Goethe aiming to ‘send it’ in Monte Carlo after up and down Imola weekend

Oliver Goethe was left to reflect on a mixed Imola weekend for both him and MP Motorsport, as while he was pleased to score points in the Feature Race, the German felt there was more on the table if not for his bad starts.

The 20-year-old and his team recovered from a difficult Free Practice on Friday – where he finished in P20 – to qualify in the top 10 for the first time this season, ending up in eighth.

This left him third on the reverse grid for the Sprint Race, but a difficult start dropped him down the order and meant he finished outside the points in 10th.

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Another poor getaway on Sunday left him in P12 early on. However, he recovered well and crossed the line in P7, giving him his first Feature Race points of the season.

“The weekend was a bit up and down,” said Goethe. “The pace was a bit missing overall in the team in Practice and Qualifying. But we managed to find a bit for Qualifying, and managed to just get into the top 10, so I was actually really happy with that.

“I feel that I made the most out of the situation and was starting in a strong position for both races. Unfortunately, in the races, the starts were really bad, I was losing a lot.

“We are trying to understand why now on data, so that it doesn't happen again. But I lost a lot of positions at the start and after that I managed to make those positions back, but who knows how the races could have been if I had a good start.

“So from that point it's a shame because the race pace was really strong, and I was one of the few drivers who was able to overtake quite a lot.

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“I am happy to be back in the top 10 for the Feature Race to get some points on the board. But I feel like we should have had more this weekend, but in general it's a good step, and nice to get some points again.”

The Imola weekend followed Round 3 in Jeddah where MP won the Feature Race with Richard Verschoor. However, Goethe’s teammate qualified in 19th, although he also recovered through the field to finish ninth on Sunday.

When asked whether MP’s struggles this weekend where track specific, Goethe said: “I think it is possibly track related. Every team has very good tracks, and tracks where they struggle at a bit more.

“In Qualifying we were struggling a bit but the race pace was really strong. So, from that point the team did an amazing job, the car in the races was really solid.

“There is still more to work on in Qualifying, it's been a weaker point of mine as well, the team and I are working on that and in the races, we are strong if we get the start right.”

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Goethe also gave his views on the tyre strategy at play, with the Supersofts and Softs the compounds used in Imola.

It marked a difference from the Supersofts and Mediums used in 2024, and Goethe says the changes had a positive impact on the racing this weekend.

“I think a lot of drivers took the risk of using the Supersofts to get a free pit stop with the Safety Car,” said Goethe. “It would work if the tyres lasted, but it didn't seem to last long on any of them.

“I think Supersoft/Soft was the right call for this weekend. There was more deg on the Softs compared to the Mediums last year, which is good, we want a bit of that, otherwise it would just be a DRS train throughout the race.

“The more deg, the more opportunities it gives the drivers to have an exciting race. The tyres were a bit difficult to manage but in general it was good, and I think it was the right call to change the Softs.”

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Goethe now heads to Monte Carlo for Round 5 and he has already revealed where his priorities will lie in the Principality.

“I am feeling really good for Monaco,” said Goethe. “It's an amazing track. It's a track that you need to get qualifying right, so that is where are full focus lies on. But just going to send it and hope for the best.”