THOUGHTS FROM LUNDGAARD, TICKTUM AND ILOTT

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to the press conference with the top three qualifiers for tomorrow's FIA Formula 2 Feature Race here at Mugello. We are joined by pole-sitter Christian Lundgaard for ART Grand Prix, in second is Dan Ticktum for DAMS, and third is Callum Ilott for UNI-Virtuosi. Christian, your first pole position in Formula 2. That was a long time coming. How does it feel?

Christian Lundgaard: Great. Very, very good. I think we probably should have been there in Silverstone - I didn't quite manage to put it together in the second run. But yeah, finally here... I think it was five thousandths to Dan. Close! Everyone has a bit that they want to improve, but this is how it is and I'm very happy. I'm happy for the team. I think this is definitely the best car we've had in a long time, so I'm very happy with that.

FIA Formula 2: How important is it to secure this result at a track like Mugello, where it looks like it's going to be tough for everyone to overtake?

Christian: I've never been here, so I don't know how it is going to fall in the race. I think some of the drivers have. For me, my first lap here was this morning in practice. I found the track quite interesting - high-speed and very difficult. But in the end, tomorrow is a completely different day. We need to do a good start, have a good pit stop, and manage to have a good strategy as well. We need some clean air to be sure that we can save the tyres. After today, I think we need to say "yes", and then focus on tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day.

FIA Formula 2: Well done today. Dan, moving on to you. You lost the win on Sunday but bounced back with a front row start for tomorrow's race. Just five thousandths of a second in it. Where was that lap time?

Dan Ticktum: Thanks for reminding me of last weekend. That was great. This weekend I got held up quite badly on the last corner unfortunately. Two guys preparing their lap, and they were pretty much right on the apex. That was a shame. I probably lost a tenth or so, so that was very good. There was one mistake I earlier on in the lap, but overall, it was a good lap. Like I've been saying the last few race weekends, I think our pace is getting much better, especially over one lap. You have to ignore Spa a little bit, because I didn't do practice, and you have to ignore Monza because I didn't get the tow. The pace was still pretty good if you look at the data. We put it together properly today, and I'll hopefully get a good start tomorrow. That's it really.

FIA Formula 2: I know you love me reminding you about last Sunday, but does what happened in Monza give you any added motivation heading into this weekend?

Dan: Yeah, a little bit. I was rather depressed for a while, let's say. The best way to get over it is to go straight into another race weekend. I'm just focused on this weekend now. You can't dwell on the past. I could look back at the Spa Sprint Race as well, and that was a disaster. There we go... I just need some good points tomorrow.

FIA Formula 2: Good luck tomorrow. Callum, moving on to you. Another top three Qualifying performance. Just how satisfied are you with that lap? Judging by Twitter, very!

Callum Ilott: That kind of summarises everything! Considering where we've been in practice and the first run, I'm very, very happy to come away with P3. We didn't get it right, and it was a struggle after practice. There was more in the lap, but I'm very happy to come away with P3, so yeah. We'll see what happens tomorrow and what the future holds.

FIA Formula 2: Speaking of tomorrow, I'm always going to bring up title permutations. With Robert (Shwartzman) down in P9 and Mick (Schumacher) in P15, do you think it's going to be tough for anyone to come back from that far down the field?

Callum: I don't know. It will be good for them if they come through. It will be good for me if they didn't. There you go.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you. Christian, just returning to you. A similar question actually. Is it a big chance tomorrow to make some serious gains in the Championship? You mentioned how four points helps you close the gap to Callum a little bit.

Christian: I think it's pretty similar to what Callum said. It will be great for them to move up. It will be great for me if Callum moves slightly backwards and me staying in the same place! Obviously, points are what really define the Championship, so it is just getting the best out of what we have. We don't really know yet, until the race is finished tomorrow.