Round 13 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to the press conference of the top three qualifiers here in Qatar. In third place we have Victor Martins from ART Grand Prix, second is Leonardo Fornaroli from Invicta Racing and taking his first pole position in Formula 2 is Oliver Goethe from MP Motorsport, Ollie congratulations, a superb lap right at the end to earn top spot, how pleased are you with that session?

Oliver Goethe: Yeah, I am extremely pleased. It was a good session overall. I was quick throughout. I don’t know if I was ever actually P1, I was always around P2. I really gave it my all on that last lap. It’s been a while since I’ve been on this couch, so I am super happy to be back here. Happy to be starting at the front again.

FIA Formula 2: You were up there all session but were you expecting this kind of result based on practice?

Goethe: I was expecting a good result to be honest. I feel like slowly throughout the season we have been building momentum. It’s been a tough season overall but in the previous rounds, expect for Baku, in Monza and Budapest I had strong pace. Over the long break I was working really hard so I had a good feeling about this weekend. I was expecting something good. We were quick here last year. Maybe not pole position but I knew I was capable of it.

FIA Formula 2: It feels like this layout has been suiting your driving style well, are you feeling comfortable at the wheel of your car around this track?

Goethe: Yes for sure. Throughout the season I feel like the pace has been getting stronger and stronger. A lot of results didn’t go my way like in Monza. Overall the pace has been improving and I feel like I am in a strong position now where I feel like I can fight for the race wins.

FIA Formula 2: It’s been an up and down year for you but how good is it to have a chance at a huge results this Sunday?

Goethe: I have a pretty good chance starting at the front, the race pace has been strong in previous rounds. As well as here last year. I am confident going into the races. On this track there are a lot of things that can happen, the deg is quite big so I have to manage it well. I am looking forward to it.

FIA Formula 2: What does this result mean to you at this point in the season?

Goethe: It means a huge amount really. It has been a tough year. A lot of downs this year so I am happy for myself, for my family and for the whole team. They have been working really hard to get me back up. I’ve been working really hard, so it feels really good.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations. Leo, P2 for you in the end but your closest rivals in the Drivers’ Standings are behind you. It looked like pole position was on for you today, what do you think?

Leonardo Fornaroli: It was a very good day overall, first time here in Qatar. An amazing track, very fun and we were strong from lap one in Free Practice. I felt amazing with the car and another super positive session in Qualifying. I struggled a bit more in Sector 2 to put the lap together. It's a bit disappointing because we were P1 basically all session until Ollie did an amazing lap. Still an amazing day, but now we move on.

FIA Formula 2: The team are fighting for the Teams’ title as well as your pursuit of the Drivers’ crown, how good is today’s result with your teammate also up there with you?

Fornaroli: Me and Roman are starting in a very good position for both races, so we’ll do our best to score lots of points.

FIA Formula 2: We saw you come to a stop after the chequered flag, any idea what the issue was at this stage?

Fornaroli: Just a little issue, nothing major. Luckily it was after the chequered flag!

FIA Formula 2: With the title a possibility this weekend, does this result impact your approach to the Sprint and Feature Race this weekend?

Fornaroli: No, I will approach the races as I have done all year. Even if i have an advantage now compared to my rivals, it means nothing.

FIA Formula 2: Victor P3 today, it’s been a while since we have seen you in this position after qualifying, how satisfied are you with today’s result?

Victor Martins: I will say in terms of a pure result you always want to be on pole, you want to be up there. But in terms of the development and the evolution of the car throughout the day, I am super proud of the team, of the engineers, the mechanics, and myself in giving the right feedback from FP. Also from first set to second set, because honestly after the first set I was not feeling that the fight for pole or the fight for the top three was in my hands, and I wanted actually to maximise what I had in the car. But definitely, I think in Qualifying we came back in top three form, but I think lately in Baku or in Monza, or even in Hungary, it was not really in our hands. Monza, you’ve got Red Flags, you could not do a lap, in Baku I was P4 and then I had my lap deleted because of the crash but in the end, the performance has always been there in quali, but its now about putting it together in the race. This year has been tough on a lot of subjects, but we are ready for the last two rounds to have things click together.

FIA Formula 2: Looking at the Qualifying session, how hard was it? We saw you and the other drivers running just over the track limits, next to the gravel, but you had to push to the limit to get that result. How was that from the car?

Martins: I think on my first run I was not feeling comfortable in the car. I was just saying to myself do your job, maximise things and don’t make any mistakes and that is what I have done. I was quite happy with that and we went into the second run where I asked for a lot of changes. We could not go out first on track so we had to adapt our strategy and run plan, and when I did my first lap, the first few corners I felt the car was much better. Then you start to believe that you can fight for pole, but then I pushed a tiny bit too much in T15, went a bit wide, tried to keep it on track, had one wheel on the white line and then the second lap was for me the one that I was going to get to fight for pole. In the end, when it mattered, I didn’t make a mistake, I just tried at some point, and you need to try sometimes.

FIA Formula 2: Like you said, Qualifying pace has not been a huge issue for you this season. How confident are you that you can remain strong and at the front for the remainder of this weekend?

Martins: I think lately from midseason, we started to really improve our package for the races. The results haven't shown that, but I know what has happened. Maybe not everyone outside of the team knows and will understand everything, but definitely internally within the team we know, and we know that when something was happening, we had the car and when nothing was happening, we were struggling with pace, so the results were never there. But definitely lately, we have put a lot of focus on the car's performance in the race, and I think we can see some good things, some positives and I think it’s time to show it on track.

FIA Formula 2: Thanks all.