Alesi: “Having a great start will be key”

Giuliano Alesi gave the perfect demonstration of how to start a race earlier today, leaping from 18th on the grid to 11th in the first lap alone. Repeat that in the Sprint Race on Sunday, when he lines up in P3, and a first Formula 2 podium may be on the cards.

Alesi hadn’t enjoy the most successful of Qualifying sessions on Friday, after an early spin dumped him in the gravel. BWT HWA RACELAB worked hard to get him back out on track, but left him with little to no chance to set a competitive laptime.

This took nothing away from the fact his car had pace though, and Alesi knew that if he could harness this, then points were a firm possibility. This was borne out in the race, with the Frenchman eventually finishing sixth, thanks to a superb start, some tasty overtakes, and a shrewd race strategy.

“We made a decent step compared to yesterday,” Alesi said. “I feel that the baseline coming into the weekend was already very good though.

“We had a great strategy and a great start to the race today, and then great communication throughout the race.

“There are still a few things here and there to improve, but the baseline and our starting position in terms of team communication and organisation is definitely very, very good.”

Finishing sixth puts Alesi third on the grid for the Sprint Race, when the Frenchman will be aiming for more of the same.

“Having a great start will be key,” he continued. “We w ill analyse exactly what I done during my stint on the primes today, because those are the tyres which we will all be using tomorrow.

“We are ready to improve and we are ready to work as much as possible to deliver the best result that we possibly can as a team.”