Following on from yesterday’s United States V-Prix, in which Phoenix Motorsport recorded their best ever finish of fifth, Team Principal Alex Easton revealed some news on the 2021 line-up and also had something to add regarding his decision to step back. The statement was released by Easton via the team’s social media and website after the race; “First of all, I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of the boys for their performance yesterday. Sergio drove absolutely fantastically all race to keep himself right in the mix and, although we definitely didn’t deserve to finish ahead of Giodano, it was an utterly breath-taking opportunistic double overtake on the Italian and Klaas that got the team the reward of fifth in the end. Thierry too, was ahead of Sergio all race with one of his best drives for a while, but once again the poor lad had to retire through no fault of his own – when it rains it pours sometimes and he’s stuck outside in an absolute monsoon without an anorak this season. Anyway, it's the perfect opportunity for the team to be able to finally confirm that Sergio has signed a contract extension with the team to keep him here for a fourth season. It took a while to get over the line because he’d had plenty of outside offers, which we of course were open to because we at Phoenix always want the best for our drivers and if that means an opportunity higher up the grid, so be it. However, ultimately, the best option for everyone was for him to stay with us into 2021, which we’re all absolutely buzzing about. I can also confirm that JT will stay on for a sixth season; his position is as yet undecided as there are still negotiations ongoing for the second seat. I think you can probably expect that to be finalised following the end of the current season. Finally, the announcement of these contract extensions is – for now – my final act before I hand the reigns over to Christian to take temporary charge of the team as I’m forced to take a big step back from this great sport. I hope everyone knows that this was not a decision I took lightly at all, mulling it over for months before deciding that it was the best decision for both the team and myself. Just to quickly explain; the opportunity came up for me to finally work towards a proper career – outside of Virtual Motorsport – and, as someone who has unfortunately gained a reputation for letting his education suffer badly in the past, I refused to let this opportunity get wasted by me not giving 200% to it. Formula Virtual has been my biggest joy over the last five or six years and it will continue to be something I love but unfortunately, just whilst I’m working towards my new career, I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time to it that I insist on doing. I will, of course, get to as many races as I can do whenever my studying allows it so that I can still catch up with everyone so you’ll surely see me around in the paddock here and there, making a nuisance of myself as per! I, and the team, are incredibly excited for the future of Formula Virtual; with the second half of 2020 promising to be utterly fantastic and then the new regulation changes coming in for next year. The series is still going from strength to strength and is in great hands under the leadership of Nic Morley and of course bringing in Douglas Bacon recently is a great move for the FVA. So to the fans of the sport, from me, farewell for now, but certainly not goodbye." For those who missed it; two months ago Phoenix announced that Easton would be taking a temporary step back from his duties in Formula Virtual to concentrate on working towards his dream career, and that Phoenix Co-Founder and former Technical Director Christian Sear would be taking on the role as Deputy Team Principal, thus taking the wheel in Easton's absence. With the Mancunian outfit in an unusually comfortable position - both financially with the backing of Lucas Wilson, and competitively as the team currently sit in ninth place; sixteen points clear of Cheema - it seems the perfect opportunity for Sear to come in and keep things steady, at a very low-pressure time.
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