My mid-season report card: Jüri Vips

Becoming the first driver in Formula 2 to win twice in a single round, Juri Vips’ Championship challenge came to life in Round 3 at Baku. Despite a scoreless opening weekend, the Estonian is up to fifth in the Championship after a run of nine points’ finishes in a row. But how would he grade his own performances?

The Red Bull junior fills out his mid-season report card…

NAME: Jüri Vips TEAM: Hitech Grand Prix AGE: 20 PODIUMS: 4 WINS: 2

RATING OUT OF 10: 5

“I’m a perfectionist, so I would only say five out of 10 at the moment, but the team and I are working very hard to make it 10/10 in the second half of the season.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON SO FAR?

“My season has been very up and down. We lost a lot of points early on in the season, not scoring at all in the first round at Bahrain was difficult and that hurt us. Our pace was very good in the first three events, though, and it was very good in the last round at Silverstone.

“We have scored points in every race since the first round, including four podiums. That has helped us to move recover and I’m sure that we can continue to do that by the end of the season.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE STRONGEST ASPECT OF YOUR SEASON SO FAR?

“That would probably be the Baku weekend when I became the first double race winner in Formula 2. We were really strong all weekend and our pace was excellent. To take two wins was great and helped us to recover from the points we lost in Round 1.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE WEAKEST ASPECT OF THE SEASON SO FAR?

“Although the round in Baku was our strongest point, the first race there was one of our weakest moments. But overall, the whole weekend in Bahrain was our worst moment by a mile. We were disqualified from Qualifying and then didn’t finish in the points in any of the races.”

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT THIS SEASON?

“I have learned a lot. Even though I competed in a few rounds of Formula 2 last year, I was still quite new to this championship, so there was still a lot to learn. I have learned how to go faster in an F2 car and I am looking forward to showing everyone how fast me and Hitech can be, and hopefully, we can win the Championship.”