Santino Ferrucci's diary - A lot of good and a little bad in Zandvoort

I have been in Europe for a month now and this was the final race before I came home for a few weeks. We were racing at Zandvoort, the famed track on the beach outside of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I had never raced here but had the opportunity a few months ago to get some laps in a session arranged by my engineer Ralf Druckenmüller. It is usually very windy and the track is tricky and technical.
 
Friday practice
We were the first group on the track and the car was not drivable and had a lot of oversteer. It was a very green track so we were not too concerned because it would be very different for qualifying later in the day after DTM and Porsche Cup cars drove on the circuit.
In Qualifying 1, we decided to take to the track early in an effort to find clean air. Zandvoort is a high downforce track so it is key to have clean air to go fast. The track kept getting quicker and I struggled to find open space later in the session, after my planned stop for a half-new set of tires. There is a lot of traffic with 34 cars on this tight 4.7 kilometer track! I could have gone a few tenths better and two of my teammates were just as fast – we were back to back, from P10 to 12, all struggling to find grip.
Qualifying 2 and 3 we used a similar strategy and it almost worked out. We went out for 3 laps to feel the track on used tires, then came in to make a change if needed before we put on sticker tires. Again there was a lot of traffic and I managed two 11th place runs.

Saturday
The sun was shining bright for race 1. I was hoping to get a strong start because it is next to impossible to pass here in an F3 car because when you get close to the car in front, all the front grip is gone due to our reliance on downforce. Well, I got an awesome start and went from P12 to 8th in one lap and was going to be 7th until Jake Dennis decided to brake check the field, twice! Yes, he slowed to a stop in a 4th gear turn and again on the straight that caused a chain reaction and I hit George Russell, a fellow competitor and broke my front wing. I guess after all our briefings, there is one word to be repeated over and over and that is respect for one another. Without that, we cannot race safe or clean. Dennis didn't learn and has no respect for anyone. That is sad for someone with all his years and experience. He only slowed because he jumped the start and was given a drive-through penalty and was pissed off, so clearly he decided he would screw the field. Thankfully the FIA stewards looked at the video and handed Dennis another penalty. It was a dumb move but not a surprise coming from him because he has done it in the past. My race was a loss, as I could have had some nice points. Here's an article Autosport wrote on his bonehead move in which I am heavily quoted.

Race 2 was later that same day and it was a sunny afternoon. I got a good start but not as good as before. I got jammed up in Turn 1 and only gained a few positions to 9th. I got a really good run out of Turn 3 and more than enough to pass my teammate Gunther but of course he had to weave and block me as he is famous for. He actually blocked another teammate Jensen in practice, too. So once we get spread apart passing becomes impossible and I ran the entire time in 9th.

Sunday
Race 3 on Sunday was run in cooler temperatures. The sky was overcast and there was some sprinkling of rain here and there.

My start was incredible once again, I nearly had a perfect start as I went from 0 to 62mph in 3.002 seconds! I was up to 9th but I dropped back to 10th because in Turn 3 I chose the wrong line and got passed while I was in a traffic jam. There happened to be a few safety cars and I had a really good restart and made a very clean textbook move on the guy in front of me for ninth – one of the only passes to be made in the race!

Our pace was very good, only two tenths off the fastest lap but like I said, it's next to impossible to pass the cars in front of you. I was very happy with the weekend knowing that my racecraft is getting better and my engineer and I are learning more about the car. I am not at my best at high-downforce tracks yet and I learned a lot at Zandvoort ready for Red Bull Ring, which is our next high down forcetrack.

A big thanks to Eastern Account Systems, Cly-Del Manufacturing, Alpinestars, ARAI Helmets, Brett King Design, and my team Joe Zeller Racing for getting the car together for each race, my engineer Ralf, my dad and my friends and fans coming out to support me! I can't wait to be home in the USA for a few weeks. God Bless America!

Santino Ferrucci