2023 Round 1 post-Feature Race press conference

Thoughts from Pourchaire, Boschung and Maloney

FIA Formula 2: Many congratulations to the top three finishers of the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race here in Bahrain in third place, Zane Maloney for Rodin Carlin. In second place, Ralph Boschung for Campos Racing and winning by 19 seconds for ART Grand Prix, Théo Pourchaire. Théo, you dominated Qualifying. The race couldn't have gone any better. Just sum it up for it.

Theo Pourchaire: It's been an amazing weekend and finishing like that is incredible. The race was perfect. Almost perfect. We can always do better, but I don't want to push too much now. It was a very good race, a very good start. I saw the guys behind me they were really far back and I thought well, that's good, I can open Turn 1 and take a good line. And after that, there was a Safety Car and I knew Ralph was on option tyres so my main goal was to keep him behind me because I didn't want to use my tyres behind him. At the end, he was a bit slower at the end of the stint. The team had a very good strategy, they were calm, and we boxed at the right time, which was important. We won the race. It's amazing, a good Sprint race yesterday, and the pole by seven and a half tenths. So this weekend was very good.

FIA Formula 2: You won the Feature Race here last year. Does this feel different?

Pourchaire: A bit different, first we did the pole this year and we were quick all weekend and very, very quick. Last year I was quick but I struggled a bit more. I did P2 in Quali last year at the very end. This year was a bit better and the car was amazing. Big thanks to the team, to ART and to the Sauber Academy for helping me, which is very important. The team did an incredible job. My teammate Victor was also fast all weekend. Unfortunately, he had some issues in the race, but he could have been on the podium for sure.

FIA Formula 2: How much confidence does this give you going to Saudi Arabia in a couple of weeks?

Pourchaire: It gives me and the team a lot of confidence. I was in this situation last year and I made some mistakes and now I will try just to not make them again. You know, that's why I'm in my third year. Having this experience will help me.

FIA Formula 2: Many congratulations on a great performance by you and Ralph coming to you, a great performance by you as well. You won the Sprint Race yesterday. You were P10 on the grid today. Be honest with us. What were you expecting coming into this race?

Ralph Boschung: Well, for sure I wanted to score points, or score big points if possible. We took the decision to do the alternative strategy. It was kind of a gamble. We started with the option, and I think we were the only car in the top 10 to be on the option tyres. I just had a mega first lap and the car was just incredible. I have to thank the team so much because I just enjoyed both races. It was an incredible car.

FIA Formula 2: Look, a couple of things on what you've just said. First, the decision to start on the option tyre. What was that based on? Was it on your pace yesterday or did you know you were taking a bit of a gamble?

Boschung: No we said we wanted to do the opposite of the guys in front to try and be in clear air because our raw pace is very good this weekend and it worked out. It actually worked out. So just super happy.

FIA Formula 2: What about that opening lap? Turn 4. In particular, it just seemed the road opened up in front of you.

Boschung: I mean, there were some tangles in the front, and I stayed on the inside. I had good grip on the exit and took the positions and then sent it in Turn 10 on Vesti, immediately trying to take advantage of the higher grip I had, and then with my teammate in Turn 1. I couldn’t get Théo, he was already pretty quick on the prime, but I tried to stay with him and keep up with the good pace.

FIA Formula 2: Very well done to you and Zane, coming to you now. What a race, P18 on the grid you finish it third. How do you begin to sum that one up?

Zane Maloney: It's a bit crazy, to be honest. Of course, in Qualifying, we had the pace, but I made a big mistake on my quali lap, so we knew we had to start really far back yesterday. We had great pace, so when I went to bed last night I was hoping for a point or two but to come away with the podium is an amazing result. The team, and the car, were unbelievable. I was really able to push the whole race without any deg. It was an amazing way to start the season. Of course, the only thing maybe I could have done a bit better was avoiding the chaos at the beginning, which would have put us further up. Well done to the two guys here and hopefully another good one in Saudi.

FIA Formula 2: Were you surprised by the consistency of your car today?

Maloney: Yeah, very surprised. Yesterday we saw that we had a really quick car, but I didn't imagine it would be as quick as it was. Of course, I tried to manage the tyres at the beginning of the stint on options and then I was able to push and get ahead of the others in front. The pace was amazing, so amazing job by the team to give me the car that they did.

FIA Formula 2: Zane, how are you finding the adaptation to Formula 2? How much of a step up has it been?

Maloney: Of course. It's a big step. It was very difficult this weekend. In testing, I really struggled. I seem to find a lot more pace coming into this weekend, but a silly mistake in qualifying put us on the back foot. I'm confident going into the next rounds, but for sure it's another step up from F3. The drivers are more experienced, the drivers continue to gain experience and we're going to have to try to go with them and learn as much as we can throughout the season.

FIA Formula 2: Very well done to you.