Round 10 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to the Press Conference of the Top 3 qualifiers here in Budapest, for the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race. In third place is Jak Crawford from Dams Lucas Oil, in second is Leonardo Fornaroli from Invicta Racing and on pole position is Roman Stanek also from Invicta Racing. Roman, your first pole position in Formula 2, congratulations, how sweet does it feel to be sitting in the middle here on pole?

Roman Stanek: Thank you, it feels good. First pole in F2, it took me three years. It feels good, I wasn’t expecting it after waking up this morning. I had some health issues. Very happy, happy for the team, for Leo, that we managed to do P1 and P2.

FIA Formula 2: Sorry to hear about those health issues, it’s been a good week for you though, you had the win for Spa on Sunday, you didn’t get to celebrate that one properly at the time, but do you feel like you’re in the sort of form that means you could be fighting for the win again on pole?

Stanek: Yeah let’s see first tomorrow in the race what the conditions will be, it might rain also on Sunday. The rain was not too bad in Spa. For sure it’s a big luxury because you don’t get the spray, P1 is a good place to start in case it rains. We will focus race by race, and do my best as always, as we did today and as I did in Spa.

FIA Formula 2: You mentioned Leo, just a word on the team, one-two in this qualifying session, just how well are you all working together at the moment?

Stanek: Since the beginning of the season we have been working really well. I’ve known Leo a long time from TRIDENT. Obviously he has won the F3 Championship, I have learnt a lot from him and I think he has learnt a lot from me. We have been working very hard and very well, on the simulator outside of the races and during the race weekend as well.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations on pole, Leo second place for you today, are you satisfied with a place on the front row?

Leonardo Fornaroli: Oh yes, it’s a very nice result. Super happy with our performances, one-two, we showed that we are very strong. It’s a shame what happened in Sector 3 of my fastest lap. Still not sure what happened. I still have to see the data with my engineer, anyway super happy for Roman, he is P1 and it is a very nice result.

FIA Formula 2: Speaking of Roman, does it help having your teammate ahead of you when it comes to the race on Sunday or does it actually create issues with strategy?

Fornaroli: No it doesn’t create any issues. Yes he is my teammate but it’s like any other driver. Of course we are going to be a bit more respectful between each other but the strategy is not going to change.

FIA Formula 2: Looking at the bigger picture, you are leading the Championship again after Spa, is it a position you enjoy being in, being chased by everyone else or would you rather do the chasing?

Fornaroli: No I like to be P1. It’s a nice feeling. We have to use this occasion.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you, well done, Jak P3 for you today, I imagine that is the sort of response you were looking for after a tough weekend in Belgium.

Jak Crawford: Yeah this one feels really good. It feels better than the pole lap I did in Jeddah in terms of the lap that it was and the performance not only last week but also through the day. Which was looking quite rough through the whole day. This is a great result, we struggled early I was down in I think P17 after the first run. I then put absolutely everything together, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw I was second across the line, and obviously third when Leo came at the end. Great result, super happy with it because I know we will be strong in the race.

FIA Formula 2: You mentioned the struggles of last weekend and then at times today before qualifying, do you know all the reasons for those at the moment?

Crawford: Yeah I think we just missed the set-up. I think it’s quite simple, we were good in Practice, we thought we were making the right changes and it went the wrong direction for Qualifying. Then the race’s the aim was just not to crash, quite poor pace in the wet, which we think we have a good idea of why in case it rains again.

FIA Formula 2: Prior to Spa you were in such form, you have a good chance of double points here now with your grid position, what will be the key to converting your grid position to a strong result?

Crawford: I think just a smart race and a good strategy. I feel like the races here a very long. It’s a lot of tyre deg, of course it is tricky to pass here so it is going to come down to a bit of strategy and being smart about it.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations, well done everyone.