Sato: 'We have race pace but Qualifying improvements will bring points'

29 May 2022

Marino Sato was in the right place at the right time to capitalise and take a point in the Monte Carlo Feature Race, but a lost lap in Qualifying potentially cost him even more points.

The Virtuosi Racing driver started Sunday's race from 17th on the grid but ended up finishing the race in 10th, a solid day's work around a circuit in which overtaking is at its toughest.

According to Sato, he made his life difficult after losing the opportunity for one final fast lap in Qualifying, but said that the team's strategy and his patience paid dividends in the race.

"The strategy with the tyres we chose on the grid, I think it was the right one," he surmised post-race. "The team called me in at the right time, so that paid off.

"We knew we had the pace after Free Practice, but unfortunately, we didn't get a single lap in Qualifying which put us behind on the grid. From where we started, I definitely didn't expect that (P10).

"Obviously, we were lucky. Gaining a few places, there's a really small opportunity to actually pass a car. But there were a couple of cars who ran out of space and I was definitely lucky to gain those places.

"So I'm pleased with salvaging a point from where we started and showing the pace that we had when there was free air ahead of us."

READ MORE: FEATURE RACE: Drugovich gets redemption with Monte Carlo masterclass He moved into the points on the final lap following a dive on Calan Williams by Ayumu Iwasa. Both the Trident and DAMS drivers ended up in the barriers at the Grand Hotel Hairpin, leaving Sato and Logan Sargeant as the beneficiaries.

Sato said that he was aware that a collision may have been on the cards with the Trident driver struggling so much with the tyres.

"I knew I was coming up with Williams struggling ahead of me with Iwasa. Considering the position of where he was just at that point, I knew he was going to lunge it.

"I didn't have any tyres left in the last few laps, so I didn't get the chance to attack by myself. I had to wait for something that happened and just had enogh space to go through, so that was also lucky."

Looking ahead to Round 6 in Baku, Sato says that if he can improve his Qualifying performances then there's no reason why he cannot challenge for more points-paying positions during the Sprint and Feature Races.

"Yesterday we had the pace but we were stuck. And when you're stuck here, there's not much you can do. Today it was the same in the first stint, I couldn't really get rid of the traffic.

"Baku is a track where you can actually pass someone, it's not like here. I think quali is definitely something to improve this year because I've been showing strong pace in the races, but starting far back is just making my life difficult this year.

"So Friday's the thing for me, and once that's done we can look for better races."