My best race of 2019

The 2019 season has come to a close, so we spoke to a selection of drivers to get their best race of the year. Race wins, tight battles, or surges through the field, each one had their own unique reasons for the race they enjoyed the most.

Nicholas Latifi

“The Feature Race in Bahrain, because of the expectations on me. The goal was set out straight away: to fight for the championship from the first round. Obviously to get my first Feature Race win in the first race of the season was good. It wasn't straightforward though because I lost time in my pit stop after building up massively, so I had to build that back up.

“For a race with a specific battle, it would definitely be Silverstone and the on-track battle I had with Luca Ghiotto. It would have been cool if that fight was for the lead of the race! Unfortunately, I lost out at the end and finished second, but it was still a good result, especially at a track like at Silverstone, where it is so high speed and the fact that we had the hard tyres there. There was like no degradation, extreme high grip, fast corners, and absolutely flat out racing, so that was quite enjoyable.”

Jordan King

“The best one for me would have been Baku I think, although it was not the best result. We qualified fifth, so we were quite high up, but we got knocked off at the start and literally went back to somewhere around second last at Turn 1. We thought the race was over, but got going again and just had really good speed and eventually came through to third.

“It was one of those depressing ones where even if we had just gotten through to Turn 1 in eighth place, or something, then the whole race could have been completely different. To come back from around 17th or something after Turn 1 was really good – just kind of annoying at the same time.

“I think that is probably our best race in terms of strategy, pace and execution. We have had a few decent ones though, Budapest was good, Monza was good, and there are a few others.”

Mick Schumacher

“My favourite race would be my recovery in Austria. Obviously, getting my first race win in Budapest was nice, but I think that in terms of performance Austria was better. I think that in Budapest, we didn’t have the speed and I think that if it had been another track, then we wouldn't have won to be honest. Whereas, I think at the Red Bull Ring, we really showed what we had in us and what we were capable of.

“I think that if we’d had a few more laps, then we could have been on the podium, and if we had ten more laps, then who knows, maybe I could have won. I think that is the best performance we have had all year and the one I felt most comfortable in.”

Nobuharu Matsushita

“Austria, because it was my first Feature Race win. I started from P4 and I overtook everybody, so it was a really good race and an aggressive drive. Obviously, I won in Monza, but that felt a bit easier, a bit more chilled. Austria was more exciting, so that was my best race.”

Guanyu Zhou

“I’d say Silverstone for the race weekend as a whole. The entire weekend was memorable, from Qualifying, when I took my first ever pole. That was the first ever pole for a Chinese driver, so that was quite an achievement for my country.

“Racing in Silverstone, I never thought that I would be getting pole there because it is a high speed track and a track that you need to get used to. Plus, they had laid new tarmac as well, so all of the data and everything that the team had was different.

“We didn't finish it off in the first race, but I am happy overall with the performance and I am here to improve myself and to learn.”

Callum Ilott

“I thought that Baku was quite crazy, but I’m not sure if that would have been my favourite. I wouldn’t have said Bahrain was a favourite either, but it was a standout for the lessons that I learned.

“I think possibly Monza, where both races were good. I pushed hard in the first race and dropped back at the end a bit, but it wasn't too bad. Then in the Sprint Race, I messed up at the end, but I was running well until then and one small mistake just took me out completely.”

Giuliano Alesi

“I would say Monza. It just felt good to drive and to know that I was in the top ten. It had been a while and I hadn't felt like that, so definitely Monza. I had an issue with the clutch so we lost a lot of positions going into Turn 1. A few cars crashed out though, so I was able to pass through that, and then from there I started building my own rhythm.

“I would say that my pace wasn’t too bad so that was quite good. The pit stop was really good, I think that was the best pit stop we have had this year, so we gained a lot of time there. Then during the option stints, I just gave it my all and tried to keep up the pace. The last few laps were really, really tough, but I was able to keep it up. It was definitely good to end that race on a positive note.”