five seconds ahead of the second place.
“I am very happy. This was my first victory in a Saturday race and, more than that, starting from the pole position. Our car is flying, and believing in the team’s strategy and the engineers’ information was critical to winning. With today’s points, my super license is already guaranteed and that in itself makes me even happier ”, commented the driver.
TO END THE YEAR ON A HIGH NOTE
Following the rules of the competition, Sette started this Sunday in the eighth position of the grid. In a race where tYre change was not mandatory, the DAMS driver knew that he would have to seek maximum recovery and not wearing out the tyres too much.
Sergio was very focused and prepared, knowing that he would have to make use of all his internationally praised technique in this race. Having to dodge a competitor in the getaway ahead of him, the Brazilian still managed to do well and continued in the race in the eighth place. With a good pace, he continued on the first few laps and, from the fifth turn, began his recovery. In the face of very fast opponents, Sérgio knew how to position himself very well and, without making mistakes, won five positions to complete the 22 laps in the third position.
“Nothing better than finishing the season again on the podium. We had a perfect weekend. People have a very short memory, and ending the year with good results leaves a good mark on their memory. I am very thankful to my sponsors, my family, and everyone who cheered for me. Finally, my special thanks go to the DAMS team for the great work we have done this season. Together we were able to win the team title and, more importantly, offer a significant tribute to Mr Jean Paul Driot, founder and head of the team that passed away this year, ”commented the 21-year-old.
For the second consecutive season, Sette Câmara helped his team in winning the team title. In 2018 he was champion with Carlin and now in 2019 with DAMS. In the final result of the drivers’ championship, Sergio was in fourth place with 204 points. The title went to Dutchman Nyck DeVries with 266. Nicholas Latifi (CAN) took the vice with 214 points and Luca Ghiotto third with 207.