2021 Round 4 post-Sprint Race 2 press conference

Thoughts from Verschoor, Armstrong and Ticktum

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations to the top three finishers of FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race 2 here at Silverstone. In third place, Dan Ticktum for Carlin, in second place, Marcus Armstrong for DAMS and taking his first win in Formula 2 Richard Verschoor for MP Motorsport. Many congratulations Richard, you are a winner in Formula 2, how sweet was the view from the top step of the podium?

Richard Verschoor: Thank you so much. It was amazing, it's been a while for me. It's always been a dream to win a Formula 2 race, even when I was younger. The team have done an amazing job all weekend, already and I'm happy to bounce back from Baku and Monaco.

FIA Formula 2: You had quite a lot to deal with in the race with two safety car restarts and very hot track temperatures. How complicated was it?

Verschoor: Quite complicated! Especially because the rear brakes were really cold but the fronts were really hot so I was really struggling to find the right bias during the race, and I didn't feel like I could get into the right rhythm during some laps. But we could manage, and I think Sector 2 was really strong, which helped me definitely during this race

FIA Formula 2: How much confidence does this give you going into the Feature Race tomorrow because you've got a great grid slot there as well?

Verschoor: A lot! This morning the start was not good at all, so I was happy to get a really good start this afternoon. It was my only concern for this race and tomorrow's race, so I'm happy to have that sorted. So, I'm even more looking forward to it now!

FIA Formula 2: Good luck with that, and well done again today. Marcus, well done to you as well. Fantastic to see you on the podium again after what's been a challenging few races. What's the overriding emotion right now?

Marcus Armstrong: I'd say a bit of relief, it's been a long time coming. Unfortunately, we ran into a few issues in Monaco and also in Baku we were a bit unfortunate. So, it's sort of been a podiums that's been taking it time. Obviously, I would have preferred the middle step and I genuinely thought it was possible seeing as Richard didn't have a very good start this morning. In fact, I think you started what P4? And I started P14, and I managed to be in front of him before the first corner.

Verschoor: It was... P8.

Armstrong: Ah yes, P8. So anyway, it was a decent delta in terms of start performance, and I thought if the same thing happens this afternoon, we should have P1 before Turn 1 but he nailed it. And fair play to him. I'm extremely happy to be here, and it's the start of hopefully a good run of results.

FIA Formula 2: Well how good was the car and how confident are you taking this form into the second half of the season?

Armstrong: I think the car was extremely strong today, it was also strong yesterday but I ran into a few issues, and we couldn't really extract all the performance but I genuinely feel we should be a lot further up the grid than what we've shown so far. Going to circuits like Sochi and Monza where I've had great success in the past it gives me a lot confidence. Also, it boosts the team morale a bit because we all deserve a result, and hopefully this a the start of a good run of results.

FIA Formula 2: You had pretty close attention from Dan, towards the end of the race in particular, how tight did it get?

Armstrong: Dan was quick, and I knew he would be because he was quick in the first race this morning. He's very quick in the high-speed corners it seems, and he managed to be very close to be the entire race always within my DRS. So fair play to him. It's impossible to overtake unless you make a fairly big mistake and on my side the car was very good, so a mistake wasn't going to happen today.

FIA Formula 2: Dan coming to you, you won here at Silverstone last year in front of empty grandstands, you finished third today in front of more than 100,000 people. How sweet was it?

Dan Ticktum: I wish it was last year, but you know, there you go, it is what it is. It's very special to see everyone. You definitely take it for granted when you've been racing all your life with fans. It's the first F2 race that I've done with a substantial crowd and to have it at home, with all the British fans it's just absolutely amazing to be honest. You really take it for granted, so thank you for their support. When I jumped out the car, I could hear them all, and that's a very special feeling for any driver. So, I appreciate them all. I want to say a big congrats to Richard, he drove very well in that race. He's had a fairly unlucky season, one of those incidents caused by me back in Bahrain, but we're friends I can assure you. I feel like he's been unlucky, and I know what that's like. I had some bad spells of luck last year so a big congrats to him and his team. The race itself, it's just a shame that we can't overtake. It's like a very big fast Monaco, you just can't overtake. It really is a shame; you need a big delta in pace to be able to actually pass. Hopefully tomorrow with the pit stop and some varying strategies we'll see some more exciting racing. The car itself for me was good, I think we made a big step forward from Sprint Race 1 to Sprint Race 2. Very strong in the high speed just need to improve the traction slightly and hopefully be on the podium again tomorrow.

FIA Formula 2: Without the two safety car periods, do you think tyre wear would have been more a factor? And that you may have been able to make more progress?

Ticktum: Definitely. It's the same situation as this morning, it doesn't necessarily matter than I'm in my second year, but I've got a bit of experience and I understand how this tyre works pretty well. So, I feel I'm quite good at managing it, and every time you have a safety car everyone's surface temperatures come back down a lot. It makes it easier for those who struggle with tyre wear or thermal degradation. It's a bit of a shame, I feel like for both races I probably could have gone forward a bit towards the end. But it is what it is, it's the same for everyone.

FIA Formula 2: Well done Dan!