Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Richard Verschoor confessed that he “thought it was over” when he hit the wall before delivering the Baku Formula 2 feature race win on a difficult day for his Trident team.
Luca Salvadori — the son of the team principal and owner Maurizio Salvadori — had passed away in the morning prior to the race as a consequence of the injuries sustained in an accident in a motorcycle race.
Such an event made Verschoor’s victory — his first of the season after two disqualifications from sprint race wins — even more special.
“First of all, super good race, but of course, emotional,” the Dutchman told media including Formula Scout after the race. “I think it was in the news already that something happened with the family of the team owner and for the team it was very emotional. Especially for the team manager it was not so nice this morning, so I’m very happy to give them this win. I want to say my condolences to the Salvadori family.”
En route to victory, Verschoor hit the wall at high-speed exiting the last corner, a moment he felt that could have brought his race to an early end. His car was visibly affected as a result.
“I hit the wall before going into the pits,” he explained. “To be honest, I thought it was over.
“It was a hard hit coming out of the last corner, I think at 250kph. I’m not sure how I survived, but the car was definitely not straight. My steering wheel was completely to the left, and I thought I would lose the win. Because I saw I came out P1 after the pit-stop, and to be fair, the first four or five laps I felt OK, but I had to get used to the different kind of inputs I had to give because it was not straight.
“In the end, I’m very happy that I didn’t give up when I just hit the wall because I really thought it was over. But yeah, you saw it right. It was definitely not straight anymore.”