‘You never know with Zandvoort’ says Maloney as he bets on staying out of trouble to challenge for Feature Race win

26 August 2023

Securing his second consecutive top four result in Qualifying, Zane Maloney once again took advantage of a difficult situation to put himself right in the hunt for the podium. Three Red Flags during the final 10 minutes of running around Zandvoort left few drivers with a chance to improve.

However, the Rodin Carlin driver was one of the few able to record an attempt before the second stoppage, climbing from P20 to P4. Maloney believes that there was more pace on the table but is satisfied with what he managed to show given the interruptions.

“It was a very difficult session of course. Happy to get P4 in the end, a bit disappointed in terms of that I felt the pace was very strong for the top three. We did a bit of a different strategy to everyone else, which kind of bit us in the end. The Red Flags came out at the worst time for us, so relieved to get P4 still.”

Switching his attentions from Qualifying mode to race mode, the Bajan driver is bracing himself for anything. Rain continues to hover around Zandvoort but has yet to impact either of the Formula 2 sessions.

With that likely to change for the Sprint Race, Maloney is intrigued by the possibility of a wet race shaking up the order. Lining up in P7, he recognises it as a chance to climb his way up the order and level the playing field for Sunday’s 40-lap Feature Race.

“You never know with Zandvoort! It could be windy and rainy or sunny and no wind, so it looks like it’s going to be raining for the Sprint Race. I don’t mind, I start P7 today and there’s not too many points to get, so a wet-ish race would be cool."

He added: "There will be a lot of chaos and then lead us into Sunday kind of not knowing what to expect in the dry. I think that’s a good thing having Qualifying in the dry, the Sprint Race wet and then into the Feature Race just having to guess with the tyres.”

Considering the three Red Flags already flown in Qualifying, understandably the Red Bull junior wouldn’t be surprised if they were to make a reappearance and says being cautious and steering clear of any commotion ahead will be vital.

“I hope there are no Red Flags just because that means it’s quite a big one. In terms of Safety Cars, I think you could almost go to a betting company and bet that there’s going to be one. I think for sure there’s going to be chaos and Safety Cars. We just need to stay out of trouble and just make it to the end firstly and if we do that, then I’m sure that we’ll be somewhere near the front.”

Using the Sprint Race as a springboard for his Feature Race preparations might not be such a clear task, with the weather expected to return to dry conditions for the Sunday morning event.

Nevertheless, having won at the Dutch circuit in Formula 3 last year, Maloney has got his eyes set on only one thing – victory. Recognising Zandvoort’s reputation for unpredictability, he knows that he’s going to have to have all his wits about him if he wants to reach the finish line first.

“Well, you can use the Sprint Race just to get a race under your belt. Usually, it's to see how the tyres are lasting and what you need to do in race trim on the track. Today it's going to be wet, so that’s probably not going to happen, which is why we'll be going blind into tomorrow, which makes it more difficult. From P4, I'm going for a win of course. So, I need some stay out of trouble in the Sprint Race, learn as much as I can and then put it all forward for the Feature.

“I think it’s a very difficult circuit to overtake on. Maybe Monaco's the only one that's more difficult, so it’s going to be tough to make moves on track after the first lap. But there's still strategy to play for and we just need to be on top of it with the start, with the strategy and then of course, have good pace. Once all those things come together, then whoever does that the best will win the race. So, just excited for today to get a race under my belt and then, for tomorrow to really go at it.”