Drama in final sprint at Spielberg: Great performance goes unrewarded
Jeffrey Schmidt was out of luck on the third race weekend of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Austria. With a Top Three finish looking highly likely, a sudden problem with the engine dropped him down the running order. Shortly before the end of the race, the 21-year-old from Switzerland had to abandon his hopes of a possible podium.
Jeffrey, up to the third-to-last lap, you were in fifth place and in with a chance of a podium finish. What happened?
Actually, I’d rather not be reminded of it, because the race result was incredibly annoying and did not in any way reflect my performance. Starting from seventh on the grid, I didn’t get off the line at all well and initially fell back two places. But then I fought my way back to fifth. My car was really fast, and I came out on top in a skirmish between three cars. I even managed to catch up with the third and fourth-placed cars and had hopes of a podium finish.
But then disaster struck…
It was three laps from the end when my engine suddenly started making strange noises. All of a sudden, I was unable to go faster than 150kph and I couldn’t keep up. In the closing stages, I dropped back to 16th place. It was very annoying, but there was nothing I could do about it. I also feel sorry for the team, because we had very good pace and would certainly have scored a lot of points. We’ll now take a close look at everything so we can find a solution to the problem as soon as possible and return all the stronger.
Really not an easy weekend on one of your favourite tracks on the calendar. Even in qualifying, things didn’t go quite as expected?
No, not at all. Grid position seven in a field of 28 cars doesn’t sound all that bad, but I was feeling quite frustrated after qualifying. At the start of the session, it was raining heavily and I was coping really well with the conditions. For the whole of qualifying, I was one of the leading group. My lap times would easily have been good enough for a place on one of the first two rows. Then the track dried, and the lap times got faster. I was stuck behind a group of cars that were spinning off the track one after another. So qualifying was red-flagged at the worst possible moment from my perspective. It was a pity, because I had consistently been among the leaders, but ultimately qualified back in seventh.
Prior to the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring, you were feeling very confident of a good result. Where did this optimism come from?
The track characteristics suit my driving style, and after just one lap, I generally feel comfortable with the car. I wanted to build on my success from last year. In the 2014 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Spielberg, I drove from sixth on the grid to finish in second place. That was my first podium in the Supercup, which is why I had been counting on something better last weekend. I was also keen to present my team with a decent result, because my team manager Walter Lechner was due to receive an award at the Red Bull Ring for his 40th anniversary in the sport.
You already have another race in your diary for next weekend with the Porsche Carrera Cup. Are you looking forward to the highlight on the racing calendar at the Norisring?
Most definitely! The street race in Nuremberg is a true classic and also an absolute highlight for the fans. I have some unfinished business at the Norisring. Last year, I qualified third on the grid, but because of the difficult weather conditions, I only managed to come sixth. So I’m determined that this year’s race in Nuremberg is going to end with a podium. That’s also important for my title challenge. After all, I’m currently second in the standings.
