After a morning qualifying session that was made difficult by traffic and saw André Negrao and Nico Muller close the session neck and neck, in P14 and P15 respectively, the second race of the Red Bull Ring F.Renault 3.5 weekend still brought Draco Racing a top ten finish and some points.
After 33 laps in an unexpectedly hot Austrian weather, Muller managed to climb as high as P8 with a great start and an aggressive drive that saw him pass many rivals thanks to his racecraft and to a slightly faster pace.
Negrao, who before the pit-stop was just ahead of his team-mate, was ready to do the same but unluckily he had a problem with a wheelnut during the tyre change, an issue that cost him at least four seconds and demoted him from 8th place to P11, a position he kept until the checkered flag.
Nico Muller: Q2 – P15; R2 – P8
“At least it was a fun race, my pace was just a tad quicker than the drivers ahead and that gave me the chance to fulfill some attacks. The weekend wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be, but today the car was feeling better compared to yesterday, so we definitely made some progress. Now I just want to relax a bit, enjoy my holidays and then come back in Budapest ready to give it all”.
André Negrao: Q2 – P14; R2 – P11

“Once again my start was really good and the car felt quick, so I was confident for the outcome of the race. We decided to pit as early as possible, on lap 5, but unluckily a wheelnut got stuck and we lost a lot of ground. It was a pity because a points finish was well in my reach”.