Fittipaldi left with mixed emotions after Qualifying fifth in Jeddah

Enzo Fittipaldi left it late to qualify in an impressive fifth-place in Jeddah and while the Van Amersfoort Racing driver was pleased with the result, he admitted there was more he could have done to improve the outcome.

It was a slow start to Thursday’s Qualifying encounter for Fittipaldi as after the first set of laps on the supersoft tyres he found himself down in 16th.

However, he admitted he adopted a new mentality when he returned into the pits, and it was one that worked well as it saw him go up to fifth on his second run.

The Brazilian crossed the line to complete a lap of 1:42.420 to put him up into the top five, 0.203s off pole-sitter Ollie Bearman’s time.

QUALIFYING: Bearman beats Maini to Jeddah pole

Reflecting on his Qualifying, Fittipaldi said: “It felt pretty good. We qualified in the top five, so I think the result was okay.

“Obviously, I wanted more but considering how are first set in Qualifying went I am quite pleased with the end result because we were really struggling a lot on the first set of laps. We were like a second off.

“So, I just knew I had to push a lot more on the second set and that's what I did, and we were only like two-tenths off pole in the end. It's frustrating because I know if I had a better first set, I would have been able to fight for pole in the second. Frustrating but still a good top five.”

Asked what changed from the first run to the second, Fittipaldi replied: “Mentally my approach, I am not going to say it was safe on the first set, I just think I didn't do a proper warmup.

“The track cooled down and I think I didn't have the tyres in a great window in the first set but at the same time I don't think I pushed hard enough. Honestly, I have to be self-critical, and I don't think I was pushing hard enough on the first set.

READ MORE: Bearman aiming for rebound at 'favourite circuit' in Jeddah

“On the second set I said it's better to crash than to end up 15th so I just went for it flat out, pushing as hard as I could, and we were able to get a good result.”

Fittipaldi and Van Amersfoort will now turn their attentions to the two races to come this weekend as they target their first points of the year.

He qualified seventh in Bahrain but suffered with an issue in the Sprint Race that dropped him down the order. Fittipaldi was then out on the opening lap in the Feature after colliding with a stranded Isack Hadjar in the middle of the road.

The goal this weekend is to score some points, as Fittipaldi sent out a warning to his rivals by revealing that his mindset is to go for it for the rest of the weekend. “Definitely want to have a better weekend than in Bahrain,” he said. “We had an issue in the Sprint Race in Bahrain and didn't finish the Feature Race.

PRACTICE: Hauger leads the way in Jeddah Free Practice

“So, hopefully here in Jeddah we can turn that around and have a good two races in the points and get a good amount of points this weekend.

“I think anything is possible especially in Formula 2, so I am going to go out there and give it my best. I think the main points are the last corner and mainly Turn 1, but I am just going to be in attack mode and trying to move forward.”