Piquet aiming to be ’smart and prepared‘ in unpredictable season

Pedro Piquet enjoyed his highest finish of the season so far in Round 6, taking his first points in Formula 2 with a P7 finish in the Barcelona Sprint Race, and the Brazilian says it’s a result of his stringent preparation and experience with tyre wear.

Knowing that the conditions in Barcelona were ripe for heavy degradation, the Charouz Racing System driver saved his rubber throughout the race and made a late dash to seventh when a number of his rivals were forced to pit for a second set.

“We knew from the race on Saturday that tyre degradation would be a problem,” explained Piquet. “The start was good, and I got two positions from 14th. I saved the tyres a lot for the second part of the race. After that, I got some positions on track. Some people stopped to change tyres but couldn’t recover.

“Events vary a lot from place to place. You can have races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone where the tyres stay quite well, and then races at Budapest and Barcelona, where there is big tyre degradation. We need to be smart and prepared for anything that comes at us.”

Round 6 was generally positive for Piquet. There was a clear improvement in his Charouz machine, and he believes he could have secured a points finish in the Feature Race as well, were it not for a penalty and the late Safety Car.

“Unfortunately, I got a penalty (on Saturday) which dropped me from P9 to P14. We had a good strategy and could get in the points.

“It was also unfortunate that we had a Safety Car in the Feature Race. I was feeling good with the pace and I think finishing in the top eight was possible. For the Sprint Race, I didn’t change much on myself or with the car.”

Having secured his first points, Piquet will be focusing on the trip to Spa in just under two weeks’ time for Round 7 of the season. The Brazilian will be looking to push on and score more points at a track he makes no secret over his love for.

“It’s the track I enjoy the most,” said Piquet. “I have good memories from there. It will be very cool to drive in F2 there. Every time I drive there with a higher power car it is an amazing sensation. This time it won’t be different.”