Bilinski says DAMS should be proud of their ‘fantastic’ P4 qualifying at Silverstone

Roman Bilinski finished fourth in Friday’s Silverstone qualifying, and he says both he and DAMS Lucas Oil should be proud of this result.

It is the Polish driver’s best qualifying performance of the season, and it came off the back of a strong day at the British venue where he fought at the front consistently.

Bilinski was fourth in the morning’s Free Practice, and after each push lap he completed in Qualifying, his name was at, or near, the top of the timesheets.

The DAMS rookie’s best lap of a 1:39.967 was just two-tenths away from polesitter Rafael Câmara, and speaking afterwards, the delighted driver reflected on the session.

“I feel fantastic,” he said. “It's something we really deserve, me and the team. A lot of hard work has gone into it and as we know this championship is not easy.

“There are some fantastic teams and drivers, but overall today we can be proud of what we achieved.

“The pressure is on us for that one lap, so to perform is a bit scary, But I think overall we've done a fantastic job, and I'm just very proud of the team.

“It's not been the easiest start of the season, and finally we're going in the right direction. So I'm just very happy.”

This result continues a strong run of form for Bilinski, who has scored points in every race except one, since the championship returned to Europe.

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This includes his maiden podium in the Monte Carlo Sprint Race, so he is delighted to see his and the team’s hard work paying off.

“I think the last three rounds have started to go more our way,” he said. “For example in the Barcelona qualifying we were very competitive until the Red Flag in the last corner. Of course it doesn't show on paper, but at least as a team we know our potential.

“But here we've finally been able to show that potential. I got my first podium in Monaco, so we are going in the right direction. Hopefully more of it will be on paper with more points.”

Looking ahead to the races, Bilinski says the goal is to maximise the car performance. As for results, he is not too keen on thinking about it just yet, especially as he does not quite trust that Sunday’s forecast reads for blue skies and not rain.

“I just want to maximise our potential,” he said previewing the races. “I never want to say I want to win or finish second or third.

“I just always want to do my best in the car, and I think we have a very good race package at DAMS. I think this has always been clear.

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“As long as I manage the tyres correctly, listen to the team because they have a lot of experience, and hopefully I will do my best.

“Sunday will definitely be an interesting race. I still don't trust the weather forecast quite yet. I think when I wake up on Sunday and open the curtains, then we will see. But anything can happen.

“It's Formula 2, it's always exciting racing. We will just be doing our best. Hopefully we can manage the tyres better than the people around us and have a good result.”