Round 5 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to Monaco, where it's time for our post qualifying press conference with the top three finishers in FIA Formula 2, in third place today, Leonardo Fornaroli for Invicta Racing, in second place is Victor Martins for ART Grand Prix and taking his first pole position in Formula 2 Alexander Dunne from Rodin Motorsport, Alex, congratulations. That was a close one, but it went your way in the end. Talk us through that session, because it was busy from start to finish.

Alexander Dunne: Yeah it was a tricky one, I think the further we got into qualifying, after the lap before my last push, I thought it's going to be pretty difficult to beat what Victor did. And I think coming from Free Practice as well, how fast he was, like six tenths clear of P2. So to be honest, I thought the pole was going to go to Victor, and that it was going to be a fight for second. But no, in the end, I think I managed to put all three sectors together. It wasn't the cleanest lap. There was a couple of little mistakes in there, but I think that's Monaco. I think to put a perfect lap together at Monaco is always going to be difficult, but overall, I was very happy. The team and I made some changes to the car overnight from FP, and those changes definitely worked. So yeah, I'm very happy.

FIA Formula 2: As you said the gap was incredibly close to Victor. Just describe the moments after you crossed the line and found that it was enough for Pole.

Dunne: Yeah, I think I wasn't sure initially, and I asked the question on the radio, because the lap time we get on the steering wheel is different to the live timing. So what I had on the steering wheel, I think, was actually like four thousandths slower than what he had done, but on the live timing, they were a bit nicer to me. When they told me I was very, very happy. I felt like the lap was good enough to be pole, but I was just hoping. I knew it was going to be very, very close, but no, very happy.

FIA Formula 2: So that’s two wins so far, and now a maiden pole position in Formula 2. How much confidence do you have at the moment? Because you seem to be in great form.

Dunne: I feel really comfortable at the moment, to be honest, but I think the team are playing a massive part in supporting that comfort. I think through the whole year, but especially at a place like Monaco, being comfortable in your environment and with a car, being comfortable with the balance that you have in the car is really, really important. And to be honest, every time I've asked the team to make a change to the car, the change has done exactly what I've wanted it to do. I haven't really felt like I've had to chase something. We've kind of always been in that window. And when we've made a change, it's fixed whatever the minor problems were that we had. And so now I feel like I'm performing at a really good level right now. I think up until this point, qualifying has probably been one of our weaker points of the weekend, and I've struggled slightly with putting the lap together, but I'm glad that I saved that for Monaco.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations for today. Thank you, Victor. It's P2 but quickest in your group, it was a strong session from you. You were quickest also in free practice yesterday, but it wasn't to be. In the end. It's frustrating for you, I'm sure, because you look so quick. Just how is it from the car?

Victor Martins: I think it was a bit of a messy session. I was not really happy with my laps. I think on my second lap I made a mistake. So then I was on the back foot for the next two laps. In the end, when you do a mistake you don't have the same confidence approaching the last two push laps. So definitely I feel I had much more, but in the end it's tight in F2. It's always like that. You just need to always do the job, be always there, consistently. And I feel like it's always a few thousandths of a second from pole but we are always in the top three since the beginning of the season, and that's the most important.

FIA Formula 2: Do you think that the track evolution is what made the difference today, knowing that you went out first?

Martins: For sure, historically, I think the second group always goes a bit quicker, but it always depends. With red flags, with how the session is going for the two groups in the end, it's like this. I just feel like I could have protected myself a bit more from that second group, maybe going quicker. And definitely I knew I was a bit at risk because I was not 100% happy about my lap. So yeah, it's like this. We need to now focus on the races, we have a few tiny things to change, but we are quick always. I think I have been clear by half a second every lap I was completing. So definitely it brings confidence and good hopes for races.

FIA Formula 2: There is the Sprint Race tomorrow first, but is your mind already thinking about that run to turn one on Sunday?

Martins: Yeah, but first tomorrow there is a race. There is a race where we need to be consistent. Do the full race, get some data, feel the car, give some good feedback to the team, and then prepare for Sunday. For sure, I'm already thinking about it. But first, there will be a good start to do tomorrow, to prepare for Sunday. Then, yeah, prepare it as best as possible, with the strategy, because it can play a big role here. But definitely, we are in the mix. We're in the fight. We're always quick, and this is good for the rest of the weekend.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you Victor. Leo, moving on to you. Thank you for waiting. It's P3 for you, another positive result in your rookie season. Are you satisfied with today's third place?

Leonardo Fornaroli: Well, of course, it's nice to end in a good spot, but I’m not very happy about the end of my session, not very happy with my driving. We were in a good spot until the flat spot I got in my third lap. And then you only have one other lap to try to put yourself in a good position, and everything was vibrating. So it's not how you want to start your final lap. I didn't want to do other mistakes. So probably I lost some time in the big breaking zones, and it was looking like a decent lap until the last sector, and then I just made some mistakes. I’m not very happy with myself. On the car, we made a good step compared to yesterday, and we are looking strong, but still we were able to finish in good results. So I will take that.

FIA Formula 2: Do you also take the fact that it’s only round five and it's another top five in qualifying for you? So, consistency is key, and that's what you're achieving so far in qualifying.

Fornaroli: Yes I’m happy with our quali performance throughout the year. We are always quick so I hope I will continue like that.

FIA Formula 2: Strategy as we know can swing the race results in anyone's direction, like we saw last year in Formula 2. Do you think a maiden win is still on the cards this weekend from your starting position?

Fornaroli: Of course, it's very difficult to overtake here in Monaco. I will try to have a good start and try to gain some position and then try to have a good strategy, but otherwise, I will just try to secure good result and good points.

FIA Formula 2: Well done today. Thanks everyone.