Marco Sorensen
Formula Renault 3.5, Spielberg
Despite him being one of the pre-season favorites, Marco Sorensen endured a rather horrid start to his sophomore campaign in Formula Renault 3.5, as bad luck and general struggles with pace left him clutching at finishes in the lower half of the top ten. While a podium at Monaco was a pleasant change of scenery, the Dane’s misfortunes did not cease and, when the series arrived at Spielberg, the Lotus junior sat ninth in the standings with just 33 points.
Having missed out on the opportunity to partake in the F1 young driver test, Sorensen came to Austria with a point to prove and started on that with frontrunning pace in practice. On Saturday, the Dane took the first pole of his 3.5 career, edging out compatriot Kevin Magnussen, and then maintained the lead through two safety car restarts in the race to secure the victory.
He wasn’t done. In Sunday qualifying, Sorensen again narrowly bested Magnussen on his way to pole. He kept the lead at the start of the race, but came close to relinquishing the position after a safety car restart. Still, despite Magnussen’s best efforts, the Lotus junior got to complete the double.
The rest of his season was a lot like the first half, with good results and solid pace undermined by awful luck and a lack of consistency. His double victory, however, was enough to make an impression, allowing him to look into the possibility of a third year in the category.
Valentin Khorounzhiy