Sprint Race 1 recovery was inspired by Hitech positivity, says Vips

A late disqualification from Qualifying put Jüri Vips in damage control mode ahead of the season opener in Sakhir, but a keen slice through the field got him all the way up to 10th and now has him eying of a first Formula 2 win, starting from reverse grid pole for Sprint Race 2.

Penalised for a breach of technical regulations, Vips was forced to start from the back of the grid in Saturday morning’s race, but the Estonian put on a valiant display and fought up to P10, praising his team for making sure the atmosphere never dropped.

“We definitely had a stressful night and morning after the disqualification from qualifying,” said Vips. “Thankfully everyone kept their heads up and that meant that we were able to get something out of this morning.

“The race was both fun and tricky. It is definitely a different type of racing when you are up against the backmarkers. It is a little bit more hectic, but it’s good fun and I enjoyed it. Most of all, we got to where we needed to go.”

Despite the superb recovery drive, Vips believes the hard work starts now, as he bids to make it two wins in a row for Hitech, following Lawson’s victory in Sprint Race 1.

“We've not recovered the weekend yet,” Vips said. “Today’s result has put us in a good position to score some decent points though. The start will be key. I can't really do much from the lead, I just want to try and have a clean race.

“Even if I lose a few positions, I am just looking to gather some points and recover the weekend as much as possible.”