Round 4 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to the press conference following the Qualifying here in Monaco. Joining us today in third place Alex Dunne for Rodin Motorsport, in second place Nikola Tsolov for Campos Racing, and in first place we have Rafael Câmara for Invicta Racing. Rafa, first question goes to you. A pole position here in Monaco, that means something very special, but the way that it was obtained must be even sweeter. Can you tell us how you're feeling right now?

Rafael Câmara: Yeah, it was a very good feeling. Not the way we wanted for sure, because this time I think it was a bit too much for everyone. But yeah, very happy, very grateful for the team, the job they did repairing the car and then giving me the opportunity to go back on track again and try the last push. So yeah, very thankful for what they did. Again, it's like Montreal, not a good thing in quality, because after you of course you lose a bit of confidence. You put yourself in a position where basically you do a good lap where basically you could crash again. In Montreal, maybe a bit safer, but here… I used the track. Also you need to have the confidence to do a lap. I just put everything in the last push and I didn't worry if I was going to crash. I was going to do what I would expect to be doing in a good lap, and it was a very good one. So I'm very happy with that. I still have a lot of jobs to do. The big points is in the race, so focusing to work and be ready for the races.

FIA Formula 2: Can you tell us what went through your mind when you had to return to the pit lane, see your mechanics work on your car and maybe hoping for a Red Flag?

Câmara: Yeah, I was trying to keep it calm. I had some hope that I was going to get at least get another push. But I was obviously not very happy. Also with my engineer, we spoke quite a lot about building up to the session and taking the first lap to just understand how the car is, how is the grip of the track. And I did a bit, in a way, a stupid mistake. But yeah, just trying to be cool and make sure that I was getting everything out of the last lap. I've been lucky as well with the Red Flag that we were able to do the one prep and have the tyres ready for the last push. I think we managed to be quite focused and calm for the last push and we were able to do a good lap.

FIA Formula 2: With such a messy first stint, how confident were you going back out for your final push that you could put it on pole?

Câmara: Yeah, not expecting really to be on pole. Obviously, just trying to do the best that I could at the moment. Trying to maximise every corner. And not really thinking about where we're going to be, but just trying to maximise in the moment. Yeah, also with the car, I was not feeling perfect because yeah, I was just not feeling great. But I was just trying to focus on what I needed to do. Trying to put everything in place that we saw in FP as well. Looking at the on boards from the past years and make sure that everything was going to be there. So trying to do a clean lap and yeah, it was good enough.

FIA Formula 2: Well, congratulations on pole position. Thank you for waiting, Nicola. You were quickest of Group B, but not quick enough to actually beat Rafa’s best lap time. How was the session for you today?

Nikola Tsolov: Yeah, the session I would say was a bit more calm for me. We had a red flag in the beginning, but it didn't really affect me that much. We still managed to get the fourth clean lap. And it was tricky. We have changed some things on the car since yesterday and I don't think that was probably in the right direction. I didn't feel as confident as yesterday, I would say. We're just trying to build slowly into the session. Unfortunately, I had a lock up in T1, I think on my second push, which flat spotted the tyre and then it was just a little bit difficult to see on the straights and the braking points. So little mistake, which happens in Monaco, but then was able to put a decent last lap together. I think the car started working in the right window there. It could have been better, but I'm sure everyone can say that about their laps. So happy to be P2 at the moment. I think coming into this weekend, I just wanted to start and build on consistency because I know we have the pace, but it's just been a lot of ups and downs so far.

FIA Formula 2: You were mentioning some mistakes, but as well, it looked like sector one was a bit slower than Group A. Did you get that feeling as well? Did the track conditions change?

Tsolov: Not too sure. I haven't looked at the sectors yet. But yeah, sector one could have been slower. I mean, the conditions should not change that much. It's more of how clean the session goes. For me, that matters the most. But definitely driving straight after F1 is usually quite beneficial. I think that's the benefit of Group 1, but then Group 2 knows the track a little bit better, has a better reference. So it's 50-50, I would say. P2 is still a good starting position for the feature race.

FIA Formula 2: It's P9 for tomorrow in the sprint. What can you hope for starting in that position?

Tsolov: Yeah, I think the sprint is just about learning a little bit about how the car handles during the race, just to have a better idea for Sunday. And then, I mean, the only points you could probably pick up is from damage from the others. So there's not much overtaking opportunity, or it can be a bit risky with the F2. We can't really turn enough to get around some corners. So let's see how that goes and just learn for Sunday for me.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you very much, Nikola. Coming up to you, Alex, it's P2 in Group A and P3 overall on the starting group for the Feature Race. It wasn't quite enough for you to get pole this year. We saw a little bit of a mistake in the first stint. How was the session for you?

Alex Dunne: It was tricky. I think I wasn't quite as comfortable with the balance as I was in FP. I don't know if the track conditions changed or what was different, but I think in general, just the feeling and the amount of grip I had wasn't quite as good as what I had yesterday in free practise. So I think it was a bit of a messy session. I had a mistake before the red flag, and then as I was getting ready to push again, there was a red flag in Turn 1. So it was a bit messy. I think the final push lap would have been a decent one until the last corner when I hit the wall. But I'm sure, I think all of us probably, if we look through the data, I'm sure we can all find two tenths pretty easily. So yeah, I think overall to be P3 isn't too bad.

FIA Formula 2: We know that it's a track where mistakes can be made quite easily. Tyre degradation is not a worry. So starting from tomorrow, from P8, what can you hope for?

Dunne: I think if I can stay P8, I'll be pretty happy in general. I think it's going to be very hard to move forward. If you can move forward, great. I think P8 is just on the cusp of starting in the points for the Sprint Race. So if I can bring home one or two points, then that would be nice. So it's always going to be tricky to pass. I think, actually, I would say the deg of this track is a lot higher than you would think, but it's just you never really notice it because no one can make use of it because it's too difficult to pass. So I think in previous years, a lot of drivers have kind of done like push, cool, push, like you would do in Free Practise, just trying to go for the fastest lap. So I imagine a lot of people will probably go in that direction. Well, let's see about that. Thank you very much.

FIA Formula 2: Good job today.