STEP Motorsport and Victor T. Nielsen brought home a trophy from their Formula 4 debut on the famous Swedish racetrack with F1 history.
It is a significant challenge to race on a track you have never driven before. However, it is a sporting rite of passage when all participants in the field start from the same point—who can learn the track fastest and find those crucial tenths of a second?
On Friday, two practice sessions were held on the track. Both sessions were used to fine-tune both the car and the driver in preparation for Saturday’s qualification and two races. A total of 50 minutes of practice were on the schedule, so intensive work was done to gather sufficient experience. Already in the first practice, Victor showed that both the car and driver had what it took, as he was the fastest driver in the field on the four-kilometer track.
Qualifying, however, was challenged by a longer interruption due to another driver’s off-track incident. This meant there was only one lap to set a sharp time before the time ran out. Here, Victor was the second fastest, missing the quickest lap time by just 0.087 seconds. An acceptable effort and a very good starting point for the race.
The good momentum continued when the first race started. A strong start allowed Victor to come out of the first turn very close to the lead. But then the challenges arose.
At the end of the straight, chaos ensued as several drivers braked too late and ended up in the gravel. Among them was Victor, who defended himself against an attack from behind when another competitor hit him from behind. There was no significant damage to the car, so Victor was able to finish the race and managed to gain several positions, crossing the finish line in sixth place.
After an hour and a half break, Victor was back in the hot seat, ready for the final race of the weekend. Starting from sixth position, the northerner made a strong start and set a good pace, allowing him to take advantage of the challenges faced by competitors and secure a third place along with solid points for the championship.
Victor T. Nielsen: “It has been a pretty good weekend. We have raced well, and even though there was a bit of chaos in the first race, I think I learned a lot from it. I’m happy to bring home a trophy and good points for the championship—now we need to continue working on this and come back even stronger for the next race! Anderstorp is a cool and challenging track!”
Team Principal Morten Dons: “Overall, it has been a good weekend where Victor showed that he can quickly learn a track and run competitive lap times. He did a great job on the track today, and I look forward to continuing the work when we arrive at Gelleråsen.”
In three weeks, the Formula 4 field will return to Swedish soil for the third round of the championship at Gelleråsen Arena before an early summer break for Victor and the team.