Morbidelli: "This is an important victory"

Championship leader takes another stunning win to bounce back from Brno

The Championship got a serious shake up at Brno as Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) cut the gap back down to 17 points - but Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) bounced back in style at the Austrian GP, leading home a 1-2 for the EG 0,0 Marc VDS outfit and taking his seventh win of the year. With Lüthi in P3, it was a good gain for the Championship leader - who says it was crucial.

It was also spectacular as the front trio fought it out for the win, and Morbidelli was only able to break away in the latter stages. The perfect cocktail of pressure, close racing and walking the tightrope of the limit - something the Italian is increasingly using to his advantage as he pushes on in pursuit of the crown. 

Franco Morbidelli, P1: “This is a crucial victory for me in the championship and comes at the perfect moment after my poor result in Brno last weekend. I came here focussed to do a good job and although we started slowly on Friday, my team worked very well and gave me a great package to go for the victory. I’m very happy for this win and thanks to everyone for their support.”

After the win, the stylishly monosyllabic Italian was then back on track to test. Even at the top, there's always something to improve.

FM21: "Today we mostly worked on bike set up, fine tuning the base set up we have to get even more from the bike. We're winning races but I'm not always the fastest and there is always something to improve. We've tried quite a few different things today, including revised front forks, and the feeling has been good. We also tested a new rear tyre from Dunlop, but I think we need more laps on this at a few different circuits before coming to any conclusions. Overall a good test for us and now we can enjoy a few days off before heading to Silverstone for the next race."