Yevan David took the Euroformula Open paddock by storm with a stunning performance on his series debut at Monza, where he took two first-place finishes on a rain-affected weekend. Feeder Series’ Marco Albertini spoke to David after race one to discuss his series debut and his first year in single-seaters.

By Marco Albertini

David’s debut race in the championship saw him start second and take the lead around the outside of Motopark teammate Brad Benavides at the Roggia chicane on the opening lap. Over the race’s 16 laps, he built a gap that BVM Racing’s Francesco Simonazzi struggled to overcome. 

“It was a very interesting race. I took the lead straight away, pulled away quite a lot, and [Simonazzi] caught back up in the end as I made a small mistake,” David said. “But luckily I was able to hold out until the end and win on debut. So I’m super happy.”

David won race one by 0.542 seconds ahead of Francesco Simonazzi, while in the other two races he finished third and first. In the third race, Euroformula Open’s final one of the season, he finished 0.509 seconds ahead of Motopark teammate Fernando Barrichello.

Because he was entered as a guest, the 17-year-old did not score any points.

This is the second time this year that the Sri Lankan has made a one-off appearance in a championship. In July, he raced in the Zandvoort round of Eurocup-3 for Saintéloc Racing, taking 10th- and seventh-place finishes overall and a rookie podium in race two.

“That was a good race,” he said. “Just like this, it was my first race [weekend] as well and I got a podium in Eurocup-3, and now, in my first race in EFO, I won the race.”

David’s main campaign has been with Saintéloc in the Spanish F4 Championship. He currently sits 19th in the standings with a best result of seventh, achieved twice across the season, but will miss the final round in Barcelona this weekend.

For David, who began competitive karting in 2015 and stepped up to single-seaters this year, the difference in machinery has been sizable.

At Monza, the fastest lap in the Tatuus F4-T421 chassis raced in Spanish F4 was a 1:51.372 set by Davide Larini in Euro 4 last month. For comparison, the fastest lap around Monza in Eurocup-3’s modified Tatuus F3-T318 was a 1:47.644 set by Francesco Braschi, while Benavides’ pole lap in Euroformula Open’s Dallara 320 was a 1:41.418..

“At tracks like Monza, Spa, it’s a massive difference, so the jump can be quite big, but luckily I’ve prepared myself quite well and done the work right,” David said about stepping into the Dallara 320.

“[The wet conditions] made it difficult to learn it, but I’ve had a lot of experience in the wet back in the karting days and usually I have a good feeling in the wet, so I was able to adapt quickly. We had a couple of days of practice to do in the wet, so it made the race even easier.”

After his Euroformula Open appearance, David returned to F4 machinery to represent Sri Lanka at the FIA Motorsport Games in Valencia. He took pole position in qualifying and finished the qualifying race third but lost a third-place finish after accruing 15 seconds of penalties for track limits violations.

Header photo credit: Fv Photo via Euroformula Open Championship