Vips’ Guest Column: There are a lot of memes about me in Estonia now

Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips became the first driver in the history of Formula 2 to win twice in a single round, taking victory in both the second Sprint Race on Saturday and then again in the Feature Race on Sunday.

The Estonian takes control of this week’s guest column to pen his thoughts on that incredible achievement, as well as explaining the mishap that led to him dashing off the podium before the champagne was sprayed.

ONE GOOD POINT - MY FIRST FEATURE RACE WIN

I don’t think that I could choose just one good point from Round 3 that stood out to me because we were fast for the whole weekend and we didn’t make many mistakes, but obviously the Feature Race win was a high point.

It was my first Feature Race win in F2 and as I said after the race, it feels like we have taken a massive, massive step forward.

ONE BAD POINT - MISTAKES MADE IN SPRINT RACE 1

I ruined my Sprint Race 1 completely. I made a simple mistake early on in the race and that ruined my tyres, which led to having no pace, although I don’t necessarily see that as such a bad thing.

In the context of the whole weekend, and in terms of the points scored, I didn’t lose out that much because of the mistake. I also learned some very valuable lessons for the rest of the races in Baku and the rest of the season as well.

WHAT I LEARNED – LEARNING FROM THE MISTAKES MADE IN SPRINT RACE 1

I really learned from the mistake that I made in the first race. The rest of the weekend was very good, and I don’t think that there was much that went wrong.

I don’t think we learned much other than that, it was more that we gained confidence as a team and confidence in what we are doing and the way that we are working. It was just a big boost for everyone for the remainder of the year.

FANS MAY HAVE MISSED – DODGING THE CHAMPAGNE SHOWER

I don’t think anyone missed this, but I had to run away from the champagne on the podium. We got my suit measurements wrong, not like 2cm or 3cm wrong, but 30cm wrong, so I couldn’t wear it.

I only had one suit that fits me, so I had to dodge the champagne, or else I’d have to have worn the massive suit in the Feature Race. That was pretty funny and there are now a lot of memes about me in Estonia. It’s been a good laugh watching them.

NEXT TIME OUT – SILVERSTONE

I’m so excited for Silverstone. The car has been very good all year and I have full confidence in the team to deliver there too. It’s easy to get overconfident after a weekend like I’ve just had at Baku, but neither me or the team will ever underestimate how hard this championship is.

I’m sure that if we have a clean race weekend with no mistakes, then we will be well in the mix for the victories and podiums again.