2022 Round 13 Feature Race: Thoughts from the top 3

Thoughts from Daruvala, Vesti and Iwasa

FIA Formula 2: Jehan Daruvala, P1 in today’s FIA Formula 2 Feature Race in Monza. It was a great drive from you, do you want to just talk us through your race?

Jehan Daruvala: Yeah, it was a good race I think overall. On Lap 1, I got hit from behind in Turn 4 and I damaged my bargeboard. I thought I would have to pit, but luckily for me it flew off and I could continue driving. The race in the beginning was just about going long on the option tyres, but when the Safety Car arrived it was good timing for me, so I managed to get the free stop. We had a really good pit stop and after that it was just about managing, staying out of trouble with the guys who hadn’t pitted, staying in DRS and saving my tyres. It was good and it helped me keep my tyres all the way to the end.

FIA Formula 2: And you said at the start of the weekend that it was a good weekend to bounce back after Zandvoort. Just how satisfying is it for you to be able to get that done?

Daruvala: It is very satisfying. One thing is winning, but the other thing is having really good pace, so we haven't had that in the last few weekends. So, I'm gradually pleased, it was a big step forwards and we're fighting back where we should be.

FIA Formula 2: Steps forward made, how do you think this weekend sets you up now for Abu Dhabi? Is this a breakthrough for you and the team?

Daruvala: There's quite a bit of time, obviously, but I think we made a good step forward. So hopefully we can finish off the season strong as well at the end of the year.

FIA Formula 2: Well done today Jehan. Frederik Vesti, P2 in today’s FIA Formula 2 Feature Race at Monza. We saw you closing in on Jehan right at the end, but he was just out of reach for the win today. Do you want to talk us through the race?

Frederik Vesti: Yeah we had good pace, but not quite enough to reach Jehan. I think we went from P10 to P2, which is obviously a great result in itself. Strategy was good, but also the car was really strong. I made three or four good overtakes, which meant I was in the position. I had three track limits at the end with five laps to go, so it also meant I had to come down a bit on my driving and maybe settling on a second place, which is what I did. It was the safe choice, it would be a shame to lose a podium just for track limits, so yeah, I think we can be happy with this weekend.

FIA Formula 2: It looked like a very difficult race with the stop-start nature of it and some defensive driving going on from Iwasa behind you. What was the main difficulty for you during that Feature Race?

Vesti: We started on the option, we did a couple of corners then had a Safety Car. Five, six, seven laps of Safety Car, into a couple of laps racing, into a Red Flag and then we did the race and that was a clean race after that. But yeah, stop-start chaos, overtakes, defending everywhere, but it’s F2 in Monza and it’s obviously a cool thing.

FIA Formula 2: What do you think made the difference today for you?

Vesti: I think yesterday we finished P2 and today we finished P2, but the difference was we started on pole yesterday and today we started P10, so I think we did a good job. Yesterday I lost the position to Jüri at the start of the race, but today we were clearly more aggressive. We had a good start and made some progress early in the race and that just makes a difference.

FIA Formula 2: Awesome, well congratulations. Ayumu Iwasa, P3 in today’s FIA Formula 2 Feature Race at Monza. You put up quite a defensive display throughout the whole race, can you just talk us through it from your perspective?

Ayumu Iwasa: Actually, as you saw I didn’t have the speed, so I was feeling that it was quite tough to the end of the race. Actually, the car got much better than yesterday. Just in yesterday’s Sprint Race, I didn’t have the speed so that’s why I was losing a lot of places, but today the car got much better, but still I didn’t have enough speed to catch those in front of me. P3 on the results, so very, very happy about the result as a team and I think as we saw, my speed was not enough so we will need to work on it for Abu Dhabi for sure. I will have enough time to do it and I will focus on the next race.

FIA Formula 2: What do you think the difference was between yesterday and today?

Iwasa: Everything was changed – my car and my driving as well. I think yesterday everything was bad, the car was not good and also my driving was not good for that car balance. Then I could manage it well, so I think that was a problem, but still today was not enough, so maybe there is something to improve to.

FIA Formula 2: Do you think the P3 was maybe a better result than what the car and you had? What were you expecting going into the race essentially?

Iwasa: After the start, I expected quite a hard race, so maybe the podium was difficult, but I got P3 so I'm happy about this result. Of course, I wanted to go P1 because at one time I was in front of Jehan and Vesti so I think it was possible, but I didn’t have the speed essentially at the beginning of the stint, so I was overtaken by them. I think it was quite a turning point.

FIA Formula 2: Well done today Ayumu.