The Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup was back in action at the iconic Nurburgring Circuit in the Eiffel Mountains of Germany.
Qualifying for Race One saw Piastri set the 4th fastest time in Group A, with Nikita Volegov setting the 9th fastest time in the same group. Teammate Sami Taoufik set the 10th fastest time in Group B.
The grid for the opening race had Piastri starting from 8th, Volegov in 18th and Taoufik in 19th position.
Piastri held 8th in the opening corners, before he was shoved wide onto the grass on the exit of Turn 4 to halt his momentum. As they approached the chicane near the end of Lap 1, Piastri was hit from behind and tipped into a spin, dropping him to the rear of field and requiring him to make a comeback drive.
Taoufk had managed to move up two position into 17th at the start, with Volegov running two places behind in 19th, while Piastri began to recover his way back from 26th position.
At half distance, both Taoufik and Volegov had maintained their positions, while Piastri had managed to move back to 20th position.
Into the closing stages, the Arden trio was now racing together, as Piastri battled with Volegov and then Taoufik in the final laps – with all three provided good racing respect, whilst still battling hard for track position.
Piastri recovered to 15th at the chequered flag, just two places ahead of Taoufik, who likewise just pipped Volegov at the finish by 0.2s.
Qualifying from the second race of the weekend once again saw Piastri set the 4th quickest lap in his Qualifying Group A, with Volegov putting in the 8th quickest lap in the same session. Taoufik put his car a solid 7th quickest in Group B as all drivers made good progress overnight in preparation for Race Two.
The second race saw Piastri start from 7th, with Taoufik and Volegov starting next to each other in 14th and 15th respectively.
Piastri battled hard for 6th position in the opening exchanges, surviving being pushed wide onto the grass to still maintain his starting position in the first sector, as the pack negotiated the opening sequence of corners. Taoufik likewise maintained 14th position at the start, with Volegov running in 17th early on – shortly before a Safety Car was deployed.
The race was stopped briefly for a red flag period, following the incident which caused the Safety Car period while the necessary precautions were taken by Race Control.
The race was resumed with 17-minutes of racing to go. At the restart, Volegov moved himself up into 16th, slotting in just behind Taoufik in 15th position. Piastri maintained 7th and was able to go with the leading group ahead.
As the time counted down, Piastri crossed the line to bag a solid 7th place finish, securing more points for the team in the championship. Taoufik and Volegov maintained their race long battle, finishing once again very close together in 14th and 15th position at the chequered flag.
The next round takes place in just one weeks’ time, on the 22-23 September at Hockenheim for the penultimate round of the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup Championship.
Photograhs: Dutch Photo Agency