Round 6 Post Sprint Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Welcome everyone to today's FIA Formula 2 press conference following the sprint race here in Austria. Joining us P3 from Van Amersfoort Racing it's Rafael Villagómez. In second place, from PREMA Racing, Sebastián Montoya. And from TRIDENT, capturing his first win in F2, it's John Bennett. John, congratulations, first win in Formula 2. How does that feel?

John Bennett: Yeah, thank you. It feels amazing. I'm really just trying to enjoy every second of this. You know, I think we've been waiting a long time for a strong result. This year, we've been showing a lot of pace, but things just haven't quite gone our way. So to have a race like this is a really good feeling.

FIA Formula 2: Can you just take me through that pass that you made on Montoya there at the end in Turn 4?

Bennett: It was pretty nice. I spent most of the race really just trying to hold the DRS to Montoya. Yeah, trying not to drop out. And then the last, three or four laps after the VSC, I started to see him struggle. Close the gap, close the gap. And then on the last lap, I just said to myself, like, it's now or never. Got a good exit out of one, put him under pressure into T3, got a good exit out of three, had the run into four, was on the outside, just got slightly ahead in the braking zone and I knew he was going to brake late. So I went for the switchback and just had quite enough traction to make it work, then led to the line.

FIA Formula 2: You did get the lead off the start. Obviously, Montoya took it back. But was it all about tyre management for you in the first half of the stint there?

Bennett: Yeah, for sure. Going into the race, I knew it was going to be a lot about managing the tyres. Like in FP, the pace just went off straight away and today was super hot. So I got the lead off the line, which was nice, but I wasn't super worried about keeping it. When Montoya overtook, I didn't defend too hard. And I just thought, manage the race, stay in DRS, keep the tyres under control and maybe I could make something happen at the end. You know, I watched the races back over the past couple of years. And the leader could lead for most of the race, but then was under pressure at the end just because of the tyre management. So that's what I tried to replicate. And, yeah, it worked, thankfully.

FIA Formula 2: Well, congratulations on the victory. Sebastian, coming to you. That looked like a really hard-fought race out there from yourself. Are you happy with the podium?

Sebastián Montoya: Yeah, I think yes and no, especially after leading most of the race. It felt quite good. I think when the virtual safety car came out there at the end, I went, you have to be kidding me. I did the hard work of leaving him out of the DRS and everything. But I'm happy with the podium, honestly, with the year we've had. It hasn't been what we've wanted, especially after last year, having so much pace. It's been a difficult season. Honestly, this weekend was quite difficult. Practice wasn't the best. Qualifying first runs wasn't really good. Yesterday, I did a pretty strong lap to put myself in the top 10. And our race pace has always been quite strong. Today we just struggled a little bit more, but no, happy with the P2, especially being able to get back the lead, lead most of the race and have really strong pace. I think that gives us a good reference for what we want for tomorrow. And, yeah, I'm happy to be here.

FIA Formula 2: How happy are you to do it in front of your dad? We saw your dad here today. So are you talking to him at the end there?

Montoya: Yeah, it feels really nice. I think especially for me, the biggest thing is it's been a really difficult season for us. And there's been a lot of work behind the scenes. People have seen it in the races. We've been quite strong, but we haven't had the actual speed in the car. And we've been working really hard with the engineers and mechanics. Just to get this for them, I think it's really nice. I think it was really nice for them to see the car at the front again with the speed that we had. And, yeah, we didn't have enough to fight John today. But, no, I was really happy with what we've built so far, especially over this weekend and looking forward to tomorrow.

FIA Formula 2: The race was held at one of the hottest points of the day. How were you able to manage all that heat out there?

Montoya: Honestly, it was pretty easy at the front. And I was quite happy with where I was. I think the biggest thing is as soon as you get a safety car, a virtual safety car, the tyres drop. And since you have less rubber, it's harder to warm it up, so you slide more. And I think this is where we were missing today. But, yeah, it's really easy to lock up the rears or lock up the fronts and the braking, especially because the braking are so hot. As you said, it's a really hot day, and especially with the race at the time it was. Turn six, turn seven, turn nine, the car was really moving a lot. And you could see it also from the TV. John at the beginning, he was fast, and I was like, yeah, I think this guy isn't going to last long. But in the end, I was the one that dropped more. But I think we both had really good speed, and I'm excited for tomorrow, and I'm really happy with the result we had today.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you for that, Sebastian. Appreciate it. P3, Rafael, congratulations on that P3. It looks like you've been waiting for this breakthrough to come through, and it's finally happened for yourself. Does this feel like you've given you some momentum leading into the rest of the season?

Rafael Villagómez: Yeah, definitely. I think all year the pace has been there. Of course, in Montreal, we're really close to two podiums, actually. In Barcelona, the pace was there as well, but it wasn't clicking. For some reason, we just couldn't really finish it. Finally, happy with the podium today.

FIA Formula 2: Was it all about just managing the tyre for yourself out there today?

Villagómez: It was a bit more tricky, because at the start I was managing quite a lot, and I could keep up with these two. But then from one lap to another one, I just lost the DRS. I went back to pushing a little bit more to see if I could go back to DRS, but they were just too quick. So yeah, middle phase to another phase, they were just a little bit quicker, so we have to see with the team, understand what we can do for tomorrow, because tomorrow is a longer race.

FIA Formula 2: Same question that I put to Sebastián, I put to you. It's about the heat out there. How did you handle it yourself?

Villagómez: I think it's more tough for the car than for us. I think there's so much adrenaline and so much going on that for us, we don't really think about it. In terms of the car, yeah, like every small detail is really, let's say it's times 10, so like a little slide or a lock-up, you really feel it straight away. So yeah, it's just about managing and taking care of everything.

FIA Formula 2: Well, thank you for that. Appreciate it.