The weekend at Paul Ricard, valid for the second round of the E4 European Championship, was not easy, but I still take home experience, kilometres and important indications to keep working on.

The weekend started uphill from qualifying. I struggled to find a truly clean lap: there was a lot of traffic on track and, with such short sessions, it was not easy to put together the right lap at the best moment. This penalized me and forced me to start further back than I had hoped.

In Race 1, I managed to react well. Starting from a position further back, I recovered several positions, especially in the first part of the race, moving up to P17 and then finishing in P19. It was a positive race, with good pace and some nice overtakes.

Race 2 was probably the most positive race of the weekend. I started from P25 and immediately tried to attack. Unfortunately, on the first lap, a contact damaged the front wing, making me lose downforce and stability on the front end. Despite this, I kept fighting, getting very close to the points zone. In the very final laps, however, due to the damage, I was forced to retire. It was a pity, because there was a chance to bring home an important result.

In Race 3, I started from the back, in P33, and I was stuck for a long time in traffic and in the battles of the group. I managed to recover some positions, but the race was affected by two Safety Cars that stayed out for many laps, greatly reducing the actual green-flag racing time. In the end, the race finished again under Safety Car and yellow flags, due to a front wing lost by another car. I finished in P33.

The final result is not what I wanted, but I believe the weekend should also be read beyond the positions. In Race 1 and Race 2, we showed an interesting pace and, even in the most difficult situations, I tried to stay focused, attack and bring home the maximum possible.

Paul Ricard was a complicated weekend, with a difficult qualifying, traffic, contacts and Safety Cars, but these races are also part of the journey. We will keep analysing everything with the team and working with determination, because the potential is there and the motivation remains high.

Beco Bernoldi