Wilson hoping for British hat-trick

Justin Wilson enjoyed increased reliability from his Minardi PS03 as he completed yesterday's 70-lap French Grand Prix in 14th place, his second successive finish following his 13th place in Germany a week earlier.

There was a touch of early drama for the British rookie as he was forced to switch from the car he qualified Saturday, originally the spare car set-up for Verstappen, following gearbox problems, subsequently starting the race back in his original car and from the pit-lane!

Justin opted to run a two-stop strategy for fuel and tyres, over his team-mate's three stops. Pushing hard throughout the race, Justin's second finish in row bodes well for the 24-year-old heading into his 'home' Grand Prix at Silverstone in two weeks time.

"The first sector of the race presented me with a little transmission problem," said Wilson. "It first happened battling Ralph Firman along the start-finish straight. The engine lost all power and I suddenly slowed while flat-out heading towards Estoril. I was concerned at that stage that my race might be over before my first stop. While it happened again a couple of times it ultimately stopped and more importantly I was able to get by Ralph again and keep him behind me to the finish!"

"I also lost radio contact with the team, making it quite a lonely race and I wasn't too sure where I was in relation to others! The team performed two great pit-stops, allowing me to remain ahead of Jos and push all the way to the flag. Overall I'm happy with my personal performance and I hope to make it a hat-trick of finishes at the British Grand Prix in a fortnight!"

-www.justinwilson.co.uk-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments