Aleshin takes podium for Carlin in Monaco

Carlin's Mikhail Aleshin took an impressive second place in Monaco today, in round three of the Formula Renault 3.5 season. Aleshin put in a flawless performance but was unable to get the lead at the start and was forced to run his race from second place. Taking away 12 points, Aleshin retains the lead in the drivers' championship. Jake Rosenzweig drove a strong race to make up several places and finished 13th.

(L-R) Mikhail Aleshin, Daniel Ricciardo, and Albert Costa Credit: World Series By Renualt

Lining up second on the grid, Aleshin made a lightning start and was up alongside pole sitter Daniel Ricciardo into the first corner. The Carlin man was a little too far back however to make a safe move stick, so slotted in behind Ricciardo into turn 1. Behind him team mate Rosenzweig was stuck in the midfield melee and did well to make it round the first few corners with no damage to his car. By the end of lap one, Aleshin was second, while Rosenzweig was 17th.

As expected overtaking proved difficult around the tight and twisting Monaco circuit. The order remained relatively unchanged throughout the race; Rosenzweig made up places as cars ahead of him made contact with the barriers and also looked threatening when he closed in on Victor Garcia for 13th place. The American couldn't find a way through and had to be content with 13th place.

At the front Aleshin was closing in on Ricciardo but with only a few laps remaining had little chance to make a move. By lap 23, the gap was down to 1.8 seconds and two laps later and dropped to just a second. By the penultimate lap the gap was visibly closing, but Aleshin ran out of time and crossed the line second, just 0.6 seconds behind the race winner. Rosenzweig maintained the pressure on Garcia and crossed the line 13th.

Championship leader Aleshin reflected, "I want to congratulate the team; I think that P2 in Monaco is a very good result, and I know that everyone in the team knows we could have taken pole and won had we been in the second qualifying group on Saturday and we had very good pace in the race. But we have what we have, and I want to say thanks to everyone who helped me get this podium, because it is a very important result for us."

Trevor Carlin added, "I think we saw another exemplary performance from Mikhail this weekend, he did everything he possibly could; he took pole in his group but unfortunately having to start from second on the grid meant it was always going to be difficult to take victory. He raced wheel to wheel with Daniel at the start and didn't take any risks in the run into the very fast first corner. Once he settled into a rhythm he caught Ricciardo but as everyone knows, passing in Monaco is not the easiest thing to do. Both drivers have performed impeccably this weekend, and the team have enjoyed 100 running time with both cars which, around this circuit, is a testament to the drivers and the team."

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