Lindblad says Campos are ‘in a good window’ after competitive Imola Qualifying

Arvid Lindblad was disappointed to miss out on a possible Pole Position in Imola, the Campos Racing left to rue the timing of the Red Flag that thwarted his attempts on Friday afternoon.

The Briton had been in contention for pole throughout the session and was fourth after the first set of push laps, under four-tenths behind pacesetter Victor Martins’ 1:27.424.

Lindblad revealed that those initial laps hadn’t been maximised, but once he returned to the pit lane, addressed the problems, and returned to the track, he looked to set to go to P1.

READ MORE: Maini loses fastest laptime after Imola Qualifying session

However, the Red Flags were waved just as he was set to cross the line, with Kush Maini having collided into the barrier at the exit of Turn 3.

Speaking after the session, Lindblad – who qualified sixth – said: “I think it was a good day in general. In FP we were very competitive the whole session, and in Quali, on run one, we were quite good.

“We had a few issues that held us back, but even then, we were top three, top four the whole run. Then on set two we got on top of them, and the pace was very good.

“I was on for pole by quite a bit, the time I had on my dash it would have been pole by three-tenths, and I was the next car to cross the line before the Red Flag and it was 0.8s, that's how much we missed it by.

“It's a bit of a shame, but it is what it is. I'm happy, the pace is there, and I think we were in the game.

“Track position is important here, so it would have been nice to be going off the front for the Feature Race. But we are in a good position for both races, so a chance to score some good points in both.”

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Lindblad though had a solid opening day at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari having finished second in Free Practice – 0.009s off leader Alexander Dunne’s 1:27.907.

In that 45-minute session, Lindblad, and the rest of the 21 other drivers, all used the Soft tyre, before switching to the Supersofts for Qualifying. The 17-year-old then explained whether that had an effect on performance.

“You do feel a bit of a difference,” said Lindblad. “But the Soft and Supersofts are both quali tyres, so there is not much difference. You feel a difference when you go from either the Medium or Hard in FP, and then you switch to Soft or Supersoft in quali.

“Between Soft and Supersoft you don't feel that difference, just a little bit more grip, but obviously because they're the two softest in the range, it's quite difficult.

“But you do feel a difference from the Medium and Hard. So, I guess you do miss that exciting element on days like today because the pace was already fast in FP.”

Looking forward to the weekend, the Red Bull Junior Team member said Campos had been in a “solid window” all day, and while Qualifying did not give him the result he wanted, he is hopeful that it will pay off in the races.

READ MORE: Dunne “finding the limits” ahead of Imola Qualifying after making fast start

“I'm basically in the same spot for both races, starting fifth and sixth,” he added. “We will see tomorrow, the Prime tyre has been switched this year to Soft from Medium, so I think there is going to be a lot of deg and a lot of management.

“So already, I tried to get an understanding of how the tyres are handling, make the most of it, and then use that on Sunday to try and make a difference.

“With strategy and with how the tyres will be, I think it’s going to be a lot to handle, and there is still a lot of action that is going to happen, and there will be a lot going on, on the last couple of laps.”