Round 3 Post Sprint Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Welcome to Jeddah where it's time for the press conference with the top three finishes for the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race. In third place we have Alexander Dunne from Rodin Motorsport, in second is Josep María Martí from Campos Racing and becoming the youngest ever winner in FIA Formula 2 Arvid Lindblad. Arvid, what a day for you. Just what does this record-breaking win mean to you?

Arvid Lindblad: It means a lot, I hadn’t even thought about the record. I knew I was quite young, I think I am the youngest ever F2 driver. The first couple of rounds haven’t been amazing so I was just focused on trying to have a good weekend here, trying to have a good FP, good quali and so far, things have gone well. The race today was really good. I got a good start and was quite competitive in the early laps, I was chasing down Verschoor. Unfortunately, he got a penalty so not the way I want to win, but super happy with the result and super happy to break another record.

FIA Formula 2: At what point in the race did you realise Richard did have the penalty?

Lindblad: When the Safety Car came out. During that Safety Car period my engineer told me that Richard had a penalty. Then I knew that if I stayed in second, I would win the race. I still wanted to win on track, but he was just a bit faster on the last couple of laps.

FIA Formula 2: What does this result do for your confidence both for tomorrow’s Feature Race, but also for the rest of the Championship?

Lindblad: I think it obviously gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow because a good result today shows that the car’s competitive. We already knew that from FP and Quali but again just reinforcing that. I still think we have a little bit of work to do tomorrow because Richard was really strong. It gives me a lot of confidence also for the rest of the Championship, starting it off properly here after two difficult weekends. I’m just happy firstly to be in the Top 10 after Quali and now to get some good points on the board and start from here.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations. Pepe great result for you as well. Give us an overview of how happy you are with your race?

Josep María Martí: To be honest it is a good result, P2, but I’m not happy at all. I would have inherited the lead had I not gone off. It’s true that at that point Arvid was a bit quicker than me but I think later on we stabilised and had pretty similar pace. Quite let down by my own performance. It’s quite good for the Championship but I’m not really proud of the result.

FIA Formula 2: Richard got penalised for pushing you off the track. Can you give us your interpretation of what happened?

Martí: I had no idea that was the reason for the penalty, I thought it was on the limit, I thought it was a bit too harsh but then again, we are racing. I also gave him just the right amount of space in the exit to Turn 1, I think you can look at it in many ways. To be honest if that was the reason for the penalty, then good for me and good for the three of us, but I think I will have to look back and analyse before I know what I think about it.

FIA Formula 2: Pepe, clearly Campos have a good car here in Jeddah. How confident are you ahead of tomorrow’s Feature Race, what can you do?

Martí: You’re always confident after a podium, but like Arvid said we still have a bit to improve on the car. I think we are not the quickest, certainly Richard was far ahead of us today. I think we have to do a small step forward for tomorrow. I think I also have to be a bit more reliable than what I was today. I’m certain we can challenge for a very good result.

FIA Formula 2: Well done. Alex what a week you have had, back-to-back podiums on two very different tracks. What was the most pleasing aspect of this race for you?

Alexander Dunne: I would say my race was pretty relaxed, not really a whole lot was going on if I’m honest. I think my start wasn’t particularly good, I think Arvid had already cleared me before I got to Turn 1. If there was anything for me to be unhappy about in terms of the race, it was probably the start. After that not really a lot happened. I was just doing my own thing waiting to see what would happen in front. I think Minì and Stanek started fighting and I overtook both of them in the straight before Turn 1, that was pretty much it. I was just chilling by myself until the end of the race, trying to catch these boys. I think overall I would say the weekend has been relatively strong. I think in Quali before the Red Flag I was a couple of tenths off on what was my best lap. These things happen and I’m sure that there were people in a similar position to me as well. Overall, the pace has been good. Looking from the Feature Race in Bahrain, the race pace is strong as well. If we can move in the direction we are going and have a better start tomorrow, then hopefully, we can have a good result.

FIA Formula 2: You say it was a quiet race for you. Were you expecting more action in that three-lap shootout after the Safety Car?

Dunne: Yes, but I think, realistically I don’t think you can get more action than what I had in the Sprint Race in Bahrain. I don’t really want to go through that again. I think I was kind of hoping, to be honest, that it was just going to be chill to the flag. I didn’t really want to have the crazy fights and then things go wrong. I think at that point I was pretty happy with the race. I probably expected a little bit more but at the same time, realistically there are only two overtaking opportunities at this track. I think through Sector 1, the dirty air is quite strong, and it is very difficult to stay close. I think the race kind of panned out as expected.

FIA Formula 2: Okay thank you well done.