Arthur Pic came within a lap of scoring his first GP2 Series victory of the season at Monza last weekend (September 4-6) after leading Sunday’s Sprint Race from lights to almost the chequered flag.

But second place to go with Saturday’s seventh, achieved despite a serious brake problem, still represented a positive weekend for the Campos Racing ace who continued to build on his strong recent form following a largely luckless start to the year.

The Frenchman was also full of praise for Mitch Evans at the finish of Sunday’s encounter following the Kiwi’s audacious pass for the lead at the start of the final lap that ultimately secured him victory.

Pic’s determination to finish inside the top-eight with an ailing car on Saturday was rewarded with a Sprint Race front row reverse grid slot, which he immediately converted into the lead by jumping pole-sitter Jordan King at the start.

Fast opening laps then ensured he was more than a second clear of his pursuers once the use of DRS had been enabled, crucial to remaining just out of reach down Monza’s long straights and fast, sweeping corners.

But all that changed at one-third distance when a coming together further back necessitated a Safety Car period that brought the likes of Richie Stanaway, championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne and Evans back into contention. All four were running nose-to-tail at the re-start, but Pic was able to find a little bit of breathing space to rebuff their advances.

At least that was the case until a charging Evans had moved up to second and set off in pursuit of Arthur. The pair duly traded lap times but, with the Russian Time machine frequently closing to within half-a-second through the DRS zones, it was a case of when rather than if a challenge would come.

“Mitch was very fast and it’s so difficult to break the tow at Monza, especially when the guys behind have DRS, but I’d managed to eke out a small gap going onto the final lap,” recalled Pic afterwards. “Honestly, I didn’t expect him to come from such a long way back but, fair play, it was a great move without any contact or locked wheels, which is often the case going into Turn 1 here. Sometimes you just have to put your hand up and say ‘well done’.”

Second on Sunday came hot on the heels of another strong performance in Saturday’s Feature Race which saw the 23-year-old fight from sixth to third before battling a serious brake issue over the closing laps.

A decent start helped him immediately leapfrog team-mate Rio Haryanto before being pushed back to sixth at the first corner by a flying Alexander Rossi. And that’s where he’d stay before making his mandatory stop for Pirelli’s harder compound tyres just as the pit window opened on lap seven.

A variety of strategies meant the race’s full picture didn’t emerge for some time, but when it eventually did Pic found himself running third overall. A second consecutive Feature Race podium beckoned before carbon dust began pouring from his car’s front left brake disc, the effects of which ultimately cost him four places.

“The problem began with about 10 laps to go and I just thought ‘hold on!’” revealed Arthur. “I knew it would be difficult to finish on the podium but there was no way I was letting a top-eight finish slip away; it was too important for Sunday’s race so I was very determined. Two or three laps longer and it would have failed so you can look at it one of two ways: we were unlucky to miss out on the podium but fortunate it held on so I could start the Sprint Race from second.”

Reflecting on Sunday, Pic was obviously disappointed to miss out on his first victory of the season but still eager to focus on the positives from a weekend that again outlined his front-running pace.

“Of course you always want to win but I didn’t do anything wrong and am actually really pleased with how this weekend has worked out,” he said. “I feel like the podium at Spa has turned things around a bit and we were able to fight at the front without the bad luck that has really blighted my campaign. I’ll have a new engine for Sochi and am really looking forward to continuing our upward momentum.”

Arthur’s GP2 Series campaign continues in Russia on October 9-11.

For more information on Arthur Pic please visit www.arthurpic.com