Round 12 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to the press conference of the top three qualifiers here in Baku for Round 12 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. In third place we have Gabriele Minì from PREMA Racing, in second place is Leonardo Fornaroli from Invicta Racing and taking pole position is Jak Crawford from DAMS Lucas Oil. Jak congratulations, your second pole of the season, just talk us through that session because it was a stop/start Qualifying.

Jak Crawford: Yeah, it was a chaotic one. Lots of stress, you never want to get a pole exactly this way. I mean I don’t really care how I get a pole, but this way I put a lot of pressure on the last two laps or what we thought were going to be the last two laps before the Red Flag. In the end it all mattered on the first run. I am happy to survive the chaos because I almost ran into Victor when he had the crash. I was literally the next car behind him. Kept my nose clean, got a good lap in after the first Red Flag and it was good enough for pole.

FIA Formula 2: How was it sitting in the pit lane when you knew that you had provisional pole, but we could start again with the session being Red-flagged with four minutes to go?

Crawford: Honestly, I didn’t mind if it got cancelled or went forward. I had enough pace today that we were going to fight for pole no matter what. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see everyone's true pace today, but we are on pole and that’s all that matters.

FIA Formula 2: It’s a short run to Turn 1 but only two drivers have won from pole in the past around here. How do you fancy your chances on Sunday?

Crawford: Pretty well. I really like this track, and I feel like we have a good car this weekend. The race pace seemed good in Free Practice, we were able to improve until the end unlike some others. I feel like the pace is good. I have no doubt that we will be fast in the race. Usually, the race is our strong point, so now starting from the front there is no reason we can’t fight for the win with a good strategy.

FIA Formula 2: Leo, a good qualifying result in the end for you. You opted to complete an extra lap in the first run that turned out to be very important. Talk us through that first run and the decision to finish the lap.

Fornaroli: Every session here in Baku is messy because it is a track that it is very easy to make mistakes on. So, it is always important to finish the lap you are doing even if it is not amazing, just finish it because maybe it will be your last lap. That’s what happened in the first set. We were able to be quick, I was very happy with the car. It was not easy to find the limit straight away as it is my first time here at this track. Since Free Practice we were looking strong, so I was confident for Qualifying. I am happy we were able to put everything together in two laps.

FIA Formula 2: You were so close to pole, but it was early on in the session. Were you holding a bit back for the final runs or was that the best lap you had today?

Fornaroli: I am happy with my lap. There were a lot of good improvements compared to my first lap and Free Practice. For sure there is a little bit of margin in some corners, but I am happy with the result.

FIA Formula 2: You just mentioned that it is your first time here, how are you enjoying racing in the streets of Baku?

Fornaroli: It’s amazing, I love this track. In the simulator it looks very challenging, and it is in real life too. I really enjoyed today and I hope I will enjoy the next two days too.

FIA Formula 2: You have title rivals all around you on the grid, does that play into the planning for this weekend or is it too early to think about the title yet?

Fornaroli: The fact that I am fighting for the title will not change my approach to the weekend. I always approach every weekend the same. Try to score as many points as possible.

FIA Formula 2: Thanks Leo. Gabriele, coming to you, a top three result in Qualifying around the venue you made your Formula 2 debut around, you must like this place?

Gabriele Minì: Yeah, it’s the first time that I am coming back to a track that I have already raced in Formula 2. It is an advantage for sure. In general, I like street circuits, and this one is also really cool. The tight sections and the big braking zones that you have, it is really challenging.

FIA Formula 2: Talk to us about your lap today, the one that got you to P3? You were at the back of the train in the first runs in terms of slipstream, how important was that today to be in the right place at the right time?

Minì: It was just a normal lap, nothing crazy. I was a bit compromised on the first lap because I had a car really close that rejoined. It wasn’t easy to take references. So, it was the first real free lap that I had, it was just about taking the references for the second set. As Leo said, the key is always to finish the lap and try to be at the front in every single one of them, which we did and in the end, it was the key to the session.

FIA Formula 2: You were at the back of the train in the first runs in terms of slipstream. How important was that today to be in the right place at the right time?

Minì: It was quite important. In the end maybe it was a tiny bit too much as I started the lap, I think three seconds from the car in front, and I manged less than one. It starts to be a bit disturbing. The compromise between the slipstream and the dirty air needs to be there. For sure it helped.

FIA Formula 2: As mentioned, you did rather well here last season, you must be eyeing up a Feature Race podium this time around?

Minì: Yeah. Now we are starting in the top three which is where we always want to aim. We are still going to try and do well in the Sprint as well. We know that, as we saw in Qualifying, it can be a bit chaotic, there can be some chaos happening at the front. We will try to use that to our advantage.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you all, good luck for the weekend.