2022 Round 2 post-Qualifying press conference

FIA Formula 2: Many congratulations to the top three qualifiers for Sunday's FIA Formula 2 Feature Race here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Starting in third place, Jack Doohan for Virtuosi Racing, in second place Richard Verschoor for Trident and taking his second pole position in Formula 2 out pole-sitter, Felipe Drugovich for MP Motorsport. Felipe, that was such a tense and disrupted session, and you managed to find a lot of time in those last five minutes, were you surprised by what you found?

Felipe Drugovich: Yeah, actually, yeah! I think the lap time was a lot lower than what I expected. In Sector 1, I refused to look at the dash and see if I was going a lot quicker or not, so I just pushed the whole lap even though there was quite a lot of pressure on me. Even putting some pressure on myself because I was P15 or so, I knew I needed to get something out of that lap. It was good that I didn't have traffic, that was a good side of doing that strategy and waiting until the end. But in another way, you feel very pressured that you had to deliver. Otherwise, you're outside of the top ten, but anyway, I'm really happy with what I did and with what the team gave me.

FIA Formula 2: As you say, there's pressure, there's traffic. Just how difficult is it to navigate a session like that where you have three red flags and so much going on?

Drugovich: It was quite difficult mentally. I was hoping that we weren't going to get a fourth red flag into that lap. It's quite difficult, but in the end, you try to forget in the best way possible and just go for it. Also, this track is quite difficult to put a lap together because it's quite challenging. I'm really happy, I just have to enjoy this time now.

FIA Formula 2: How difficult is it to overtake here? How important is it to be starting from the front?

Drugovich: I think it's very important. It's not a crazy difficult track like Monaco to overtake at, because there's quite a long straight and DRS but at the same time there are a lot of fast corners which being in clear helps a lot with. So I'm pleased we can start from pole.

FIA Formula 2: Richard, many congratulations to you as well. You were another to make a big step forward at the end, I think you went from tenth to second on that final run. How good was the lap, how good was the car?

Richard Verschoor: Both really good, you said I went from 10th to second, but I think before that I was like twenty-something. The first two laps I did were really not good. Also coming from practice, we did like four laps in total. I wasn't here last year so I really had to switch off my mind completely and just go for it. The car was really good, so I was happy with the lap.

FIA Formula 2: Pressure again on you, just how difficult did you find it to put a lap together around this fast-flowing narrow difficult circuit?

Verschoor: I think I was quite close to the walls at a lot of points so I'm quite sure it was a good lap, there was maybe just one corner where I lost a bit. To be honest, when you do such as lap this track is really, really cool.

FIA Formula 2: Very rewarding! Jack, coming to you now. That last lap from you, you had traffic, you were throwing up the dust but you still managed to find a huge amount of time. How difficult was it for you to put it together?

Jack Doohan: I have to be happy with P3, but definitely not our potential so I am disappointed I couldn't reward the boys with what they deserve with the package they gave me but it was the same for everyone. Circumstances meant that I couldn't really get the tyres into the window that I wanted so my second sector was just nowhere really. Then I had a bit of traffic for the rest of the lap so it made it quite hairy through Turn 22 and Turn 23 but in the end, we're in a good position for Sunday's race and also in the ten for tomorrow.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you, Jack. Many congratulations.