2023 Round 3 post-Qualifying press conference

Thoughts from Iwasa, Pourchaire and Martins

FIA Formula 2: A very warm welcome to the top three qualifiers for the FIA Formula Two Feature Race here at Albert Park in Melbourne. In third place Victor Martins for ART, in second place, Théo Pourchaire also for ART, and taking his third pole position in FIA Formula 2 our polesitter Ayumu Iwasa. Now Ayu, what an incredible session, such difficult conditions, just how difficult was it for you?

Ayumu Iwasa: It was very difficult, especially at the beginning. I was not able to push straight away because of the aquaplaning and also, I was struggling to get the speed with the warmup as well. But once I got the temperature on the tyre I was able to push, and I was feeling quite good from the car. So, it was really positive session, but it was really difficult.

FIA Formula 2: And how do you find the grip in those situations because it was getting faster every lap, wasn't it?

Iwasa: Yeah, especially for me the feeling was getting better and better in terms of like tyre grip and then track condition. But at the end of the first stint, I was starting to feel that I was not able to improve, and then we boxed for the second set. I think it was quite good timing to go for the second set, also it was working for me. Then the second set was quite better for the tyre warmup because I was alone to push the maximum to get the temperature, so it was really good.

FIA Formula 2: Now, who can predict the weather here in Melbourne? It's famous for four seasons in one day, but wet or dry, you've had running in both now. What would you prefer for the Feature Race on Sunday?

Iwasa: Honestly, I'm not feeling so much difference in the performance between the dry and wet because I was also feeling good in the dry condition this morning. So, I think I will be able to perform well in dry conditions as well so. I think in the wet conditions it will be better because I will be able to have a good view from P1. So, I think that will be quite a big margin compared to other drivers, but I don't care about the conditions at the moment.

FIA Formula 2: Now Ayu, final one from me. This is Formula 2’s first visit to Albert Park, just give us your thoughts on the track.

Iwasa: It's really amazing. It's really difficult to put all together in one lap, that's what I felt in FP and in Quali. It's really technical and I'm feeling that it's really difficult to improve the performance from the car side and the driving side as well, but it's making it more fun to enjoy the race weekend.

FIA Formula 2: All right, many congratulations to you. Théo, coming to you now, many congratulations as well. So, without that Red Flag, how good was the car? How good were you feeling out there, was pole possible if you’d had more laps?

Théo Pourchaire: Yeah, I think so, I was two sectors away from a potential pole position. My teammate was fast also, so there were a lot of contenders for today's pole. I feel like I was on a very, very good run and yeah, two sectors away from that pole. But you know, I will not complain too much about this one because in the first few minutes of the session, I struggled a lot. I was like P15, in the traffic, no visibility, taking the wrong lines on the track, but then I started to do some better laps, take the confidence back and to finish P2 is good.

FIA Formula 2: And as the track dried out, how much better did the car get?

Pourchaire: It was better through the run, through the session and also when we put the second tyre set, the new tyres on. It was a lot better just the first out lap, first lap when the tyres are cold, in the rain it's very difficult to warm them up. It was a very fun session. It was very difficult, mentally as well to keep the car on the track, to have big oversteer snaps every corner. I'm very proud of this P2, top three in three Qualifying sessions in 2023, so it's good.

FIA Formula 2: Looking at the rest of this weekend. It was clearly a disappointing one for you in Jeddah last time out, so what are the goals for you for the rest of your stay in Australia?

Pourchaire: Very tough weekend in Jeddah. Unfortunately, I did a big mistake in Race 1, which I apologise for, it can happen. Then in Race 2, I struggled a lot with the balance of the car, I was not confident. Here I want to take as much points as possible, to do all the laps during the races, to not do big mistakes like in Jeddah. It's a good start to the weekend, so I will keep pushing.

FIA Formula 2: Théo final one from me, give us your thoughts on the Albert Park track. How much are you enjoying it?

Pourchaire: It's amazing. I love the country; I love the city and the track is amazing too. The weather I'm not very, very happy about it, but it's fun to drive on the dry and on the wet conditions. So, it’s an amazing truck and hopefully F2 can come back here in the future.

FIA Formula 2: All right thank you Théo, well done to you as well. And Victor, coming to you now. Now you brought out that second Red Flag in the session, so first question is, how are you physically?

Victor Martins: I'm feeling good, ready to go to the races now. For sure, it was quite a big impact, but in the end, I felt good straight away. I could get out of the car safely and now we need to see if we can repair the car, but I'm sure the team will do a great job for sure. I'm sorry to them to have done that and to have brought the Red Flag out also at the end because I think it affected quite a lot of drivers in Quali. I went a bit over the limit.

FIA Formula 2: Now, a very frustrating moment for you because as Théo says, you were very fast. Just how good was the car prior to the crash?

Martins: It was really awesome. It was the first time for me in the wet actually with the F2 car, so I was kind of discovering Qualifying. I was always in the top three in every lap I was doing on the first set and then the second one also. So, it was a matter of pushing, being on the limit but not going over it. So, in the end I think it was really hard mentally, as Théo said, to keep focus, keep catching the car in the corners because it was really tricky in the fast corners and with the aquaplaning, especially at the beginning of the Quali. The car was really, really good and if it's raining tomorrow or on the dry, I think we will be good.

FIA Formula 2: Well, best of luck with that and I would love to get your thoughts as well on this Albert Park track.

Martins: It's super good. In the dry it was really nice, going really close to the walls. Also, it doesn't forgive for a mistake. I think we have seen many, many mistakes from the drivers, so it feels a bit like Zandvoort where you need to push, but if you go a bit over the limit, you do a mistake or you crash the car like I did for example. It's really nice, really, really fast. I love the fast section with the DRS also going into Turn 9 and 10, but I think driving in a big city like that is really enjoyable.

FIA Formula 2: Okay, thank you for that and best of luck to you for the rest of the weekend.