Verschoor unsatisfied after mistake cost him a shot at pole

18 November 2022

Richard Verschoor was left downbeat following his final Qualifying session of the 2022 season, as he believes an error late on denied him a chance at being in the mix for his first pole position.

Sitting P12 after his flying runs on his first set of soft tyres, the Trident driver eventually improved up into P10 with a 1:36.588 - clocking in an identical time to Carlin’s Liam Lawson, who set his lap just over 30 seconds earlier.

Considering that less than three tenths separated pole-sitter Ayumu Iwasa’s time to Verschoor’s, the Dutchman reckons that he missed out an opportunity to progress further up the timing sheets.

“To be honest, in the end I’m not so satisfied because it was so close to P1,” he admitted. “On the first set, I had to get used to it a tiny bit again because I’d gone over a month without any driving, you can see that it’s not ideal.

“After two or three laps you’re more or less on pace, but then to go on the softs is never so easy. Nevertheless, I think the second set was quite good. I made quite a big mistake at the chicane; I locked the rear completely. It’s a shame because all the times were so tight, but the potential was there.”

While 10th wasn’t what he’d been hoping for, Verschoor now lies in a strong position for Saturday’s Sprint Race after claiming reverse grid pole. Their form across the previous 13 rounds has proven that race pace is one of Trident’s strong suits this year, something which he hopes to capitalise on.

Determined to end the season the way he began with a Sprint Race victory, Verschoor remains cautiously optimistic about his prospects. Nevertheless, given the unknowns heading into the evening race, particularly how the tyres over the 23-laps, he’s refusing to get ahead of himself.

“I think that for the race we will have a good chance. Clear view, good start and we’ll try to win the race. Usually in the race, we are okay, so I don’t really see any issue, but you never know.

“It’s all about managing the tyres, getting a good start and not having too much dirty air. Always in F2 it can go every which way, so you can never get too confident, but normally we’re looking good in a race.”